Diary Of A Young Girl

Sixty-five years ago today, the Nazis arrested the Frank family in Amsterdam, Holland. Although the Nazis took a lot of the Franks' valuables when they searched the attic the Frank family had hidden in for two years, they left behind fifteen year old Anne Frank's diary. Talk about not recognizing a bestseller when you see one.


Anne Frank's diary is a really fascinating read. She kept her diary on-and-off for two years, including the entire time her family hid from the Nazis in the attic of her father's business. Anne's diary is an engrossing description of the Franks' time in hiding. I found it really interesting to follow how the family slowly became more fragmented and argumentative under the strain of their situation. Anne's diary doesn't descend into trivial, tedious descriptions of her homelife, though, mainly because Anne wrote when she felt like it, not every day. I also was interested in following how Anne progressed from a somewhat immature thirteen year old to a very insightful fifteen year old. Funny, optimistic, and wise, Anne wrote some amazing entries for a young teen. (I wish my diary entries were as profound and witty!)

Anne Frank's diary is a a great first hand account of World War Two. Her diary is an excellent source on the experiences of Jewish Europeans under Nazi occupation. Anne's also a good enough writer that her experience hiding in the "Secret Annex" reads almost like an adventure story. Several times in her diary Anne derides her writing as silly and inconsequential. Oh, Anne, if only you knew how wrong you were...

(One note: There are actually two versions of Anne's diary. The first was the original one published in the 1950s; the second is the more modern version which includes entries her father edited out of the original. I am fanatical about reading non-abridged works - it drives me crazy to think I missed something. However, with Anne's diary, it's really not essential to read the full version. The material that was edited out is mainly of a personal nature. Although Anne intended to use her diary as source material for a novel after the war (and also wanted to donate the material to Dutch historians interested in compiling chronicles of Holland's occupation), Anne's diary is still a private diary. I don't think Anne intended to have all of the material published. If you're a big Anne Frank fan, by all means read the full version, but if you don't, you'll still get a good understanding of Anne Frank by reading the abridged version.)

Night

Elie Wiesel's Night is one of the most famous holocaust books (second only to Anne Frank's diary.) In his book, Wiesel describes his experiences as a teen at Auschwitz and Buchenwald; Wiesel emerged from these death camps as the sole survivor of his Romanian-Jewish family.

I have mixed feelings about Holocaust literature. On one hand, as a history major who also enjoys psychology, I find the historical and psychological aspects of the Holocaust interesting. On the other hand, as a human being (and someone who is half-Jewish), I find the details of this slaughter absolutely appalling.

Night is one of the most powerful books I've ever read. As a history buff who has long been fascinated with World War II, I didn't find many of the details surprising (although certain instances that Wiesel wrote about did shock me), I did find Wiesel's book to be extremely poignant and accessible. What really made Night a great book to me was Wiesel's conversational and elegantly simple style. Wiesel's book reads almost as if Wiesel is telling you his story face-to-face. He has an almost instinctive knack for explaining what happened so that you understand what occured and sympathize with Wiesel's rage and sorrow, but without drowning you in horrifying details. Wiesel's ironic interjections add a much needed jolt of humanity and reason into the midst of the insanity that he describes.

This is one of the most disturbing and moving memoirs that I've ever read. If you're unfamiliar with the Holocaust, Wiesel's story is a very human introduction to one of the worst atrocities in human history. If you are a history buff, you'll find Night a far more intense and readable description of life in the death camps than any historian is capable of writing. I highly recommend this book to everyone.