Anne Frank, biography of a resilient girl

Anne Frank always dreamed of becoming a journalist and then a great novelist. When he started writing the diary he saw it as a future project, which he would surely make a reality after the war, when everything would return to normal. Things didn’t happen as she imagined, but she finally achieved what she longed for.

Ana Frank’s diary It is considered one of the testimonies most moving of all time. What makes it so special is the candor with which it was written and the innocence with which it describes the horror of war. It is currently one of the most read books in the world and is registered in UNESCO’s “Memory of the World Register.”

Anne Frank and her family had to hide in a small attic to escape of the hatred of the Nazis. The captivity lasted just over two years and during that period Ana wrote the diary. In it was recorded, with great charm, the life of a girl who is in the full stage of growth and who finds herself surrounded by a terrifying reality.

First edition of Anne Frank’s diary in 1955

The short life of Anne Frank

Anne Frank was born on June 12, 1929 in Frankfurt am Main (Germany). His father, Otto Frank, had served in the German army during World War I and had earned the rank of lieutenant, as well as his award for bravery: the Iron Cross. He later became a banker and in 1925 married Edith Höllander.

The couple had two daughters; Margot arrived first, in 1926, and three years later Ana was born. All of them made up a traditional upper-middle class Jewish family.

When Hitler took power in Germany in 1933, The persecution of the Jews began and the family decided to move to Amsterdam (Netherlands).

In his new home, Otto Frank set up a shop selling pectin and spices. Everything was going well until 1942, when the Nazis invaded Holland and, as was their custom, began the “hunt” for Jews . The Dutch were the only Europeans who openly opposed this persecution, but their protests had little effect.

Fleeing from persecution

The situation for the Jews was increasingly tense and Otto Frank understood that the entire family was in great danger and that their capture was only a matter of time. So, With the help of some collaborators from his work, he prepared a hiding place in the same building where he had his store.

In that place there was another adjacent building, separated only by a patio. It had three floors and on the last floor there was a secret door that led to an attic. The access was hidden behind a shelf that led to some stairs and these, in turn, led to a small place where there were two tiny rooms and a bathroom.

Otto told his wife and eldest daughter of the plans, but Anne Frank knew nothing about it, until it was time to move to the hideout.. This happened on July 9, 1942, three days after Margot, her eldest daughter, received notification that she must report to the German authorities. This meant that she would be arrested and deported.

Faced with this situation, Otto decided that it was time for the family to go into hiding. They had to leave their home at night, carrying all the clothes they could wear, since it was very dangerous to carry suitcases. They left their house in disarray and with a casual note suggesting they were escaping to Switzerland. The plan was designed to work.

Statue of Anne Frank (Amsterdam)

A refuge, a universe

For the next two years the family lived in the shelter, where another small family and a dentist also arrived.. In total there were eight people who shared the hiding place. Anne Frank managed to describe each of them with great depth and talent, turning them into literary characters.

The diary talks about their characters and the tensions that were overcome within the framework of the very precarious situation in which they lived. The refugees survived during this period thanks to the help of their Dutch friends, who provided them with food and kept them informed of events. In that small place, Ana thought the world and fell in love for the first time.

It all ended on August 4, 1944 when during a routine inspection they were discovered by Dutch Gestapo officers. The refugees were sent to a concentration camp and the Frank family was separated at Auschwitz.

In the end, Ana was left alone with her sister and both were sent to the Bergen-Belsen camp, where they both died of typhus.

The only survivor was Otto, Anne Frank’s father. When she returned to the hideout, looking for clues about her family, the Red Cross informed her of everyone’s death. Then They gave him Ana’s diary, which he did not know. Immediately, he knew that he was looking at a document of historical importance. Two years later, he managed to get it published and thus made the dream of his little daughter who had died at the age of 15 come true.