Historical information
This diaryof a young Jewish girl is one of the best-known items to come out of the WWII occupation of The Netherlands.
Significance
Jews in all Nazi-occupied countries suffered indescribably during the years 1939-1945. In The Netherlands restrictions were imposed gradually but by 1942 it was imperative the family Frank either hide or be transported East. Although many were betrayed by fellow Dutch, in this case 8 Jews were kept hidden at the work address of father, Otto Frank. At the risk of their own lives his colleagues brought food and news. Anne had received a diary for her 13th birthday and immediately made it into her best and most secret friend. Two weeks later the family went into hiding and she continued to record her personal experiences and growth.
Physical description
A smallish, hard-cover book printed on poor quality paper (indicative of the immediate post-war shortage), illustrated in black and white with one photo of Anne and a few of The Annexe.
Inscriptions & markings
Anne Frank. Het Achterhuis. Dagboek brieven van 12 Juni 1942 - 1 Augustus 1944. Met een woord vooraf door Annie Romein - Verschoor. Amsterdam Uitgeverij Contact.
Anne Frank. The Annexe. Diary letters from June 12, 1942 to August 1, 1944. With a foreword by Annie Romein - Verschoor. Amsterdam Publisher Contact.
Gedrukt door Ellerman Harms N.V. te Amsterdam. Copyright 1947.
Printed by Ellerman Harms Ltd. in Amsterdam.
References
- Anne Frank House Anne Frank House site with many links to YouTube videos.
- Annie Romein - Verschoor Mrs. Romein - Verschuur's introduction compares Anne's diary with that of a previous famous young diarist, the Russian "child prodigy" Marie Basjkirtsew, 1858-1884. This young woman recorded her life as a child of the wealthy but restless Russian aristocracy. She painted and had ambitions of becoming famous but died at 26. Anne was no child-prodigy but in the hot-house atmosphere of the family hiding place she learned to learned to understand temperaments - her own and those of others. Her writing was uninhibited, even her father, after the war, was amazed at her feelings and insights.
