The Diary of Anne Frank: From the Ordinary to the Extraordinary

Many young girls keep diaries in which they record the innermost longings of their hearts. They write about love, jealousy, envy, and every other emotion that a human can feel. Anne Frank was no different from these girls. Her diary is full of ordinary things: fights with her mother, the annoyance of having a roommate in her bedroom with her, feelings about puberty, and keen observations of the people and events that marked her life. What makes it extraordinary is that it gives us a glimpse into life as a Jew during World War II. Anyone can pick up her diary and read her most intimate musings about her life in hiding; fascinating material for any reader. What she considered her ordinary life has come to be known as an extraordinary one.

Anne Frank was born on June 12, 1929. Thirteen years later, she was given a red and white checked diary, which she called "Kitty." She began the diary, writing, "I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support." Her words were prophetic.

When Jews began vanishing, the Franks knew that grave danger was coming. However, it was when Margot Frank was called up for a forced-labor shipment that the Franks decided to go into immediate hiding. Thus, they retreated to an annex above Otto Frank's store. For 25 weeks, the Franks hid in the annex and for 25 weeks Anne wrote in her diary about life in hiding. On August 4, 1944, the Franks' hiding place was discovered and they were removed by force. Ann's diary was left in the annex and pages of her writing were strewn on the floor in one of the bedrooms. Miep Giles, an employee and trusted friend of Otto Frank, gathered up the pages, intending to return them to Anne. (Just as an aside, Miep's story has been published by Simon and Schuster under the name "Anne Frank Remembered.") The Franks were shipped off to concentration camps; only Otto Frank would survive. Anne died at Bergen-Belsen of typhus in March of 1945. When Otto Frank returned home, Miep Giles gave him Anne's diary.

Although he had been urged to publish Anne's diary, Otto Frank was reluctant to do so. It was first published in June of 1947. Since then, it has been translated into 55 languages and has sold over 20 million copies. It is regularly studied in classrooms and has been read and studied by many. It quckly became a non-fiction classic.

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