On the 12th of June, 1942, Anne Frank received a diary for her birthday. Two days later, Anne Frank would begin writing what is now known as 'Anne Frank: The Diary Of A Young Girl.' Anne Frank: The Diary Of A Young Girl, gives us an insight into what it was like for Jewish people hiding from the Nazis across Europe. Although it can give us an insight into Nazi-occupied Europe, we also have to take into consideration that diaries are subjective experiences. In other words, diaries give us an insight into how an individual sees things. That's not to say that diaries or Anne Frank's diary are any less valid. It doesn't mean that her diary is not a reliable source. It just means that we are seeing things from Anne Franks point of view. If we had diaries from each of her family members while hiding, we would probably have variations in what happened during their time of hiding. Anne Frank and her family went into hiding, just under a month after she had received the diary for her birthday. Her sisterMargot was summoned to go to a Nazi work camp, on the 5th of July 1942. A day later, on the 6th of July 1942, Anne and Margot, with their mother (Edith) and their father (Otto), went into hiding. They were joined by another family. The other family that the Franks were joined by, were the Pels. Peter Pels the son. With his parents, Hermann Van Pels (Peters father), and Auguste (Peters mother) went into hiding with the Franks. Herman Van Pels was Otto Franks business partner.
The two families went into hiding in what has now become the Anne Frank museum. It is also referred to as the 'Secret Annex.'
Anne began to write her diary before she entered the Secret Annex. Two days after receiving the diary on her 13th birthday, Anne began writing the diary. She continued to write the diary throughout her time in the Secret Annex. The two families spent just over two years in the Secret Annex. Here are some extracts from Anne Franks diary: October 9th 1942: “Today I have nothing but dismal and depressing news to report. Our many Jewish friends and acquaintances are being taken away in droves. The Gestapo is treating them very roughly and transporting them in cattle cars to Westerbork, the big camp in Drenthe to which they’re sending all the Jews. Miep told us about someone who’d managed to escape from there. It must be terrible in Westerbork. The people get almost nothing to eat, much less to drink, as water is available only one hour a day, and there’s only one toilet and sink for several thousand people. Men and women sleep in the same room, and women and children often have their heads shaved. Escape is almost impossible; many people look Jewish, and they’re branded by their shorn heads. If it’s that bad in Holland, what must it be like in those faraway and uncivilized places where the Germans are sending them? We assume that most of them are beingurdered. The English radio says they’re being gassed. Perhaps that’s the quickest way to die. I feel terrible. Miep’s accounts of these horrors are so heartrending… Fine specimens of humanity, those Germans, and to think I’m actually one of them! No, that’s not true, Hitler took away our nationality long ago. And besides, there are no greater enemies on earth than the Germans and Jews.” November 19th 1942: “Mr. Dussel has told us much about the outside world we’ve missed for so long. He had sad news. Countless friends and acquaintances have been taken off to a dreadful fate. Night after night, green and gray military vehicles cruise the streets. They knock on every door, asking whether any Jews live there. If so, the whole family is immediately taken away. If not, they proceed to the next house. It’s impossible to escape their clutches unless you go into hiding. They often go around with lists, knocking only on those doors where they know there’s a big haul to be made. They frequently offer a bounty, so much per head. It’s like the slave hunts of the olden days… I feel wicked sleeping in a warm bed, while somewhere out there my dearest friends are dropping from exhaustion or being knocked to the ground. I get frightened myself when I think of close friends who are now at the mercy of the cruelest monsters ever to stalk the earth. And all because they’re Jews.” July 15th 1944: “It’s utterly impossible for me to build my life on foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too will end, that peace and tranquility will return once more. In the meantime, I must hold on to my ideals. Perhaps the day will come when I’ll be able to realize them.” The two families were found by Nazi officers in August 1944. It's up for debate whether or not the finding of the two families was an accidental discovery, or, they were betrayed. For decades since the end of the Second World War, it was believed that the two families were betrayed. And given over to the Nazis. However, recently it has been suggested that that may not have been true. A new theory suggests that the families weren't betrayed. Instead, the discovery of those in the secret was accidental. It has been suggested that the raid which took place in August 1944 wasn't to do with the Secret Annex, but a raid that took place because of suspected fraud at the complex. Two men who worked in the complex were arrested for possession of illegal ration coupons. It is suggested that illegal activity, such as this, in the building, was the reason why the complex was raided. That raid was responsible for the discovery of the Franks and the Pels. The tragic thing is that this raid happened just several months before World War Two ended. What is even more tragic, is that Anne Frank died just weeks before the British liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was liberated on the 15th of April 1945. While Anne Frank died in either February or March that year, in 1945. It seems like a cruel twist of fate.
2 Comments
RMaganti
13/6/2017 19:06:40
One of the moving stories of WWII.
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Real Time History
13/6/2017 21:40:55
You are right, it is. It's heartbreaking. It gives us an insight into how people were during this time.
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