Anne Frank And Her Diary

They arrived in Amsterdam where Otto sets up a business, but after a family attempt to emigrate to England and the US, the Frank family decides to go into hiding. Otto furnishes the house behind his business premises and this becomes the hiding place.

On June 12, 1942, Anne’s parents gave her a red checkered diary for her 13th birthday. She wrote her first entry, addressed to an imaginary friend named Kitty, that same day: “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.”

The family spent two years in hiding, never once stepping outside the dark, damp, sequestered portion of the building. To pass the time, Anne wrote extensive daily entries in her diary. Some betrayed the depth of despair into which she occasionally sunk during day after day of confinement.

“I’ve reached the point where I hardly care whether I live or die,” she wrote on February 3, 1944. “The world will keep on turning without me, and I can’t do anything to change events anyway.” However, the act of writing allowed Anne to maintain her sanity and her spirits. “When I write, I can shake off all my cares,” she wrote on April 5, 1944.

Next Page: Her Famous Quotes