It must have been an interesting day for Otto Frank returning to Amsterdam after the end of World War 2 and visiting a place that he and his family lived for 2 years. His family and another family spent a little over 2 years in a spacious attic that was in an office building he once worked at. It wasn’t somewhere they wanted to be but it was a place they felt like they had to be. Mr. Frank and his family had to leave Germany to escape the reach of Hitler’s power that was increasing by the day and went to Amsterdam. It was far safer to be living in Amsterdam for a family that was part Jewish. Their freedom wouldn’t last long in Amsterdam as Hitler’s men took camp inside the borders there and the Frank family knew they would have to seek refuge somewhere else. Instead of going to another country, Otto Frank was secretly preparing an attic space inside of his office building, so that his family and another family could go into hiding there. The plan worked well for 2 years before they were betrayed by an unknown source. All 8 people that were living in the attic were taken to concentration camps, where they would all die with the exception of Otto Frank. After the end of the War, Mr. Frank returned to Amsterdam and visited the attic once again. Several things were left in the attic that brought back memories, but a little diary that his youngest daughter had written in, would become something that people would read all around the world and in 67 different languages.

Anne Frank was that youngest daughter and perhaps you have heard about The Diary of Anne Frank? What did she write in that diary to gain such world-wide fame? Did she discover the cure for the common cold? Did her diary contain a mathematical equation that was better than Albert Einstein’s? What magical words could a young 13 year-old girl write that anyone would care about today? She simply wrote about the days of her life in that attic, the family squabbles that went on, her personal feelings about her sexuality as she was getting older, and other things; that any other 13 year-old girl would write about today. The diary was about as common as you could get, if you took out all of the references of the War and her family in hiding.

The Diary of Anne Frank is special because it gave many a glimpse into the horrors of Hitler’s Germany and all of the torment and pain they were causing to so many other Jewish families. The Frank family actually had descent living quarters, compared to those that were hiding in damp basements or dusty attics. The comfortable living arrangement, if you can call it “comfortable”, was the work of Otto Frank and the time and preparations he took is the main reason we have this literature today.

I couldn’t imagine living in an attic with 7 other people over a 2 year span and it’s remarkable that the family lasted that long. They did have outside help from people that would bring them groceries and supplies, but often it was not enough and everyone stayed hungry and uncomfortable for most of those 2 years. Germans were actually using the lower office floors as a workplace, so Anne Frank and everyone else living in that attic had to be very quiet during the day. This meant no running water, only whispering, walking around with no shoes on, and making as little noise as possible. They had more freedom during the night, after the Germans went home, and I’m sure a lot of the screaming, shouting, and fussing that was going on would have been at night.

These two families endured so much and this story should of had a happy ending, but that wouldn’t be the case. The family got betrayed and were arrested and sent to concentration camps. It’s been said that Anne was always full of energy in the attic and she remained that way at the concentration camps too. She would later on die from typhus just days after her sister Margot had passed away.

The Diary that Anne Frank wrote in was a birthday gift on her 13th birthday (June 12) and the diary chronicles her life from June 12, 1942 until August 1, 1944. She is recognized for her excellent writing skills for such a young girl and today she is one of the most famous victims of the Holocaust. The books published on her diary writings are some of the most read books of all time and she also has several movies and documentaries that try to bring her work to life.

“I don’t think of all the misery but of the beauty that still remains.”

Anne Frank

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

Anne Frank

 Otto Frank                  Edith Frank               Margot Frank              Anne Frank