The Diary of a Young Girl is one of the most acclaimed works of the 20th century. Written by Anne Frank from 1942 to 1944, the diary reveals the humanity of those who suffered at the hands of the Nazis during their occupation of the Netherlands. The diary was preserved by Anne’s friend, Miep Gies, and shared for publication by her father, Otto Frank, after the war.
Anne wrote about her experiences regarding anger, love, puberty, and fear as she and her family hid from an occupying force that wished to see her and her Jewish counterparts dead. Tight quarters, limited food, and the inability to go outside took an emotional toll on Anne and her fellow residents. This led to tensions that reflected the raging war taking place outside of their hiding place.
In 1942, Anne Frank described the Nazi’s occupation of Amsterdam, the life she lived before hiding, her family’s move into a secret Annex, and her feelings about her new environment. Anne received a diary as a gift for her 13th birthday. She loved the gift and began to confide in it almost immediately.
In 1940, the Germans invaded the Netherlands and began implementing anti-Jewish restrictions such as curfews for Jews and limitations on transportation. At the end of the school year, Margot, Anne’s 15-year old sister, received a call-up from the SS, a Nazi paramilitary force. Receiving a call-up almost always meant being sent to a concentration camp.
The next morning, Otto and Edith Frank, Anne’s parents, decided to move their family into a hiding place before Margot had to report for her summons. Two of Otto’s business partners, Mr. Kleiman and Mr. Kugler, agreed to hide them in a hidden Annex in their office. Another family, the van Daans, would be joining the Franks in hiding. In addition to the two businessmen, a few others were informed of their move into hiding: Jan, Miep, Bep, and Mr. Voskuijl.
The Annex had previously been used as a laboratory for Mr. Kugler. It was originally hidden away behind a series of doors and offices. After a few weeks, a bookshelf was installed in front of the door to further hide it from workers and police. The Annex was three stories and contained multiple small bedrooms, a kitchen/dining area, and a bathroom. Though the space wasn’t large enough to ensure total privacy, the residents had enough space to be on their own if they needed to be. The residents also used a private office in the building, but to avoid discovery, that office could only be used after hours as it wasn’t directly connected to the Annex and could be accessed by Mr. Kleiman and Mr. Kugler’s employees.
The van Daans arrived about a week after the Franks. The family consisted of three people: Mr. van Daan, Mrs. van Daan, and their 16-year old son Peter van Daan. Anne didn’t like them at first. She constantly fought with Mr. and Mrs. van Daan, who thought Anne had a bad attitude, and she thought that Peter was obnoxious.
A variety of conflicts and scenarios led to immediate tension within the Annex. Some were personality-related while others were isolated incidents. Regardless, the close quarters and inability to escape led to constant frustration and arguments:
A combination of the internal conflicts and the fear of discovery took its toll on Anne’s emotional well-being. The adults often criticized Anne for being arrogant and selfish, especially when she disagreed with them. With the constant criticism, she began wondering if she actually was as poorly behaved as the adults implied. She felt torn because she knew that she was supposed to smile and take the abuse, but she wanted nothing more than to defend herself and speak out.
In early November, as reports of persecution grew more intense, the residents of the Annex decided to bring in a new member—Albert Dussel, a local dentist. Dussel moved in in mid-November. The residents of the Annex welcomed him with coffee and cognac.
Once they talked him through the rules, they began to ask Dussel for updates on the outside world. He revealed that many of their friends had been taken to concentration camps. He told them that the Nazis had intensified their efforts to find Jewish people and began taking entire families out of their homes. As Anne heard these stories, she began to feel guilty for her own security in the Annex. She questioned why she should be able to hide in safety while so many others were suffering at the hands of the Germans.
At first, Anne took a liking to Dussel. She thought he was nice and selfless. He was a bit slow to learn the rules, but this didn’t bother her because she knew he needed time to adapt to the new environment. However, her opinion of him quickly began to change as he turned out to be more selfish and strict than Anne originally thought.
Because she had to share a room with him, she was the first to see his true personality. He’d constantly correct Anne and admonish her for her behavior. He also kept a rigid schedule and would get angry if anyone bothered him when he tried to go about his day. While Anne thought about acting out in revenge, she figured it would only end with more trouble for her.
Six months into living in the Annex, tensions began to spike within the secret home. While Anne and her “Annex family” tried to hold onto hope, growing frustration and resentment led to constant fighting between the members of the household. The conflicts inside the home were intensified by constant fear as WWII continued to rage on throughout Europe.
Anne’s fights with her mother, the van Daans, and Dussel began to escalate. She cried herself to sleep often and couldn’t understand why they constantly felt the need to point out her shortcomings. Her mother would often tell her that she should behave like her sister, Margot. However, Anne knew that she wasn’t anything like her sister, nor did she want to be. She thought Margot was too timid and weak-willed. Anne wanted to be outspoken, not passive.
In addition to the arguments in the Annex, the residents had to deal with other issues such as rats and burglary scares. As their time in the Annex continued, the residents of the Annex tried to hold onto hope despite the desperate nature of their situation. They listened closely for updates on the war and hoped for a quick Allied invasion and liberation. Throughout the day, they would try to keep themselves occupied with other tasks, such as education or reading, and would make jokes to lighten the mood.
The helpers of the residents of the Annex did their best to provide resources and information on a regular basis. They would give the residents food, books, presents, and medicine. However, because of health issues and other obligations, there were times that they were unable to offer their assistance. Mr. Kleiman suffered from medical conditions and had to have surgeries. Miep and Bep tried to juggle work, life, and support all while avoiding rousing suspicions from Nazi forces. Worst of all, Mr. Voskuijl discovered that he had cancer.
As time continued in the Annex, tensions between the residents grew. Edith and Anne bickered frequently about Anne’s tendency to “talk back,” the adults got into intense arguments about food, and Dussel fought with everyone about the space he was entitled to. In addition to the heightened internal tensions, constant air raids had everyone on edge. One night, Anne was so terrified of the gunfire that she packed up her bags in preparation to leave should the building be destroyed. However, her mother informed her that, should that happen, they’d have nowhere to go.
In the warehouse, some of the employees began to grow curious about the Annex and its contents. The helpers would constantly make excuses to keep people from investigating and were extra cautious when visiting the residents. For example, Mr. Kugler once snuck up to the Annex through a set of back stairs after telling his employees he was going to the drugstore. He tried to leave the Annex through the main door, but an employee was hanging around the office space. He ended up having to sneak down the back stairs in his socks to avoid detection because his shoes made too much noise.
Inside of the Annex, Dussel’s rapport with his fellow residents continued to deteriorate. From throwing a fit over having to turn over their radio to the Germans to stating that the English were idiots for not destroying Italy in its entirety, Dussel’s attitude began to wear on the others. Though he would apologize and swear to be “better,” the residents no longer believed in his hollow promises.
Anne stopped speaking as frequently as she had in the past. She recognized that the more she kept to herself, the less annoyed she would get with other people and vice versa. However, despite trying to stay away from the fighting, Anne developed severe anxiety and depression. She used valerian drops to try to ease her mental woes, but they didn’t do much. She said that laughter would be the best medicine, but that there wasn’t much to laugh and smile about in the Annex.
As the year came to an end, the residents of the Annex prepared for their second winter. Though illness and constant fighting plagued morale, the holidays provided a brief reprieve from the stress of isolation and hiding. This glimmer of hope prompted the residents to be more relaxed with their rules and restrictions. While this gave them a taste of “normal” life again, it also put them at risk of possible detection.
As the winter months began, Anne’s depression and anxiety got worse. The combination of constant fear and crippling loneliness led Anne to lose her appetite and sleep for significant periods of time. She said that sleep made the days go by faster and the fear less impactful.
However, as she began to sleep more, she started having nightmares. In one recurring dream, Anne would see her classmate, Hanneli, dressed in rags and crying out in desperation. She’d ask Anne to save her, but Anne never could. She prayed to God to save her former classmate from her torment. In later dreams, Hanneli was joined by Anne’s grandmother.
In October, the van Daans ran out of funds and could no longer afford to give their helpers money to pay for supplies. Mr. and Mrs. van Daan had constant fights about their financial state and often disagreed on how to handle their lack of funds. In addition to financial arguments, the van Daan’s constantly fought with Dussel. These conflicts got so bad that Dussel and the van Daans refused to speak to one another for a period of time.
On top of everything, the distribution of food became problematic. The Franks accused the van Daans of keeping food from the rest of the residents. They were frying fewer potatoes for the group and weren’t giving out oils and meat fairly.
1944 marked a change for Anne. In her diary entries, she began discussing changes in her body as well as new perspectives on life in the Annex, her relationships with her fellow residents, and her future after the war.
As the new year began, Anne spent time reflecting on her life before the Annex. Before going into hiding, Anne didn’t think about “serious things” very often. She fought much harder for the approval of her family and allowed her emotions to dictate her behavior.
While she recognized that she still had a lot of growing up to do, she noted the ways in which she had matured and the ways in which life in the Annex had impacted her development. For example, she recognized that she’d painted her mother and Mrs. van Daan in a negative light in her older diary entries. While she still didn’t want to spend a lot of time with either of them, she admitted that her depiction of them was harsher than necessary.
As her loneliness grew, Anne decided to confide in Peter. Though, at first, he was an outlet for Anne to vent to, she began to take an actual liking to him. She described the warm feeling she got looking into his eyes and making him blush. Initially, she insisted that she wasn’t in love with him, but her affections grew the more time she spent with him.
Soon, Peter started to confide in Anne. She appreciated his honesty and was glad that someone trusted her. In addition to his frustrations, he also talked to Anne about his dreams and insecurities. He told her that he wanted to go to the Dutch East Indies to work and that he wished he weren’t Jewish because life seemed to be so much easier for non-Jewish people. He also suffered from a serious inferiority complex and longed for affection.
As Anne and Peter started to spend significant time together, Anne started to develop romantic feelings for him. She talked about him constantly and was upset on days they didn’t speak much. She tried to find excuses to go to his room to talk and began referring to Peter as “him” in her diary. Even his smallest actions had a profound impact on her. For example, she once said that she started glowing once after he just looked at her. She thought about him all of the time and began to dream about him.
In early March, Anne again became annoyed with the behavior of the adults in the Annex. She believed they were behaving selfishly and didn’t consider other people’s feelings when they spoke. Anne wanted to be free of her parents’ oversight and distanced herself from them because they didn’t treat her like an adult or respect her emotions.
In mid-March, the tension inside of the Annex intensified because the people who had been supplying food and ration coupons to the residents were arrested. While the arrested parties were eventually released, the residents were forced to eat rotten food for a while. The stench was so bad that they had to cover their noses with rags to deal with the rancid smell.
The van Daans would fight with one another constantly, and these fights had a negative effect on Peter. He was frustrated with his parents' constant bickering. He wanted to be close to his parents, but he didn’t feel like he could trust them. He expressed his feelings to Anne and appreciated her company. He said that her support and optimism helped him when he was struggling.
Eventually, Peter and Anne became close enough to openly discuss taboo topics such as sex. Anne admitted that she and Margot hadn’t been told much about sex. Peter, on the other hand, knew quite a bit. He told Anne about contraceptives and the process of puberty for boys. Anne never thought that she could have these conversations with someone of the opposite sex.
Near the end of March, the adults started commenting on the relationship between Peter and Anne. The van Daans nicknamed Peter’s room “Anne’s second home” and made jokes about an Annex wedding. Edith and Otto worried about Anne going into Peter’s room alone because they were afraid that the children would act inappropriately. This led Edith to forbid Anne from visiting Peter’s room. Anne wasn’t willing to give up on Peter easily, and she tried to figure out a way to get around her mother’s restrictions.
As food became more scarce, the residents began eating in “food cycles.” A food cycle was a period of time in which they would only eat one type of food. For example, the residents could only get their hands on endives for a while, so they’d eat it at every meal. While they would supplement the dishes with potatoes and beans, the residents grew tired of the lack of variety.
On April 11, a break-in occurred at the warehouse. The men of the Annex heard a loud noise and left the Annex to investigate. When they got to the warehouse, they saw the thieves robbing the shop. Mr. van Daan startled them by crying out, “Police!” The burglars ran and broke down a panel leading outside as they escaped. Mr. van Daan and Peter went down to replace the panel and were seen by two people outside of the warehouse. Afraid that they’d be mistaken for the thieves, Mr. van Daan and Peter ran back to their hiding place and prayed the people outside hadn’t called the police.
Following this encounter, the residents enacted some changes in the Annex:
Peter and Anne became closer both emotionally and physically. One day, Peter and Anne shared a kiss and cuddled in the attic. Anne was exhilarated by the development in their relationship. However, she wondered what her parents would think and worried about the scandal that her actions could cause.
The Annex suffered a severe loss after Mr. van Hoeven, the man who helped deliver potatoes to the residents, was arrested for hiding two Jews in his home. Anne lamented the state of the world and questioned the purpose of war. She hated that good people were being arrested for helping others while those driven by hatred were free to roam the streets and persecute others.
After talking with Peter, Anne decided to tell her father about their relationship. While Otto seemed okay with it at first, he wasn’t comfortable with Anne becoming physically and romantically involved. He told Anne that she would have to show more restraint because Peter may get the wrong idea about Anne’s affection and try to get physically involved with her.
In response, Anne wrote her father a letter protesting his suggestion to stay away from Peter. In the letter, she claimed her independence and said that she no longer needed the support of Otto or Edith. Peter made her happy, and she wanted to continue her relationship with him. She told her father that he’d either have to forbid her from visiting Peter altogether or accept that she was going to spend time with him.
Her father was saddened by Anne’s note and told Anne that it was the most hurtful letter he’d ever received. He believed that he and Edith had always supported Anne. While he ultimately forgave her for her words, he was upset by Anne’s lack of gratitude. Anne felt guilty about giving her father the letter. However, she stood behind what she said and wanted to continue her relationship with Peter, even though she didn’t have her father’s approval.
Though she had become more confident in herself, Anne still struggled with her insecurities surrounding her personality. The adults of the Annex often accused her of being arrogant, and their words made Anne question what she was doing to deserve such a title. She was her own harshest critic and reproached herself for her seemingly unattractive behaviors.
In addition to her insecurity, Anne was concerned about her relationship with Peter. She knew that he liked her, but she felt like something was holding their relationship back. While she appreciated his friendship, she wanted more. She was still desperately in love with him and couldn’t go a day without talking to him. Peter was more closed off than Anne, and she wanted to continue to break through his hardened exterior.
She feared that their fast movement toward intimacy hindered their relationship. She thought that their discussions about sex and their shared kisses actually prevented them from having a deeper relationship in which they talked about more serious things. She regretted the way their relationship had developed and worried that she may never develop the meaningful connection that she wanted.
In her final diary entry, Anne talked about the two sides of her personality. She felt like a walking contradiction, with one side of her being more sarcastic and carefree while the other side wanted deeper and more meaningful connections. She was afraid that people would mock her if she showed her more vulnerable side, and she only let that part of her personality emerge when she was alone.
On August 4, 1944, the Annex was raided by the SS. It is believed that someone tipped off the authorities to the hide-out. The helpers of the Annex were arrested (with the exceptions of Miep and Bep, who both evaded police custody):
Dussel, the Franks, and the van Daans were sent to concentration camps:
The Diary of a Young Girl is one of the most acclaimed works of the 20th century. Written by Anne Frank from 1942 to 1944, the diary reveals the humanity of those who suffered at the hands of the Nazis during their occupation of the Netherlands. The diary was preserved by Anne’s friend, Miep Gies, and shared for publication by her father, Otto Frank, after the war.
In 1942, Anne Frank described the Nazi’s occupation of Amsterdam, the life she lived before hiding, her family’s move into a secret Annex, and her feelings about her new environment. Anne received a diary as a gift for her 13th birthday. She loved the gift and began to confide in it almost immediately.
She believed that her diary had more patience than her friends, and that she would be able to share her deepest secrets without fear of judgment or abandonment. Because she saw the diary as a “friend,” she decided to give it a name: Kitty. She addressed most of her entries as if she was writing to “Kitty” and wrote as though she was speaking to a close friend.
(Shortform note: To give context to the events described in the diary, we’ve included some historical information about WWII at the end of each chapter.)
Anne was the daughter of Otto and Edith Frank and had a 15-year old sister named Margot. Anne was born in 1929 and lived in Frankfurt, Germany until she was four. As anti-Semitism grew in Germany, the Franks moved to Holland to escape persecution. She was enrolled in a Montessori school and moved to the Jewish Lyceum after 6th grade.
In 1940, the Germans invaded the Netherlands. In 1942, they implemented strict anti-Jewish restrictions, including:
Despite these overwhelming restrictions, Anne lived a relatively normal life before going into hiding. She went to school and had friends. In her diary, she talks about her ever-changing relationships with her classmates and the youthful frustrations of an average 13-year old girl. These frustrations included deciding who her best friend was and figuring out which boys liked her. Her restrictions impeded her at times (she couldn’t go to the movies with her friends and had to walk everywhere), but she kept her focus on her schoolwork and classmates.
As the summer progressed, a boy named Hello began to take an interest in Anne, and he would talk with her on her walk to school. Though the pair began to talk more frequently, Hello’s grandmother thought that Anne was too young for him and tried to get him to date another girl. Hello didn’t like this idea and went behind his grandparents’ backs to see Anne and meet her family. However, Anne wasn’t interested in a romantic relationship with Hello. While she was flattered by the attention, she was in love with a boy named Peter Schiff. Though she and Peter had never talked about loving each other, Anne was convinced that she was going to marry him.
Having taken their final exams, she and her classmates were anxiously waiting to hear who got promoted to the next grade level, and who would have to stay back. As she waited for the results, Anne reflected on her past year in class. She and her teachers got along pretty well, though Anne had a tendency to talk too much in class. She was once given multiple assignments by a teacher as a direct result of her constant chatter.
In the beginning of July, Anne got her final results back. She had done alright, but she was disappointed with some of her final grades. Though she was promoted, she wanted to be an excellent student, not just an average one. Her desire to excel came from insecurities that stemmed from the fact that she had been accepted to the Jewish Lyceum because the Nazis required Jewish students to attend Jewish schools, not because of her own educational merits. She felt the need to prove that she belonged there.
A few days after receiving her final marks, Anne’s life turned upside down. Her sister, Margot, told her that their father had received a call-up from the SS, a Nazi paramilitary force. Receiving a call-up almost always meant being sent to a concentration camp. Margot told Anne that they were figuring out if they could move into a hiding space they’d been preparing and that another family (the van Daans) would be joining them.
Throughout the day, Anne and Margot were on edge as preparations began. At this time, Margot revealed that the SS call-up was meant for her, not for her father. Anne was shocked at the revelation that the Germans were separating 16-year old girls from their families. The pair began to pack as they waited for their parents to tell them the next step.
The family slept in their home one last time that night, then woke up early the next morning to move to their hiding place. They wore multiple layers of clothing as they couldn’t carry suitcases without arousing suspicion and left in a hurry. As they walked to their new home, Anne’s parents began to slowly reveal the plan to their daughters. They explained that they had been preparing to hide in a secret Annex located in Otto’s office, but hadn’t planned to have to do so for another ten days.
Fortunately, Mr. Kleiman and Mr. Kugler (Otto’s business associates) were able to bring them in early. In addition to the two businessmen, a few family friends were informed of their move into hiding: Jan, Miep, Bep, and Mr. Voskuijl. These people were going to help the Franks and van Daans during their time in the hiding.
The Annex had previously been used as a laboratory for Mr. Kugler. It was originally hidden away behind a series of doors and offices. After a few weeks, a bookshelf was installed in front of the door to further hide it from workers and police. The Annex was three stories and contained multiple small bedrooms, a kitchen/dining area, and a bathroom. Though the space wasn’t large enough to ensure total privacy, the residents had enough space to be on their own if they needed to be. The residents also used a private office in the building, but that office could only be used after hours as it wasn’t directly connected to the Annex and could be accessed by Mr. Kleiman and Mr. Kugler’s employees.
After arriving in the Annex, the Franks immediately began unpacking boxes they had sent in advance and got to work covering windows to avoid detection. They had to move quietly as the Annex shared walls with two other companies, and any sound could lead to dire consequences. Margot and Edith had to take significant breaks because they were overwhelmed by their new environment, but Anne and Otto worked consistently.
Even within the first few days, tensions inside the Annex began to rise. Anne was frustrated because she felt her mother treated Margot better than she treated her. For example, Margot broke the vacuum and was immediately forgiven, but Anne asked to simply write down something on a shopping list and was yelled at for it. This caused Anne to cry and question whether anyone would ever truly understand her. She felt the closest to her father, but she felt that even he would usually side with Margot and her mother.
The van Daans arrived about a week after the Franks. They told the Franks that they had helped spread the lie that the Franks had fled the country to ensure that no one was looking for them. The family consisted of three people: Mr. van Daan, Mrs. van Daan, and their son Peter van Daan. Anne didn’t like them at first. She constantly fought with Mr. and Mrs. van Daan, who thought Anne had a bad attitude, and she thought that Peter was obnoxious.
The Dutch forces surrendered to Nazi forces following the Battle of Rotterdam in 1940. The Dutch Royal Family and high-ranking government officials fled to London while the Germans put their own governing body in place. Throughout the beginning of the occupation, the Dutch people didn’t fight back. In fact, they experienced an economic boom as they exported weapons and supplies to Germany.
However, in 1941, this changed when the Russians began to defeat the Nazis in the East. Desperate for resources, the Germans began to force Dutch citizens to work for them and demanded supplies be sent back to Germany for free. In addition to the persecution of all Dutch citizens, the Nazis upped their efforts to find and remove Jewish citizens through increased anti-Semitic legislation and increased deportation rates to concentration camps.
To keep busy while in hiding, each resident focused on education and/or hobbies. Almost everyone read and looked forward to receiving new books from their outside helpers. The children all received educational material and were required to study. The courses the children worked on included math, history, and languages.
In their daily lives, certain tasks had to be addressed creatively. For instance, bathing became difficult because they didn’t have a bathtub. When it was someone’s turn to bathe, they’d fill a washtub with hot water from the office, then carry the tub to a location in the Annex based on their comfortability and modesty. For example, Peter would bathe in the office after the employees had left despite the glass windows and door. He would just inform the other residents not to walk by for half an hour. Mr. van Daan, on the other hand, would fill the tub and carry it all the way up to his room to protect his privacy.
Anne constantly dreamed of freedom. She wanted to go outside and be around people again. In one example, she imagined herself and her father escaping to Switzerland and going shopping. She listed all of the things that she would buy and even set a budget for herself.
A variety of conflicts and scenarios led to immediate tension within the Annex. Some were personality-related, while others were isolated incidents. Regardless, the close quarters and the inability to escape led to constant frustration and arguments.
For Anne, her mother was one person she constantly found herself in conflict with. She believed that her mother didn’t understand her and thought that she went out of her way to shame her. Anne’s mother would often tell her that she was foolish and arrogant. For example, one time, they were talking about the proper term to refer to maids and domestic helpers. When Anne disagreed with her mother, her mother proceeded to tell Anne that she wasn’t a lady and that she spent too much time thinking about the future. The only time Anne believed that her mother was on her side was when they fought with Mrs. van Daan.
Mrs. van Daan was a constant source of conflict for everyone in the Annex. She and her husband would have intense screaming matches, she would try to flirt with Otto, and she and Edith constantly disagreed about how the makeshift home should be run. Mrs. van Daan also took it upon herself to constantly criticize Anne’s assertive and “un-ladylike” behavior. These constant critiques began to make Anne feel insecure.
According to Anne, Mrs. van Daan was melodramatic and always had to be the center of attention but wasn’t the best at defending her statements. She would sometimes leave conversations if she wasn’t getting her way. She constantly complained and committed petty actions that hindered the rest of the residents. For example, she would sometimes leave food to spoil on dishes instead of cleaning it to call people out for leaving messes.
In an example of an isolated incident, Peter found a book the adults had kept away from the children. The book had to do with women, and the adults didn’t want the children reading books written for an adult audience. However, Peter’s curiosity got the best of him. He went behind his parents’ backs to read the book. Mr. and Mrs. van Daan caught him and punished him for his disobedience. Initially, Peter refused to apologize and stayed in his room in the loft. However, after a few days of sulking, things returned to normal. At the time, Anne didn’t like Peter’s behavior and often referred to him as awkward and insolent.
While Anne had issues with many of the other residents in the Annex, she always turned to her father for support. She believed that he understood her, even if he felt obligated to side with the adults on certain matters. She couldn’t envision a world without him and loved him more than she loved her mother. She felt like he would actually listen to her despite her age.
In addition to the constant disagreements inside of the Annex, the residents in hiding constantly worried about being discovered. Whenever someone was in the office or warehouse, the residents had to remain silent and calculate every action. Sometimes, these were expected visits such as a plumber coming to fix pipes in the office building. Other times, however, these were unexpected scares that caused fear to spike.
For example, Mr. Kleiman and Mr. Kugler once had a worker come in to fill the fire extinguishers, but he failed to tell the Annex residents. When the man started working, tensions rose and no one moved. A few minutes after the noise began, everything went silent. After a few minutes, someone began yanking and knocking on the bookshelf leading to the Annex. The residents thought that they had been discovered, but it turned out that it was just Mr. Kleiman. He told them that the hook holding the door had gotten stuck, which was why he had been unable to get in to warn them about the worker.
A combination of the internal conflicts and the fear of discovery took its toll on Anne’s emotional well-being. With the constant criticism, she began wondering if she actually was as terrible as all of the adults in the Annex said that she was. She felt torn because she knew that she was supposed to smile and take the abuse, but she wanted nothing more than to defend herself and speak out.
As 1942 continued, the Nazis began intensifying their search for Jewish citizens. Jews were being herded into cattle cars and sent away to concentration camps by the thousands. They would often be given nothing to eat or drink and would have their heads shaved, regardless of gender. The living conditions were miserable, and many were being sent to the gas chambers to die.
Even non-Jewish citizens were feeling the impact of war. Dutch men were being sent to Germany to work for the Nazis in factories. If they tried to escape, they’d be killed. In addition, if the Germans were searching for an anti-Nazi saboteur, they’d pull random citizens from the street and threaten to kill them if one of them didn’t give them information. They’d line them up against the wall and kill them one by. The German media called these “fatal accidents.”
In the Annex, food supply was a crucial part of survival. The residents received bread from a friend of Mr. Klieman and purchased ration books on the black market. They also canned food and purchased 300 pounds of beans to ensure they had food that wouldn’t spoil. In a close call turned humorous moment, Peter was moving a sack of beans when the seams tore and the beans fell everywhere. The noise was deafening, and, for a moment, Anne worried about the noise it made. Once they knew they were safe, they all shared a good laugh and got to cleaning the floor.
The residents of the Annex celebrated their first Hanukkah and St. Nicholas Day in hiding. They were given small presents such as dolls, ashtrays, and bookends courtesy of their helpers. In addition to the gifts, they received extra portions of food, including meat and butter. Mr. van Daan, who had been in the meat business, got to work preparing the meat to make bratwursts and sausages. This activity intrigued all of the residents of the Annex, and they hypnotically watched him work.
In early November, the residents of the Annex decided to bring in a new member. As reports of persecution grew more intense, Mr. Kugler and Mr. Kleiman agreed to bring in Albert Dussel, a local dentist. Dussel moved in in mid-November. The residents of the Annex welcomed him with coffee and cognac. He was stunned to see the Franks as he had heard word of their escape. They explained their ruse and brought him up to speed with the rules of the Annex.
Once they talked him through the rules, they began to ask Dussel for updates on the outside world. He revealed that many of their friends had been taken to concentration camps. He told them that the Nazis had intensified their efforts to find Jewish people and began taking entire families out of their homes. As Anne heard these stories, she began to feel guilty for her own security in the Annex. She questioned why she should be able to hide in safety while so many others were suffering at the hands of the Germans.
In addition to news, Dussel also brought along his dental tools. He agreed to remove cavities and help with dental hygiene. His first patient, Mrs. van Daan, didn’t take well to his operation and began flailing around as he worked. This led to one of the tools getting stuck in her tooth and Dussel having to forcibly remove the tool to continue the operation.
At first, Anne took a liking to Dussel. She thought he was nice and selfless. He was a bit slow to learn the rules, but she thought this was because he needed time to adapt to the new environment. However, her opinion of him quickly began to change as he turned out to be more selfish and strict than Anne originally thought.
Because she had to share a room with him, she was the first to see his true personality. He’d constantly correct Anne and admonish her for her behavior. He also kept a rigid schedule and would get angry if anyone bothered him when he tried to go about his day. While Anne thought about acting out in revenge, she figured it would only end with more trouble for her.
The Nazi’s violence towards the Jews continued to escalate. They began going door-to-door searching for Jewish families and offered bounties to anyone who gave up the locations of Jewish citizens. Military vehicles patrolled the streets at night and Jewish citizens (including women and children) were beaten and forced to march to the trains to be transported to camps.
In November, the British forces had a few successful campaigns in Africa while the Russian forces managed to hold Stalingrad against German attacks. These victories gave the Dutch people hope for eventual liberation.
While Anne and her “Annex family” tried to hold onto hope, growing frustration and resentment led to constant fighting between the members of the household. The conflicts inside the home were intensified by constant fear as WWII continued to rage on throughout Europe. Anne’s fights with her mother, the van Daans, and Dussel began to escalate. She cried herself to sleep often and couldn’t understand why they constantly felt the need to point out her shortcomings.
Her mother would often tell her that she should behave like her sister, Margot. However, Anne knew that she wasn’t anything like her sister, nor did she want to be. She thought Margot was too timid and weak-willed. Anne wanted to be outspoken, not passive. She wanted to get some distance from them, but, given the circumstances, had nowhere to go.
As the new year began, the residents had to deal with a number of issues such as:
As their time in the Annex continued, the residents of the Annex listened closely for updates on the war and hoped for a quick Allied invasion and liberation. Throughout the day, they would try to keep themselves occupied with other tasks, such as education or reading, and would make jokes to lighten the mood.
As the war raged on outside of the Annex, Anne thought about how fortunate she and her family were to have support and a place to hide. She sympathized with the people facing the Nazi threat directly and expressed gratitude that she was able to avoid that fate at the time. She compared her experience in the Annex to the people still out on the street:
As the war raged on, various countries and organizations discussed getting involved to push against the Nazi forces. For example, bishops encouraged parishioners to take action against the Nazi invasion and countries such as Turkey talked about dropping their neutral status to join the Allied push. These efforts gave the people of Holland hope as the German occupation continued.
The Allies upped the frequency of their bombings in Germany. This included tactical attacks in Nuremberg, Munich, and Berlin. German radio programs brought on wounded soldiers from both these attacks and the invasion efforts in Russia to discuss their injuries and their pride for the Nazi party. These broadcasts were heard by people across German-occupied territories in an effort to rally public opinion against the Allies.
In Amsterdam, resistance movements began appearing. They targeted important Nazi strongholds and structures such as the Labor Exchange and the County Clerk’s Office. These movements showed that the local population was not going to continue to accept German occupation silently.
Anne often wondered what life was going to be like after the war. While her family wasn’t overly concerned with class or manners while in hiding, she wondered if their way of life would ever return to normal. She thought that things such as using the same cloth for a table cover and not changing the sheets lowered their position in society.
A few members of the Annex voiced their opinions on the war and outside conflicts:
On the health front, Anne had to drop her shorthand course because her poor eyesight was preventing her from being able to perform necessary tasks for the class. The residents of the Annex discussed how they were going to get her the glasses that she needed. One idea was to sneak her out to an ophthalmologist, and, while this idea was ultimately rejected, it made Anne long to return to the outside world.
The helpers of the residents of the Annex did their best to provide resources and information on a regular basis, including food, books, presents, and medicine. However, because of health issues and other obligations, there were times that they were unable to offer their assistance. Mr. Kleiman suffered from medical conditions and had to have surgeries. Miep and Bep tried to juggle work, life, and support all while avoiding rousing suspicions from Nazi forces. Worst of all, Mr. Voskuijl discovered that he had cancer.
Though Mr. Kleiman and Mr. Kugler always tried to keep Otto informed and involved in company matters, there were occasions where circumstances made that impossible. In one example, Otto’s company had a meeting with a very important client from Frankfurt. Because he couldn’t be there, Otto reviewed important information with Mr. Kleiman before the meeting. However, Mr. Kleiman fell ill and couldn’t attend the meeting. Mr. Kugler had to run the meeting without the proper information. Otto listened through the walls to the important meeting, fearing that his business may be at risk.
As time went on, the fights between Anne and Edith continued. One night, Edith told Anne that her father was busy and that she’d like to be the one to listen to her prayers that night. Anne rejected her mother because she didn’t want to pray with someone she didn’t want around because it would be hypocritical. Her mother was crushed, and, the next day, her father barely spoke to her and gave her disappointed looks.
Anne and her mother weren’t the only ones fighting. The adults also got into intense arguments that caused rifts in their relationships. Though Anne didn’t describe the details of the fights in her diary, she did describe incidents that incited frustration from the residents. In one instance, they discovered that Dussel had been keeping a secret food stash hidden away despite the fact that food had become harder to come by. Dussel defended his stash as “his property” and promptly ridiculed the efforts of the people that were helping them while in hiding because he believed they weren’t doing enough.
In another fight with Dussel, Anne asked if she’d be able to use the table they shared two afternoons per week so she could study in peace. Despite being respectful in her request, Dussel rejected it. He claimed that he needed it for his studies, then called the coursework Anne was doing unimportant. While Anne tried to reason with him on multiple occasions, it didn’t help. She eventually had to ask her father to intervene and help them make an arrangement.
Anne’s father showed his support and tried to relate to her struggles by writing her a poem for her birthday. In the poem, he explained that he knew that she was struggling with people always arguing and nitpicking her actions. Through some humor, he empathized with her frustration and insisted that their time in hiding would not be in vain.
In addition to the heightened internal tensions, constant air raids had everyone on edge. One night, Anne was so terrified of the gunfire that she packed up her bags in preparation to leave should the building be destroyed. However, her mother informed her that, should that happen, they’d have nowhere to go.
Crime rates rose due to the war, and the warehouse had a break-in. Thieves stole checkbooks, cashboxes, and ration coupons. Mr. Kugler believed that the burglars were the same ones who had attempted to break-in six weeks earlier and failed.
As rebellious actions such as sabotage and worker strikes popped up across Holland, the Germans began to take action to attempt to restrict and control the Dutch citizens:
In addition to the domestic conflicts, dogfights broke out between Allied and German forces and the city was bombed relentlessly. When Allied soldiers were forced to eject from their planes, German ground troops would fire at the helpless pilots parachuting to the ground rather than take them prisoner. After a particularly heavy bombing, over 200 people were confirmed dead, and it took the locals days to dig out all of the bodies. Another bombing caused parts of the city to light on fire and enveloped the horizon in a thick cloud of smoke.
On the international front, the Allied forces landed in Sicily and pushed into Italy against Mussolini. After weeks of conflict, Mussolini was overthrown by King Victor Emmanuel III and removed from power. This was a major win for the Allies and removed a German ally from the conflict.
In the second part of 1943, the war continued approaching the hidden families, and tensions continued rising in the annex.
Outside of the Annex, the air raids over Amsterdam grew more frequent. The gunfire was constant and jarring. While Anne tried not to let them affect her, not everyone was quite as strong. For example, Mrs. van Daan would run into her husband’s arms and sob as the sirens went off.
In addition to the stresses of occupation, some of the residents’ helpers continued to experience serious health issues. Mr. Voskuijl’s cancer caused his health to deteriorate quickly, and Mr. Kleiman’s intestinal issues continued to intensify. Even Bep, a relatively healthy young woman, felt overwhelmed at the number of errands she had to run while avoiding detection and had a nervous breakdown as a result.
In the warehouse, some of the employees began to grow curious about the Annex and its contents. The helpers would constantly make excuses to keep people from investigating and were extra cautious when visiting the residents. For example, Mr. Kugler once snuck up to the Annex through a set of back stairs after telling his employees he was going to the drugstore. He tried to leave through the main door, but an employee was hanging around the office space. He ended up having to sneak down the back stairs in his socks to avoid detection because his shoes made too much noise.
Inside of the Annex, Dussel’s rapport with his fellow residents continued deteriorating. From throwing a fit over losing their radio to stating that the English were idiots for not destroying Italy in its entirety, people began to grow tired of his attitude. Though he would apologize and swear to be “better,” the residents no longer believed his hollow promises.
Anne began to stop speaking as frequently as she had in the past. She recognized that the more she kept to herself, the less annoyed she would get with other people and vice versa. However, despite trying to stay away from the fighting, Anne developed severe anxiety and depression. She used valerian drops to try to ease her mental woes, but they didn’t do much. She said that laughter would be the best medicine, but that there wasn’t much to laugh and smile about in the Annex.
At 6:45 AM, an alarm clock would ring through the Annex. The residents would quickly bathe and use the restroom before the office staff arrived. They could use the water before anyone had shown up for work. However, once the first employee had arrived, they’d have to wait until a number of people had started, as the noise of the running water would arouse suspicion if there were only one or two employees in the warehouse. From 8:30 AM to 9:00 AM, the residents would sit silently and read or study. At 9:00 AM, breakfast was served. After breakfast, the residents would get to the task of peeling potatoes as a group in preparation for the rest of the meals for the day. After this, they’d return to their separate corners until lunch.
At 12:30 PM, employees would leave for lunch. At this time, the residents would get to work doing louder tasks such as vacuuming. At 12:45 PM, the residents would be joined by some of their helpers, and they would all listen to the BBC broadcast for the mid-day news. At 1:15 PM, food was served, and the residents and helpers would eat until 1:45 PM. After lunch, the residents would return to silence until about 5:30 PM.
At 5:30 PM, Bep would come into the Annex to let the residents know that the workers had gone home for the evening. At this time, the residents (Mrs. van Daan, in particular) would begin to ask Bep to bring them a variety of things from the outside world. At 5:45 PM, Bep would leave, and the residents would venture down to the offices. Mr. van Daan would comb through the mail, Peter would play with the warehouse cat, Otto would take the typewriter from the office, and Margot would look for a quiet place to work.
Once dinner was ready, the residents would sit down to eat. Anne described the typical dinner experience:
At 9:00 PM, the residents would begin preparing for bed by pulling out beds and adjusting the furniture. Once the beds were set, Anne would bathe in the bathroom and go through her nightly hygiene routine. At 10:00 PM, Anne would set up the blackout curtains and lie down for bed. At 11:30 PM, Dussel would come to bed after finishing up his nightly studies. At around 3 AM, Anne would often get up to use the restroom using the can under her bed.
While this routine was followed Monday-Saturday, the residents’ Sunday routine was a bit different. Most of the residents slept in until 9:30 AM (with the exception of Dussel, who got up at 8 AM). At 10:15 AM, everyone began emerging from their quarters. Because no one worked in the warehouse or neighboring buildings on Sunday, the residents enjoyed the freedom to make noise and use the restroom without consequence.
(Shortform note: The information regarding the residents’ Sunday routine is from Anne’s entry on February 20, 1944. It has been included here for the sake of cohesion.)
Following Mussolini’s removal, Italy banned the Fascist Party and issued a full surrender to the Allied forces. The Allies landed in mainland Italy and used the region as a foothold to push against the German forces. Though the Italian government had officially surrendered, the Germans still occupied much of Northern Italy. They helped Mussolini escape and pushed against the Allied front.
The German forces began to run low on resources. In Amsterdam, they began to take down monuments and church bells to melt down into raw materials for tanks, guns, and other wartime necessities.
As the year came to an end, the residents of the Annex prepared for their second winter. Though illness and constant fighting plagued morale, the holidays provided a brief reprieve from the stress of isolation and hiding. This glimmer of hope prompted the residents to be more relaxed with their rules and restrictions. While this gave them a taste of “normal” life again, it also put them at risk of possible detection.
As the winter months began, Anne’s depression and anxiety got worse. She desperately wanted to go outside and live a normal life. Her surroundings felt suffocating, but she knew there was no alternative to their current living conditions. She also knew that they could be found or killed at any moment. The combination of constant fear and crippling loneliness led Anne to lose her appetite and sleep for significant periods of time. She said that sleep made the days go by faster and the fear less impactful.
However, as she began to sleep more, she started having nightmares. In one recurring dream, Anne would see her classmate, Hanneli, dressed in rags and crying out in desperation. She’d ask Anne to save her, but Anne never could. She could only stand by and watch Hanneli and others suffer horrific deaths. Anne felt immense guilt at the way she’d treated Hanneli while they were in school and prayed to God to save her former classmate from her torment. In later dreams, Hanneli was joined by Anne’s grandmother.
As the residents began celebrating the holidays, Anne compared their life to the non-Jews outside of the Annex. Anne longed to see other people her age and play outside in the fresh air. While she tried to suppress her emotions, her sadness and desperation rose to the surface and fueled her depression.
In addition to her mental and emotional stresses, Anne also fell ill with the flu. She was in bed for days and couldn’t stop coughing. She had a fever and had to rely on a variety of home remedies. Fortunately, she made a full recovery.
On top of her illness, Anne also lost a cherished possession: her fountain pen. She had been given the fountain pen as a gift when she was nine and had used it to write her diary entries and do her schoolwork. However, in November, the pen went missing. After searching for a while, Anne determined that it fell into the stove and burned away.
In October, the van Daans ran out of funds and could no longer afford to give their helpers money to pay for supplies. Mr. and Mrs. van Daan had constant fights about their financial state and often disagreed on how to handle their lack of funds. Mrs. van Daan believed that the company should cover all of their expenses. Mr. van Daan, on the other hand, knew this wasn’t reasonable and suggested they start selling valuable belongings such as Mrs. van Daan’s fur coat. Their fights were frequent and aggressive but always ended with reconciliation and terms of endearment.
In addition to financial arguments, the van Daans constantly fought with Dussel. Dussel would often insult Mrs. van Daan by attacking her sense and intelligence, and Mr. van Daan would step in to protect his wife. The conflicts got so bad that Dussel and the van Daans refused to speak to one another for a period of time.
Anne and her family also fought more frequently as their time in isolation continued. She longed for her father’s approval and became more critical of her mother’s behavior. She respected her father and wanted him to respect her back. On the other hand, she knew that she and her mother were opposites and wanted to distance herself from the constant friction.
Anne became jealous of the relationship Margot had with their parents because they treated Margot like an adult while they treated Anne like a child. This led to more frequent fights with Margot, whom she didn’t often clash with prior to their time in the Annex. Her insecurities rose to the surface in many of these fights, and she began to blame herself for the arguments.
One day, Margot was reading a book that Anne was interested in. When Margot put it down for a while, Anne picked it up and began to read. When Margot asked for it back, Anne said that she wanted to read it for a while. Both Edith and Otto scolded Anne for taking her sister’s book and demanded that she give it back. Anne saw this as an attack as no one took her side in the disagreement. She expected that from her mother, but she was upset that her father didn’t come to her aid.
On top of everything, the distribution of food became problematic. The Franks accused the van Daans of keeping food from the rest of the residents. They were frying fewer potatoes for the group and weren’t giving out oils and meat fairly. Fortunately, around the holidays, the conflicts calmed down. The residents celebrated both St. Nicholas Day and Hanukkah. They gave each other presents and managed to get some additional food and treats for the celebrations.
During this time, the war was at a standstill. While some operations were carried out, neither side made significant advances. Because of this, many in hiding started to lose hope for a quick resolution to the global conflict.
1944 marked a change for Anne. In her diary entries, she began discussing changes in her body as she hit puberty, as well as new perspectives on life in the Annex, the relationships with her fellow residents, and her future after the war. Though fights and conflicts continued in the Annex, Anne tried not to focus on them. She recognized that she was already feeling lonely and depressed and that putting energy into the fights just made her more upset.
As Anne entered a new year, she yearned to return to normal life. She received movie magazines as a way to connect to the world outside of the Annex and began to practice dancing for when the war was over. She also began to take an interest in her family’s heritage and studied it when she wasn’t working on schoolwork.
She spent time reflecting on her life before the Annex. Before going into hiding, Anne didn’t think about “serious things” very often. She fought much harder for the approval of her family and allowed her emotions to dictate her behavior. While she recognized that she still had a lot of growing up to do, she noted the ways in which she had matured and the ways in which life in the Annex had impacted her development.
Anne’s perspective on her parents began to change. In January, she went through old diary entries and admitted that she had been harsh in her depiction of her mother. She believed that she lacked respect for her mother because she treated Anne and Margot more like friends than children. For example, when Anne would be upset or cry, her mother tended to poke fun at her emotions rather than provide support and guidance. Once, when Anne was younger, her mother had laughed at her when she got upset about not being able to join her and Margot for a trip to the store. Though the incident was relatively trivial, it left a mark on Anne.
Anne believed that her parents had married out of convenience. She didn’t believe that her father loved her mother initially. In fact, she believed that he asked her to marry him because he thought that she’d make a good wife. While she did maintain the “wifely duties” expected of women at the time, Anne believed that her mother was never truly happy because she knew that she’d never have all of her husband’s affection. Anne tried to have sympathy for her mother but had a hard time because of her mother’s critical views of Anne and her behavior.
Anne’s perspective of Mrs. van Daan also changed. While Anne initially had a lot of problems with Mrs. van Daan, she began to appreciate and respect her as she got older. She realized that a lot of the issues she had with Mrs. van Daan came from her family’s biased perspective. Where she used to take her family’s side during arguments, she wanted to start coming to her own conclusions by trying to see things from the other side. While she recognized that Mrs. van Daan was far from perfect, Anne wasn’t as frustrated with her behavior as she started to realize that the Franks had their part to play in many of the quarrels with the van Daans.
With all of these new ideas and perspectives, Anne quickly grew bored with the stories her fellow residents would tell. She wanted to have new experiences and hear different perspectives. Instead, she was stuck hearing the same jokes and tales from the past over and over again. The only people that gave her some reprieve from the repetition were the helpers of the Annex. They’d report back about their experiences outside of the Annex. These stories ranged from casual run-ins with old friends to watching Nazi soldiers brutalize citizens. Though the stories could be morbid, they reminded Anne that there was a world outside of the Annex walls.
In the early months of the year, Anne began to notice changes in her body and emotions. She had her first period and began to take an interest in sex and love. She expressed interest in both men and women, saying that female nudes made her excited and that she desired to be in a relationship with a man. She read books about puberty and talked about her desire to explore her body as well as others’. In one example, she talked about an experience she had with another female student before going into hiding. The two kissed and Anne asked to touch her breasts. She expressed her desire to have an intimate connection again.
As she continued to reflect on her desire for intimacy, she thought back to her first love: Peter Schiff (Peter S.). Peter S. was a bit older than Anne and spent time with her for a summer. However, after summer vacation, Peter S. stopped hanging around Anne and began to spend time with girls his own age. This hurt Anne, and, though she thought she had gotten over him, she discovered that she still had intense feelings for him. She dreamed about him and wished that he were with her.
As her loneliness grew, Anne decided to confide in Peter van Daan. Though initially he was an outlet for Anne to vent to, she began to take an actual liking to him. She described the warm feeling she got looking into his eyes and making him blush. Initially, she insisted that she wasn’t in love with him, but her affections grew the more time she spent with him.
Anne was able to talk to Peter about more “sensitive” topics such as male and female anatomy. For example, Anne wanted to know the sex of the cat in the warehouse. Peter insisted that it was a boy as he had seen the cat’s genitalia. Out of curiosity, Anne asked Peter to show her. They went to the warehouse, and Peter pointed out the cat’s genitals. This prompted Anne to ask Peter some questions about the German terminology for the male genitals. She never thought she could discuss anatomy with a boy, but Peter seemed non-judgmental and comfortable.
Soon, Peter started to confide in Anne. She appreciated his honesty and was glad that someone trusted her. For example, after a fight with Dussel, he expressed his frustration at struggling to find the right words when talking to people and his jealousy at Anne’s ability to come up with quick responses. In addition to his frustrations, he also talked to Anne about his dreams and insecurities. He told her that he wanted to go to the Dutch East Indies to work and that he wished he weren’t Jewish because life seemed to be so much easier for non-Jewish people. He suffered from a serious inferiority complex and longed for affection.
As Anne and Peter started to spend significant time together, Anne started to develop romantic feelings for him. She talked about him constantly and was upset on days they didn’t speak much. She tried to find excuses to go to his room to talk and began referring to Peter as “him” in her diary. Even his smallest actions had a profound impact on her. For example, she once said that she started glowing after he merely looked at her. She thought about him all of the time and began to dream about him.
These feelings also brought some insecurity. These insecurities included:
Anne tried to stay positive by looking out of a window in the attic and seeing nature. She believed that the best way to keep hope was to be alone in nature and God. For her, the beauty of the sky brought her comfort and joy. She shared these thoughts with Peter and insisted that he should try enjoying nature whenever he was sad or afraid.
As 1944 began, resistance groups such as Free Netherlands began to expand and offer resources to those in hiding. In addition to direct attacks on German forces, they’d also provide forged documents, financial support, and hiding spaces for those forced into isolation. This helped persecuted pockets of the population to either escape the country or avoid being sent to concentration camps.
As the Allies began to make advances towards Holland, underground newspapers began publishing news of potential liberation. They analyzed different scenarios and how the people could stay safe if the Allied and Axis powers began to battle in Holland. One such scenario included the Germans flooding Amsterdam to slow the approaching forces. The newspapers marked different flood points and suggested that citizens begin to make preparations in the event they needed to swim or row to safety. Anne and her fellow residents discussed a variety of these scenarios and plans to survive should liberation occur.
In early March, a strange break-in occurred at the warehouse. Items were missing, but there were no signs of forced entry. The residents concluded that someone had a duplicate key, and the thought of a stranger having access to the offices at all times put those in hiding on edge.
In addition to the increased fear of discovery, Anne became annoyed with the behavior of the adults in the Annex. She believed they were behaving selfishly and didn’t consider other people’s feelings when they spoke. For example, Bep once told Edith and Mrs. van Daan that she was having a tough time balancing her life. They responded by telling her that she should think about all of the other people in the world suffering to keep some perspective. Anne thought this behavior was counterproductive and rude.
Anne wanted to be free of her parents’ oversight. She grew more distant from them because they didn’t treat her like an adult or respect her emotions. Whether it was about the books she read or the time she spent with Peter, they constantly asked her questions and challenged her choices.
She believed that she was older mentally and emotionally than other girls her age because of the extreme circumstances she had been through, and she wanted to be treated as an equal rather than a child. Instead, her parents still monitored the books she was allowed to read and expected small affections such as little kisses throughout the day. Anne talked about these issues with Margot, who related to Anne’s frustrations.
In mid-March, the people who had been supplying food and ration coupons to the residents were arrested. While the arrested parties were eventually released, the residents were forced to eat rotten food for a while. The stench was so bad that they had to cover their noses with rags to deal with the rancid smell. Each of the adults had a different response to the situation:
As food shortages and arguments plagued the residents, the helpers of the Annex had struggles of their own. Mr. Kleiman’s stomach issues continued to be a problem, Miep had a nasty case of the flu, and Bep had to take a few days off because of a cold. In addition to the illnesses of the other helpers, Mr. Kugler was called up by the Germans for a work detail and had to visit a doctor to get a medical certificate that excused him from the order. Eventually, Miep and Bep both recovered and returned to their regular roles, but Mr. Kleiman’s health concerns never completely relented.
Anne spent a lot of time reflecting on her life before the Annex and the ways in which her experiences in hiding had changed her:
As she got older, Anne thought about sex and the female body more frequently. She believed that sex shouldn’t be a taboo topic, and that waiting until marriage was a pointless practice. She had figured out the process of sex and menstruation before her parents had “the talk” with her. This annoyed her because she believed that parents should tell their children everything about sex to prevent them from hearing incorrect information from other people. She wondered if Peter knew anything about the female anatomy, and thought about educating him on the topic.
Peter appreciated Anne’s company. The van Daans would fight with one another constantly, and these fights had a negative effect on Peter. He was frustrated with his parents' constant bickering. He wanted to be close with his parents, but he didn’t feel like he could trust them. He expressed his feelings to Anne. She appreciated his willingness to share and suggested he talk to Otto for guidance. She felt responsible for his well-being and wanted to protect him from his parents’ quarrels.
He said that her support and optimism helped him when he was struggling. While he did confess that she annoyed him when they first went into hiding, he now enjoyed her company and looked forward to their talks. They talked about their shared distrust of their parents and the ways in which they hid their true emotions from the other residents. Where he would stay silent in uncomfortable situations, she would talk back or use sarcasm.
Her affections for Peter only continued to grow as he opened up to her. She finally admitted to herself that she was in love with Peter and continued to pine for his affection. She wanted him to think about her as much as she thought about him, but she feared that she’d push him away if she spent too much time with him.
Her insecurities manifested themselves in dreams in which he’d tell her that he didn’t care about her. These insecurities fueled Anne’s anxiety and sadness. She’d try to hide it around other people, but she felt conflicted and nervous about her relationship with Peter. She was in love with him and wanted to be more than just good friends. She even said that she could see herself marrying him in the future.
Eventually, Peter and Anne became close enough to openly discuss taboo topics such as sex. Anne admitted that she and Margot hadn’t been told much about sex. Peter, on the other hand, knew quite a bit. He told Anne about contraceptives and the process of puberty for boys. Anne never thought that she could have these conversations with someone of the opposite sex.
As Peter and Anne grew closer, Margot started to become jealous of their relationship. In a letter, Margot explained that she was upset that she didn’t have a person that she could talk to in the way that Peter and Anne could talk to one another. While she was glad that Anne had found someone to talk to, Margot felt lonely and left out. Anne felt sorry for her sister and assured her that she cared about her. She wanted to be there for Margot and told her to come to her with anything she’d want to discuss.
Near the end of March, the adults started commenting on the relationship between Peter and Anne. The van Daans nicknamed Peter’s room “Anne’s second home” and made jokes about an Annex wedding. Edith and Otto worried about Anne going into Peter’s room alone. This concern led Edith to forbid Anne from going into his room to talk because she was afraid that they would act inappropriately. Anne wasn’t willing to give up on Peter easily, and she tried to figure out a way to get around her mother’s restrictions.
As their occupation continued, desperation took hold of the Dutch people. Lines for food stretched around city blocks, doctors couldn’t take house calls for fear of being mugged, and thieves took every opportunity to break into homes. Most citizens refused to leave their homes out of fear. These tensions led to increased resistance activity and acts of sabotage against the Germans.
In addition to the BBC and Wehrmacht news broadcasts, air raid announcements began to play through the radio. The residents would sit around their illegal radio for hours and listen to the various programs to gain as much knowledge of the outside world as possible. They’d debate politics and give predictions about the looming invasion of the Allied forces.
On the war front, the Allies continued to bomb German-occupied cities in the Netherlands. Anne recalled one such bombing in the city of IJmuiden. The British bombed the city so fiercely, those in Amsterdam could feel the rumbles almost 20 miles away. In addition to pressure from the East, the Russians began to make advances toward the West as they reached the Polish border. Unfortunately, the Nazis didn’t stop their advances. They moved into and occupied Hungary near the end of March. The country housed about a million Jewish people.
As food became more scarce, the residents began eating in “food cycles.” A food cycle was a period of time in which they would only eat one type of food. For example, the residents could only get their hands on endives for a while, so they’d eat it at every meal. While they would supplement the dishes with potatoes and beans, the residents grew tired of the lack of variety.
On April 11, another break-in occurred at the warehouse. While the residents had grown accustomed to burglaries, this break-in led to the closest call they had experienced to this point. The men of the Annex heard a loud noise and left the Annex to investigate. When they got to the warehouse, they saw the thieves robbing the shop.
Mr. van Daan startled them by crying out, “Police!” The burglars ran and broke down a panel leading outside as they escaped. Mr. van Daan and Peter went down to replace the panel and were seen by two people outside of the warehouse. Afraid that they’d be mistaken for the thieves, Mr. van Daan and Peter ran back to their hiding place and prayed the people outside hadn’t called the police.
For the next few days, the residents sat in silence and hoped the police wouldn’t come to investigate. At one point, they heard the police rattling at the bookshelf. Anne thought that they were about to be dragged out of the Annex by the Gestapo. The shaking stopped, but the residents didn’t dare move or make a sound. When they thought it was safe enough, they called Mr. Kleiman to let him know about what had happened.
Later, Jan and Miep came to the Annex to share information with the residents. They had patched the hole that the burglars had made and shared some information with the police about the break-in. Fortunately, the couple who saw Mr. van Daan and Peter through the hole in the wall were the people providing Mr. Kugler with the potatoes to give to the residents. While they hadn’t been informed of the people in hiding, they’d had their suspicions and decided not to call the police to keep them safe.
In another close call, Peter forgot to unbolt the front door of the building. The bolt couldn’t be unlocked from the outside. This forced Mr. Kugler to break into the office through a window and raised some suspicion within the employees. On top of the locked door, many of the residents had opened their windows and the neighboring shops had noticed. Mr. Kugler scolded them for their carelessness and demanded that they be more cautious.
Following these encounters, the residents enacted some changes in the Annex:
Dussel hated the new security measures. He wanted the freedom to use the office to do his work and the ability to use the bathroom after a certain time. He threatened to go to Mr. Kugler about the restrictions and often ignored the rules altogether. This led to frequent fights with Mr. van Daan and Otto.
These close calls reminded Anne of the constant oppression of the Jewish people. She lamented their persecution and questioned God for allowing them to be attacked. Despite this, she maintained pride in her Jewish heritage and kept faith that God would lift them up one day. In addition to her Jewish identity, Anne expressed interest in becoming Dutch following the war because she had respect for the country and the citizens.
In the early months of 1944, Anne had lost interest in education because there was no end to the war in sight. She didn’t see the point in continuing her academic pursuits if she wasn’t going to be in a classroom any time soon. However, as her anxiety and depression continued to weigh on her, she decided to jump back into her schoolwork. To her, focusing on schoolwork kept her hopeful for the future and allowed her to ignore the desperation of her current situation. It gave her purpose and helped her dream of a future after the war.
She discovered that she wanted to be a journalist and writer. To hone her skills, she wrote short stories and detailed descriptions of the Annex. She wanted to have a career after the war and didn’t want to be just a housewife.
In addition to her schoolwork and writing, Anne also occupied herself with other hobbies. These hobbies included:
Peter and Anne became closer both emotionally and physically. One day, Peter and Anne shared a kiss and cuddled in the attic. Anne was exhilarated by the development in their relationship. However, she wondered what her parents would think and worried about the scandal that her actions could cause.
As their physical relationship continued to develop, Anne became more comfortable talking to Peter about taboo topics such as female anatomy. She told him about a woman’s breasts and sexual organs. Peter hadn’t known much about a woman’s body and appreciated the lesson.
Though they grew closer every day, Anne still felt insecure about Peter’s feelings towards her. She felt as though she always had to chase after him, but she wanted to be desired and pursued. This insecurity made her feel as though she was two different people: one who was confident and brash, and another who was gentle and wanted love. Fortunately, Peter was also feeling tender and enjoyed his time with Anne.
By mid-April, the Russians had taken more than half of the Crimea. The British had reached the city of Cassino but struggled to advance any further. In addition to the advancing ground forces, the Allied forces upped their bombing efforts in German-occupied cities. In Amsterdam, they destroyed the Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, and, consequently, all citizens had to get new registration cards to get rations.
During the final months of their time in the Annex, talk of an impending invasion by the Allied forces had the Annex buzzing. While they all hoped for a quick liberation, the residents argued with one another about when and how the Allies would enter Amsterdam. For example, Mr. van Daan once snapped at Mrs. van Daan for saying that she didn’t believe in his invasion predictions, and that the Allied campaign should have been further along.
The Annex suffered a severe loss after Mr. van Hoeven, the man who helped deliver potatoes to the residents, was arrested for hiding two Jews in his home. Anne lamented the state of the world and questioned the purpose of war. She hated that good people were being arrested for helping others while those driven by hatred were free to roam the streets and persecute others. She felt desperate and suffocated as their time in hiding continued without a clear end in sight. Even on more light-hearted days, the stress of isolation and fear of discovery put Anne in a constant state of anxiety and depression.
As the war continued outside of the Annex walls, the residents and helpers tried to continue with their daily lives:
After talking with Peter, Anne decided to tell her father about their relationship. While Otto seemed okay with it at first, he wasn’t comfortable with Anne becoming physically and romantically involved. He told Anne that she would have to show more restraint because Peter may get the wrong idea about Anne’s affection and try to get physically involved with her.
In response, Anne wrote her father a letter protesting his suggestion to stay away from Peter. In the letter, she claimed her independence and said that she no longer needed the support of either Otto or Edith. Peter made her happy, and she wanted to continue her relationship with him. She told her father that she’d either have to forbid her from visiting Peter altogether or accept that she was going to spend time with him.
Her father was saddened by Anne’s note and told Anne that it was the most hurtful letter he’d ever received. He believed that he and Edith had always supported Anne. While he ultimately forgave her for her words, he was upset by Anne’s lack of gratitude. Anne felt guilty about giving her father the letter. However, she stood behind what she said and wanted to continue her relationship with Peter independent of her father’s approval.
As the cost of living spiked in German-occupied cities, so did the crime rates. Food and basic necessities became unaffordable because of inflation and a lack of well-paying work. Frequent thefts, murders, and break-ins became the norm as desperation took hold of the Dutch people. In addition to the rise in crime, anti-Semitism began to spread through the Dutch citizens. People began to blame the Jews for the Nazi occupation and claimed that they were turning on their helpers by giving them over to the Germans.
In addition to domestic issues, the Dutch began to grow angry with the English for not doing more to liberate Holland. Anne was confused by this frustration. She believed that the English owed nothing to the Dutch. In her mind, they were fighting to protect their own people and didn’t want to risk severe British losses. The Queen and Prime Minister of the Netherlands (who were hiding in England) spoke to the people of Holland through radio transmissions and assured them that liberation was coming soon.
From fights over butter to dealing with the cats, the residents of the Annex continued to struggle with life in tight quarters. Though hope for liberation had most of them optimistic about the near future, the residents continued to bicker with one another. These fights were intensified by increased anxiety because of aggressive air raids. To deal with the horrifying sound of constant gunfire, Anne would run up and down the stairs to drown out the noise.
As their isolation continued, Mrs. van Daan started to have fits of hysteria. She’d talk about being shot, imprisoned, or hanged and even talked about suicide. She’d cry one moment, then try to laugh it off the next. Anne believed many of Mrs. van Daan’s issues stemmed from her loneliness. Because no one gave her the attention she needed, she started to break down. Anne tried to take her seriously but struggled to do so because a lot of her issues came from a place of self-pity.
As the residents struggled, the helpers of the Annex continued to have problems of their own:
Despite the many struggles they had throughout the summer, the residents did manage to get their hands on a large number of strawberries and peas. This alleviated many of their food woes and gave them a bit of security.
Though she had become more confident in herself, Anne still struggled with her insecurities. The adults of the Annex often accused her of being arrogant, and their words made Anne question what she was doing to deserve such a title. She was her own harshest critic and reproached herself for her seemingly unattractive behaviors.
In addition to her insecurity, Anne was concerned about her relationship with Peter. She knew that he liked her, but she felt like something was holding their relationship back. While she appreciated his friendship, she wanted more. She was still desperately in love with him and couldn’t go a day without talking to him. Peter was more closed off than Anne, and she wanted to continue to break through his hardened exterior.
She feared that their fast movement toward intimacy hindered their relationship. She thought that their discussions about sex and their shared kisses actually prevented them from having a deeper relationship in which they talked about more serious things. She regretted the way their relationship had developed and worried that she may never develop the meaningful connection that she wanted.
In the summer months, Anne began to philosophize about a variety of topics, ranging from pianists to liberation movements:
In the summer months of 1944, Allies made significant advances into German-occupied territory. The United States entered the European front with the invasion of Normandy on D-Day, the British advanced into Bayeux, France, and the Russians launched an offensive on the Eastern front. These advances led to increased excitement for liberation amongst those under occupation.
Morale within the German forces began to falter. In-fighting spread to the highest-ranked members of the Nazi military, leading to an assassination attempt on Hitler led by a German general. Following this attempt, Hitler ordered that soldiers were to kill any suspected traitors on sight.
On August 4, 1944, the Annex was raided by the SS. It is believed that someone tipped off the authorities to the hide-out. The helpers of the Annex were arrested (with the exceptions of Miep and Bep):
Dussel, the Franks, and the van Daans were sent to concentration camps:
Reflect on the main takeaways from The Diary of Young Girl.
In a few sentences, describe the impact of hiding and isolation on Anne’s mental and emotional well-being. Think about her desire to live a normal life, the stressors of living in close quarters, and the anxiety associated with the constant fear of discovery.
Despite the desperation of her situation, Anne tried to remain positive and grateful during her time in the Annex. Reflect on a challenging or difficult situation you faced. How did you find gratitude and positivity amidst your struggle?
Anne used her diary as a way to process her emotions and develop her identity. Think about the ways that keeping a diary or a journal could help you work through things in your life. List them.