Anne Frank is one of the most recognised diarists of the 20th century. Her journal, written while hiding from Nazi persecution, provides a deeply personal window into life under occupation and has made her an enduring symbol of resilience and hope.
Early life in Germany and the Netherlands
Anne was born Annelies Marie Frank on 12 June 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany. She lived with her parents Otto and Edith and her older sister Margot. In 1933, as Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party took power, the Franks fled to Amsterdam, where Anne joined her family a year later and thrived at school. However, Nazi forces invaded the Netherlands in 1940 and quickly imposed restrictions on Jewish residents, mandating separate schools and the wearing of yellow Stars of David.
Going into hiding
By July 1942 the situation had become perilous. When Margot received a summons to report for forced labour, the family decided not to comply. On 6 July they went into hiding in a concealed attic space behind Otto’s office building on Prinsengracht 263. For two years Anne, her parents and four others hid in what she called the “Secret Annex.” Their friends risked their lives to smuggle in food and supplies while the group remained in silence during working hours to avoid detection.
For her thirteenth birthday Anne received a diary. In the Annex she filled its pages with candid reflections on daily life, teenage dreams and fears, and the cruelty of the regime outside. She also began writing short stories and planned a novel based on her experiences.
Arrest, deportation and tragedy
On 4 August 1944 the annex was raided by the Gestapo after an unknown informant betrayed the hiding place. The Franks and their companions were arrested and sent to the Westerbork transit camp, then deported to Auschwitz. Because of their age Anne and Margot were selected for forced labour, but conditions were brutal. In late October they were transferred to the Bergen‑Belsen camp, where both sisters died of typhus in March 1945, just weeks before liberation. Their mother Edith died earlier at Auschwitz, leaving Otto as the sole survivor.
Legacy of the diary
After the war Otto Frank returned to Amsterdam and learned that family friend Miep Gies had saved Anne’s diary. Recognising its powerful testimony, he edited the writings and published them in 1947. The book, known in English as The Diary of a Young Girl, has since been translated into more than seventy languages and read by millions of people. The building where Anne hid was opened as a museum in 1960.
Anne’s words remind readers of the human cost of intolerance and the importance of standing up against oppression. Her hope and humour, even in dire circumstances, continue to resonate today.