The Diary of a Young Girl

Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt-am-Main, Germany on June 12, 1929, the second child of Otto and Edith Frank. In 1933 Hitler came to power and began taking measures against the Jews. The Frank family feared what the future might hold if they stayed in Germany. When Otto received an offer to start a new company in Amsterdam, the family decided to move to the Netherlands.

Anne was a lively and fun-loving little girl who had lots of friends. She went to a Montessori school with her sister Margot, who was also extremely bright and clever. In 1940 Hitler invaded the Netherlands and gradually imposed restrictions on the Jews. Otto transferred his business to his trusted colleagues Johannes Kleiman and Victor Kugler and began preparing the secret annex connected to the office warehouse for hiding.

Anne was given her diary on her 13th birthday in 1942, and she immediately began writing in it about her family, friends, and school. A month later, Margot, like thousands of other young Jews, received a call-up notice and was ordered to report to the SS. That evening, the family moved into the secret annex and, with the help of Kleiman and Kugler, and employees Miep Santrouschitz and Bep Voskuijl, they remained in hiding for the next two years.

Anne died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp near Hanover (Germany) in February or early March 1945, just days after her sister, Margot, and only a few weeks before the camp was liberated by British troops.