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The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition Mass Market Paperback – February 3, 1997
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Discovered in the attic where she spnt the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.
In 1942, as Nazis occupied Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, they and another family lived cloistered in the secret upstairs rooms of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death.
In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and amusing, Anne’s account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.
Praise for The Diary of a Young Girl
“One of the most moving personal documents to come out of World War II.”—The Philadelphia Inquirer
“There may be no better way to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II than to reread The Diary of a Young Girl, a testament to an indestructible nobility of spirit in the face of pure evil.”—Chicago Tribune
“The single most compelling personal account of the Holocaust . . . remains astonishing and excruciating.”—The New York Times Book Review
“How brilliantly Anne Frank captures the self-conscious alienation and naïve self-absorption of adolescence.”—Newsday
- Print length400 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherBantam
- Publication dateFebruary 3, 1997
- Reading age13 - 17 years
- Dimensions4.1 x 1.01 x 6.86 inches
- ISBN-100553577123
- ISBN-13978-0553577129
- Lexile measure1020L
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Editorial Reviews
Review
—The New York Times
“One of the most moving personal documents to come out of World War II.”
—The Philadelphia Inquirer
“The new edition reveals a new depth to Anne’s dreams, irritations, hardship, and passions. . . . There may be no better way to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the end of World War II than to reread The Diary of a Young Girl, a testament to an indestructible nobility of spirit in the face of pure evil.”
—Chicago Tribune
“The single most compelling personal account of the Holocaust . . . remains astonishing and excruciating.”
—The New York Times Book Review
“How brilliantly Anne Frank captures the self-conscious alienation and naïve self-absorption of adolescence.”
—Newsday
From the Inside Flap
Anne Frank and her family, fleeing the horrors of Nazi occupation, hid in the back of an Amsterdam warehouse for two years. She was thirteen when she went into the Secret Annex with her family.
From the Back Cover
Anne Frank and her family, fleeing the horrors of Nazi occupation, hid in the back of an Amsterdam warehouse for two years. She was thirteen when she went into the Secret Annex with her family.
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.
Comment added by Anne on September 28, 1942:
So far you truly have been a great source of comfort to me, and so has Kitty, whom I now write to regularly. This way of keeping a diary is much nicer, and now I can hardly wait for those moments when I'm able to write in
you.
Oh, I'm so glad I brought you along!
Sunday, June 14, 1942
I'll begin from the moment I got you, the moment I saw you lying on the table among my other birthday presents. (I went along when you were bought, but that doesn't count.)
On Friday, June 12, I was awake at six o'clock, which isn't surprising, since it was my birthday. But I'm not allowed to get up at that hour, so I had to control my curiosity until quarter to seven. When I couldn't wait any longer, I went to the dining room, where Moortje (the cat) welcomed me by rubbing against my legs.
A little after seven I went to Daddy and Mama and then to the living room to open my presents, and you were the first thing I saw, maybe one of my nicest presents. Then a bouquet of roses, some peonies and a potted plant. From Daddy and Mama I got a blue blouse, a game, a bottle of grape juice, which to my mind tastes a bit like wine (after all, wine is made from grapes), a puzzle, a jar of cold cream, 2.50 guilders and a gift certificate for two books. I got another book as well, Camera Obscura (but Margot already has it, so I exchanged mine for something else), a platter of homemade cookies (which I made myself, of course, since I've become quite an expert at baking cookies), lots of candy and a strawberry tart from Mother. And a letter from Grammy, right on time, but of course that was just a coincidence.
Then Hanneli came to pick me up, and we went to school. During recess I passed out cookies to my teachers and my class, and then it was time to get back to
work. I didn't arrive home until five, since I went to gym with the rest of the class. (I'm not allowed to take part because my shoulders and hips tend to get dislocated.) As it was my birthday, I got to decide which game my classmates
would play, and I chose volleyball. Afterward they all danced around me in a
circle and sang "Happy Birthday." When I got home, Sanne Ledermann was already there. Ilse Wagner, Hanneli Goslar and Jacqueline van Maarsen came home with me after gym, since we're in the same class. Hanneli and Sanne used to be my two best friends. People who saw us together used to say, "There goes Anne, Hanne and Sanne." I only met Jacqueline van Maarsen when I started at the Jewish Lyceum, and now she's my best friend. Ilse is Hanneli's best friend, and Sanne goes to another school and has friends there.
They gave me a beautiful book, Dutch Sagas and Legends, but they gave me Volume II by mistake, so I exchanged two other books for Volume I. Aunt Helene brought me a puzzle, Aunt Stephanie a darling brooch and Aunt Leny a terrific book: Daisy Goes to the Mountains.
This morning I lay in the bathtub thinking how wonderful it would be if I had a dog like Rin Tin Tin. I'd call him Rin Tin Tin too, and I'd take him to school with me, where he could stay in the janitor's room or by the bicycle racks when the weather was good.
Monday, June 15, 1942
I had my birthday party on Sunday afternoon. The Rin Tin Tin movie was a big hit with my classmates. I got two brooches, a bookmark and two books.
I'll start by saying a few things about my school and my class, beginning with the students.
Betty Bloemendaal looks kind of poor, and I think she probably is. She lives on some obscure street in West Amsterdam, and none of us know where it is. She does very well at school, but that's because she works so hard, not because she's so smart. She's pretty quiet.
Jacqueline van Maarsen is supposedly my best friend, but I've never had a real friend. At first I thought Jacque would be one, but I was badly mistaken.
D.Q.*
*Initials have been assigned at random to those persons who prefer to remain anonymous.
is a very nervous girl who's always forgetting things, so the teachers keep assigning her extra homework as punishment. She's very kind, especially to G.Z.
E.S. talks so much it isn't funny. She's always touching your hair or fiddling with your buttons when she asks you something. They say she can't stand me, but I don't care, since I don't like her much either.
Henny Mets is a nice girl with a cheerful disposition, except that she talks in a loud voice and is really childish when we're playing outdoors. Unfortunately, Henny has a girlfriend named Beppy who's a bad influence on her because she's dirty and vulgar.
J.R.--I could write a whole book about her. J. is a detestable, sneaky, stuck-up, two-faced gossip who thinks she's so grown-up. She's really got Jacque under her spell, and that's a shame. J. is easily offended, bursts into tears at the slightest thing and, to top it all off, is a terrible show-off.
Miss J. always has to be right. She's very rich, and has a closet full of the most adorable dresses that are way too old for her. She thinks she's gorgeous, but she's not. J. and I can't stand each other.
Ilse Wagner is a nice girl with a cheerful disposition, but she's extremely finicky and can spend hours moaning and groaning about something. Ilse likes me a lot. She's very smart, but lazy.
Hanneli Goslar, or Lies as she's called at school, is a bit on the strange side. She's usually shy--outspoken at home, but reserved around other people. She blabs whatever you tell her to her mother. But she says what she
thinks, and lately I've come to appreciate her a great deal.
Nannie van Praag-Sigaar is small, funny and sensible. I think she's nice. She's pretty smart. There isn't much else you can say about Nannie.
Eefje de Jong is, in my opinion, terrific. Though she's only twelve, she's quite the lady. She acts as if I were a baby. She's also very helpful, and I
like her.
G.Z. is the prettiest girl in our class. She has a nice face, but is kind of
dumb. I think they're going to hold her back a year, but of course I haven't
told her that.
Comment added by Anne at a later date:
To my great surprise, G.Z. wasn't held back a year after all.
And sitting next to G.Z. is the last of us twelve girls, me.
There's a lot to be said about the boys, or maybe not so much after all.
Maurice Coster is one of my many admirers, but pretty much of a pest.
Sallie Springer has a filthy mind, and rumor has it that he's gone all the way. Still, I think he's terrific, because he's very funny.
Emiel Bonewit is G.Z.'s admirer, but she doesn't care. He's pretty boring.
Rob Cohen used to be in love with me too, but I can't stand him anymore. He's an obnoxious, two-faced, lying, sniveling little goof who has an awfully high opinion of himself.
Max van de Velde is a farm boy from Medemblik, but a decent sort, as Margot would say.
Herman Koopman also has a filthy mind, just like Jopie de Beer, who's a terrible flirt and absolutely girl-crazy.
Leo Blom is Jopie de Beer's best friend, but has been ruined by his dirty mind.
Albert de Mesquita came from the Montessori School and skipped a grade. He's
really smart.
Leo Slager came from the same school, but isn't as smart.
Ru Stoppelmon is a short, goofy boy from Almelo who transferred to this school in the middle of the year.
C.N. does whatever he's not supposed to.
Jacques Kocernoot sits behind us, next to C., and we (G. and I) laugh ourselves silly.
Harry Schaap is the most decent boy in our class. He's nice.
Werner Joseph is nice too, but all the changes taking place lately have made him too quiet, so he seems boring.
Sam Salomon is one of those tough guys from across the tracks. A real brat. (Admirer!)
Appie Riem is pretty Orthodox, but a brat too.
Saturday, June 20, 1942
Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I've never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl. Oh well, it doesn't matter. I feel like writing, and I have an even greater need to get all kinds of things off my chest.
"Paper has more patience than people." I thought of this saying on one of those days when I was feeling a little depressed and was sitting at home with my chin in my hands, bored and listless, wondering whether to stay in or go out. I finally stayed where I was, brooding. Yes, paper does have more patience, and since I'm not planning to let anyone else read this stiff-backed notebook grandly referred to as a "diary," unless I should ever
find a real friend, it probably won't make a bit of difference.
Now I'm back to the point that prompted me to keep a diary in the first place: I don't have a friend.
Let me put it more clearly, since no one will believe that a thirteen-year-old girl is completely alone in the world. And I'm not. I have loving parents and a sixteen-year-old sister, and there are about thirty people I can call friends. I have a throng of admirers who can't keep their adoring eyes off me and who sometimes have to resort to using a broken pocket mirror to try and catch a glimpse of me in the classroom. I have a family, loving aunts and a good home. No, on the surface I seem to have everything, except my one true friend. All I think about when I'm with friends is having a good time. I can't bring myself to talk about anything but ordinary everyday things. We don't seem to be able to get any closer, and that's the problem. Maybe it's my fault that we don't
confide in each other. In any case, that's just how things are, and unfortunately they're not liable to change. This is why I've started the diary.
To enhance the image of this long-awaited friend in my imagination, I don't want to jot down the facts in this diary the way most people would do, but I
want the diary to be my friend, and I'm going to call this friend Kitty.
Since no one would understand a word of my stories to Kitty if I were to plunge right in, I'd better provide a brief sketch of my life, much as I dislike doing so.
My father, the most adorable father I've ever seen, didn't marry my mother until he was thirty-six and she was twenty-five. My sister Margot was born in Frankfurt am Main in Germany in 1926. I was born on June 12, 1929. I lived in Frankfurt until I was four. Because we're Jewish, my father immigrated to Holland in 1933, when he became the Managing Director of the Dutch Opekta Company, which manufactures products used in making jam. My mother, Edith Hollander Frank, went with him to Holland in September, while Margot and I were sent to Aachen to stay with our grandmother. Margot went to Holland in December, and I followed in February, when I was plunked down on the table as a birthday present for Margot.
I started right away at the Montessori nursery school. I stayed there until I was six, at which time I started first grade. In sixth grade my teacher was Mrs. Kuperus, the principal. At the end of the year we were both in tears as we said a heartbreaking farewell, because I'd been accepted at the Jewish Lyceum, where Margot also went to school.
Our lives were not without anxiety, since our relatives in Germany were suffering under Hitler's anti-Jewish laws. After the pogroms in 1938 my two uncles (my mother's brothers) fled Germany, finding safe refuge in North America. My elderly grandmother came to live with us. She was seventy-three years old at the time.
After May 1940 the good times were few and far between: first there was the war, then the capitulation and then the arrival of the Germans, which is when the trouble started for the Jews. Our freedom was severely restricted by a series of anti-Jewish decrees: Jews were required to wear a yellow star; Jews were required to turn in their bicycles; Jews were forbidden to use streetcars; Jews were forbidden to ride in cars, even their own; Jews were required to do their shopping between 3 and 5 p.m.; Jews were required to frequent only Jewish-owned barbershops and beauty parlors; Jews were forbidden to be out on the streets between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.; Jews were forbidden to go to theaters, movies or any other forms of entertainment; Jews were forbidden to use swimming pools, tennis courts, hockey fields or any other athletic fields; Jews were forbidden to go rowing; Jews were forbidden to take part in any athletic activity in public; Jews were forbidden to sit in their gardens or those of their friends after 8 p.m.; Jews were forbidden to visit Christians in their homes; Jews were required to attend Jewish schools, etc. You couldn't do this and you couldn't do that, but life went on. Jacque always said to me, "I don't dare do anythinng anymore, 'cause I'm afraid it's not allowed."
Product details
- Publisher : Bantam; Reprint edition (February 3, 1997)
- Language : English
- Mass Market Paperback : 400 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0553577123
- ISBN-13 : 978-0553577129
- Reading age : 13 - 17 years
- Lexile measure : 1020L
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 4.1 x 1.01 x 6.86 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4 in World War II History (Books)
- #5 in Jewish Holocaust History
- #22 in Women's Biographies
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In likewise manner, she describes her relationship between herself and Mrs. Van Daan, and the Van Daans. Only a few weeks after their arrival at the secret annex, on September 2, 1942, Anne describes a quarrel between the couple and calls their son lazy, and on September 21, she calls Mrs. Van Daan "unbearable." Her antagonism toward Mrs. Van Daan will be one of her recurring topics throughout the diary. There is also plenty of conflict between her and Dussel with whom she has to share her room; and finally, when she is fourteen and a half, and in love with Peter Van Daan, she turns her adolescent rage against her own father in a letter defending her independence from parental intrusion and her right to see Peter as often as she liked. She may regret this afterwards, but this rebellion shows us an outstanding character trait of hers, an indomitable spirit, and one of the major themes in this diary: generational conflict; the world of adults against youngsters. Since the very beginning, Anne finds her privacy and free will threatened, not only by the external forces of the Nazis, but also by her mother, her sister Margot, Mrs. Van Daan, and Dussel. When on March 2, 1944 she writes, "We aren't allowed to have an opinion" teenagers all over the world will sympathize. Her musings about relationships between youngsters and adults, however, must not be confused with mere griping; her voice is carried by a balance between passion and reason.
Along with the threat of parental intrusion upon her freedoms, she talks in depth about sexuality and the need for courage in the face of adversity; the importance of work and.having goals in life; the roots of happiness; the importance of religion (no matter which religious doctrine one follows); the unfortunate growth of anti-Semitism, and her love for Holland. Each one of her discussions are appropriate for teenagers and adults as she speaks with wisdom. In sexuality, she advocates for sexual education at a young age. She feels no shame for her periods and openly confesses on January 6, 1944 that she is "always looking forward to the time when I'll feel that secret inside me once again." And when she is falling in love with Peter, she announces on February 12, 1944 "I think spring is inside me." In matters of love, she does sound more radical when she claims on March 2, 1944 "Losing your virtue doesn't matter, as long as you know that for as long as you live you'll have someone at your side who understands you..." But the way she reflects on these issues throughout the diary show a desire to balance out her natural teenage impulses with the reasoning of a maturing adolescent, not a rebel without a cause.
Anne also talks about her literary ambitions and she does show her knack for writing with skill. There is a tone of irony in an entry subtitled "Peeling Potatoes," August 10, 1943. Once you've read this section you'll discover that it is more than about peeling potatoes. A clever story is subtitled "Ode to My Fountain Pen: In Memoriam" found on the November 11, 1943 entry. It's about the loss of her fountain pen. She even makes the most out of scary situations when she writes about an attempted break-in into the factory where they are hidden as if she were narrating a suspenseful story. In addition, on many occasions she shows us the sensibility of a poet as she connects with nature even within her confinement: "As long as you can look fearlessly at the sky, you'll know that you're pure within and will find happiness once more" she states on February 23, 1944. Later on, on March 7, 1944, she claims her right to beauty in the face of misfortune: "If you just look for it, you discover more and more happiness and regain your balance. A person who's happy will make others happy; a person who has courage and faith will never die in misery."
This does not mean that Anne's diary has nothing to do with the war or with anti-Semtism. Without these two, without the Nazi menace, Anne would have discovered these things sooner in a freer environment (it took her almost two years to explore love and friendship with Peter), she would have developed her skills as a journalist, a poet, and a writer, had not the Nazis and the war existed. And yet, in spite of the overwhelming presence of the Nazis, anti-Semitism, and war, Anne's greatest triumph was being able to reveal the heart of an adolescent with frankness and honesty. Like the great writer of fiction, Jane Austen, Anne Frank found in the tidbits of her conflicts with adults, their everyday quarrels, her bodily needs and intimacy, her desire for affection and love, their disagreements over politics, the voice of all humanity. It is for these reasons, that this diary endures among classics and among must reads for our youth.
A good companion for this book, also sold on Amazon, is the Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography, written by Sid Jacobson, and illustrated by Ernie Colon, because of the historical background for the anti-Jewish laws, the rise of Hitler and Nazis in Germany and Europe, the mass migration of Jews to other parts of the world, genealogical maps of Anne's family, and a map of the secret annex. It also has a timeline of events at the end of the story. Also, some parts of the diary are narrated in graphic format. I recommend both books together.
The Diary of Anne Frank was required reading when I was in middle school (1970). I was 13-y/o. I will turn 67-y/o in June. The version I read in 1970 was condensed, leaving out much of Anne's burgeoning sexuality and even the harsh condemnation of her family and those who shared the 'secret annex'. Being the same age as Anne when I read her diary in 1970, I felt a connection to the plight of this young girl, knowing from the beginning of her journal, that she would be caught and she and her family (with the exception of her father) would ultimately and tragically die under the Nazi regime.
The definitive edition includes previously unpublished material and is, presumably, more faithful to Anne's original diary. I found this version to be much more endearing, honest and thought provoking. There is humor in recognizing the frustration Anne feels in these close quarters, sharing a room with a man she wants to punch sometimes. In this regard you get the feistiness and independence this young woman wants to exert. You also become drawn to the angst and fear that encroach on her psyche, the loneliness in a room full of family.
My age now, allows me to appreciate and empathize with what Anne and her family endured, it is a powerful message. Even under harsh conditions as the war raged on and things became more dire, Anne recognized that news from the "outside" made her appreciate their very existence in hiding; the fact that they were alive.
I finished the book recognizing how saddened I am with man's inhumanity to man and how our current world circumstances and those who chose destruction, war and hatred will do all that they can to attain and remain in power. We must recognize and remember the words of Lord Acton: 'Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely'.
This definitive edition should be a must read for those 16 years of age and up.
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