The Diary of Anne Frank

The Diary of Anne Frank is about a young girl living in Germany with the Holocaust just beginning. During her thirteenth birthday she was given a diary in which she detailed her life: describing things such as boys, her self image, family, friends and the war. The diary was never intended to be read, but nonetheless was published

During and after I read the diary, I was faced with a realization that not only was this just a thirteen year old girl writing in her diary, but I had just read her diary and it had ignited emotions that I thought were never possible from such a text. Anne never intended to write her diary for viewers eyes, but gave so much insight to a billion people about her life as a Jew in a war where she was considered an outcast and if her family were to be found they would be sentenced to death, or be put in a concentration camp where they would spend the rest of the war separated from each other to either live or die.

Initially she didn't intend for it to be read by others but while she was in hiding she heard an announcement on the radio saying that after the war they would be looking for papers/diaries written during wartime; when Anne heard that she went back through her diary and edited it for publication. After they were discovered by the Nazis, Miep Gies found the diary, saved it to give to Anne after her return. When Otto Frank was the only member of the frank family to return and it was established that Anne had perished in Bergen-Belsen shortly before the war ended, Miep gave the diary to Otto. Otto knew his daughter wanted it published, thought about it for a while and eventually found a publisher for his daughter's diary.

This remarkable text was never made up, or sugar coated by the media. It was about a historical event that took place from 1940-1945. There is no real message being portrayed in the diary, other than the fact that under any circumstance you learn and grow and over come any obstacle. However, in this case, the only surviving member of Anne's family after the war was her father. Regardless, this remarkable young woman over came the obstacle of going into hiding, learning and growing to accept the world as it is and to continue her life as best as she could.

The diary was left unfinished, only to be continued with information on Anne's Death. However, I believe that many people in the world today can find this book awe inspiring and insightful. The book brings out many qualities one person can posses over a time span that most people today could not find within themselves.