The Diary of Anne Frank Book Notes

The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank

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Author/Context

"These are the thoughts and expression of a young girl living under extraordinary conditions, and for this reason her diary tells us much about ourselves and about our own children. And for this reason, too, I felt how close we all are to Anne's experience, how very much involved we are in her short life and in the entire world." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany, to a Jewish family, on June 12, 1929. Her father, Otto Frank, was a respected businessman. Anne and her older sister Margot grew up in a comfortable atmosphere, surrounded by loving parents and relatives, and received a good education. In 1933, Otto Frank moved his family to Holland, anticipating the worsening of the Nazi persecution of Jews. In 1940, the Germans invaded Holland, and the Jews there became subject to harsh anti-Jewish Nazi laws. At first, Anne did not feel the persecution to a great extent, except that she was forced to leave her school for a Jewish secondary school. However, Otto Frank anticipated the seriousness of events that were to come, and had been arranging for a hiding place for his family. He moved possessions there for over a year. When his eldest daughter Margot received deportation notices ordering her to relocate to a work camp, Otto took the family into hiding. On July 5, 1942, the Franks "disappeared" for the next two years into the Secret Annexe, a building that contained the warehouse and offices for his business. They were to remain quiet during the day to prevent their discovery. Their friends who worked in the offices below brought them food and gifts, risking their own lives to protect the families.

It is in the Secret Annexe that Anne wrote the majority of her diary, a red-plaid book she named Kitty, which she received for her thirteenth birthday on June 12, 1942. With an endearing style and a remarkably strong spirit she records in the diary the events and personalities within the Secret Annexe. She also explores deep within herself, looking with mature and heartfelt introspection at the constant duality and battle of what she saw as her two sides: the silly carefree Anne; and the Anne who was sensitive and struggling to be taken seriously. She decorated the diary with sketches and pictures of her family. She also wrote short stories, which she begged one of her guardians to publish under another name, but he thought it would be too risky.

On August 4, 1944, the Gestapo, or Nazi Secret Police, raided the Secret Annexe and the Franks and the other Jewish occupants were put in a holding cell for several days, then moved to the punishment barracks at the Westerbork camp, in Drente, Holland. They were then sent among the last shipment of a thousand Jews from Holland to the concentration camp of Auschwitz in Poland. Several of their guardians from the office below were sent to Dutch labor camps, but survived. Otto Frank was the only one of the eight living in the Secret Annexe to survive. Edith Frank died at Auschwitz in January 1945. Anne and Margot both were moved to the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen in Germany, in October of 1944. There, Anne was briefly reunited with her school friend, Lies Goosens. This must have been an incredibly intense encounter, for on Saturday, 27 November, 1943, Anne wrote of a dream she had of Lies, in which the girl asked Anne why she deserted her, and begged her to rescue her from the hellish concentration camp. Lies reported that Anne was crying and told her that she did not have parents anymore. Margot and Anne died of typhus within days of each other, around the end of March 1945.

Otto Frank returned to Amsterdam in 1945, after the end of the war. Miep van Santen gave him the notebooks and papers that she had saved after the raid, before the entire Secret Annexe was cleaned out under German orders. Anne's notebooks were well written because Anne had hoped to publish her work some day. While still in hiding, she heard a radio broadcast from an exiled member of the Dutch government that indicated it would be important to document the war years. Upon hearing this, she decided that she would publish her diary when the war ended. She copied it over on clean sheets of paper and hoped she could publish the manuscript as Het Achterhuis, or "house behind," which has been translated into English as the Secret Annexe. In her edited versions of the diary, she also gave all of the characters, even herself, a pseudonym; for example, Johannes Keiman and Victor Kugler became Simon Koophuis and Harry Kraler. Since Anne did not survive to publish her work, Otto Frank typed a manuscript of her edited notes and papers as well as the original diary. It was first published in 1947. It has since been translated into over fifty languages, and there have been plays and films made of the book. It is the most widely read book documenting Nazi crimes. The Montessori school, which she attended, has been renamed the Anne Frank School. The Secret Annexe still exists, maintained by the Anne Frank Foundation, and thousands of people visit each year.

Ernst Schnabel writes, "Out of the millions that were silenced, this voice no louder than a child's whisper... It has outlasted the shouts of the murderers and has soared above the voices of time." Anne Frank is a symbol of courage and youth. But most of all, she is a universal symbol of optimism and faith in the face of cruelty.

Bibliography

Barnouw, David, and Gerrold Van Der Stroom, eds. The Diary of Anne Frank: The Critical Edition. New York: Doubleday, 1989

Frank, Anne. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. trans. B.M. Mooyaart-Doubleday. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1958.

Gies, Miep. Anne Frank Remembered. New York: Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1987.

Muller, Melissa. Anne Frank: the Biography. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1998.

van der Rol, Ruud, and Rian Verhoeven. Anne Frank: Beyond the Diary. New York: Penguin Books U.S.A., 1993.

Plot Summary

Anne receives a diary on her thirteenth birthday. She names it Kitty.

One day, Nazi police send a call-up notice for her father and her sister Margot for their deportation to a concentration camp. They flee to their hiding place, the Secret Annexe.

Another family, the Van Daans, arrive with their son Peter. Anne particularly dislikes the frivolous Mrs. Van Daan. She also complains that the grown-ups criticize her.

Anne tells Kitty that her Jewish friends are being taken away by the dozens. They are loaded into cattle trucks and sent to concentration camps.

Daddy gets sick, but they cannot call a doctor, since they are in hiding. Anne reads a book on puberty and longs to have her period. She does not like to say her prayers with Mummy, for she finds Mummy cold. She gets jealous of Margot sometimes.

They take in another person, Mr. Dussel. He is stubborn. Anne often feels guilty for being safe in hiding while her Jewish friends are probably suffering.

Anne feels frustrated that she is criticized so often. She still does not get along with Mrs. Van Daan, and still finds Mummy cold, refusing to pray with her, upsetting her greatly.

Anne cannot sleep because of the air raids, and they are eating terribly-dry bread and ersatz coffee for breakfast, spinach and rotten potatoes for dinner. Still, Anne feels lucky that they have food and shelter, that they are able to laugh at each other, and that they have books and a radio.

There is an announcement that Italy has surrendered. This gives them hope for peace.

Anne chronicles a day in the Secret Annexe, describing many of the activities and personalities of the people in the Annexe. Anne is so affected by the tension that at times she goes to bed crying. She longs for fresh air, and wishes that the darkness and cruelty of the war would subside so that they can find beauty and safety. She has a dream of one of her friends, and feels guilty. She hopes that she prays hard enough to save her friends and family.

She and Peter Van Daan develop a crush on each other. She remembers Peter Wessel, who she loved before going into hiding. They combine in her mind, and she feels intense longing. The grown-ups are critical of the relationship. Anne worries that she talks too much, but he likes her cheerfulness. She wants to help him overcome his loneliness.

She hears that they will be making a collection of diaries and letters after the war, and wants to publish her diary. She has faith that God will raise them out of suffering, and that one day, the world will learn from the Jews. She is often downcast, but never in despair.

She writes Daddy a letter about how he did not help her through her struggle to find herself, and he is so upset that she feels guilty and realizes that she was wrong.

They are horrified to hear about antisemitism in Holland. Sometimes they go hungry, but even at their worst, they still have hope and are able to find cheerful moments. On D-Day, the English land on the French coast. There is great discussion about the hope of liberation, and they have fresh courage and strength.

Anne celebrates her fifteenth birthday. She wishes she could look at nature more often, and not through a dirty window. Many cities have fallen to the Allies, and the mood is optimistic.

She becomes disappointed in Peter. She does not want him to lean on her. She wonders how she has held onto her ideals in the face of all the cruelty of war. She still believes that people are really good at heart. She has a deeper, purer side that no one knows. She worries that people think she is superficial.

With this, her diary ends, for on August 4, 1944, the Secret Annexe was raided and they were taken away to German and Dutch concentration camps.

Major Characters

Anne Frank: Anne Frank is the narrator and the writer of the diary. She is thirteen when she begins writing. Anne is very outspoken, and before moving into the Secret Annex, she was very popular at school with both the boys and the girls. She loves to read and to study, and she wants to be a writer when she grows up.

Margot Frank: Anne’s sister, Margot is three years older than Anne, and seems quieter and more serious than Anne. She, too, keeps a diary. She and Anne grow closer throughout the course of their hiding, but it is with Peter that Anne shares her hopes and fears. Margot gets on better with their parents, and Anne feels pressure to be good and sweet like her.

Daddy (Otto Frank): Anne’s father is the manager of a firm before they go into hiding. He is the one who arranges for their hiding place. He is modest, quiet, and generally low-key. She has a very close relationship with him and gives him the nickname 'Pim.' He teaches her English, French, and algebra, among other subjects, and she loves to learn.

Mummy (Edith Frank): Anne is not nearly as close with her mother as she is with her father. She finds her mother cold and often condescending. She has an idea of what the perfect mother should be—and Mummy does not fit the image. It upsets her that Mummy always takes Margot’s side, and seems to prefer her.

Peter Van Daan: Peter Van Daan is the fifteen-year-old son of the Van Daan family, the other family who is hiding in the Secret Annex with the Franks. Anne at first finds him boring and weak, but they begin to talk, and to open up to each other, and they form a strong bond. Anne falls in love with Peter, and he probably falls in love with her in return. He gives her her first kiss. Eventually, though, she gets frustrated with him because he does not like religion, and because she feels like he is clinging to her. He does not even try to improve his weak nature, because he finds it easier not to make the effort. Anne, who finds herself in a constant state of internal conflict and self-improvement, cannot respect this.

Petronella Van Daan: Mrs. Van Daan is one of the eight people hiding in the Secret Annex. She is Peter’s mother. She is desperately jealous of the bond between Anne and her son, and she wishes that he would talk to her more. She and Anne do not get along at all. She criticizes Anne for being so outspoken, and Anne writes of Mrs. Van Daan frequently in the diary to complain about how spoiled and frivolous she is and how she flirts with Mr. Frank. However, at one point, Anne notices that she is easier to talk to than Mummy, because she is not cold.

Hans Van Daan : Mr. Van Daan is Peter’s father. He is one of the adults who often criticizes Anne.

Albert Dussel: Mr. Dussel shares Anne’s room. He enters the Secret Annexe last. He was a dentist before going into hiding. At first, Anne likes him, but then he shows his true colors and is close-minded and stubborn and criticizes her. Sometimes she does things intentionally to annoy him.

Minor Characters

Jopie de Waal: One of Anne’s best girl friends before she goes into hiding.

Miep Gies: Married to Henk Gies, she helps hide the Franks, Van Daans, and Dussel in her warehouse. She is cheerful and often brings them gifts. At Christmas, she decorates a basket and fills it with presents.

Peter Wessel: Peter Wessel is a young man on whom Anne has big crush. She fantasizes about marrying him and dreams of him touching her cheek. She hopes that they will find each other again one day when she gets out of hiding.

Henk: Henk is Miep’s husband.

Koophuis: Koophuis is one of the men that Anne’s father works with at his firm. He has various abdominal operations while they are in hiding, and is often unable to visit them for weeks at a time.

Elli: Elli is the typist at Anne’s father’s office, where they are hiding. She helps bring them food, and visits them often. She is very cheerful.

Kraler: Kraler is one of the men that Anne’s father works with at his firm.

Lies Goosens: Lies Goosens is one of Anne’s best friends before she goes into hiding. She is also Jewish. Anne dreams of her, and feels terrible remorse for ever having judged her. She feels powerless to help Lies, and wonders why she has been chosen to live while Lies has been sent off to a concentration camp.

Sanne Houtman: Sanne Houtman is one of Anne’s best friends before she goes into hiding.

Granny: Granny is Otto Frank’s mother. She comes to live with the Franks when they first move to Holland, and she dies there before the diary begins. Anne still thinks of her often, and she misses her very much. She has a dream of Granny, and feels intense guilt and remorse for how lonely Granny must have been and how much she must have suffered.

Grandmother: Grandmother is Mummy’s mother.

Keptor: Keptor is Anne’s math teacher. He gives her extra work for talking during class, until she eventually wins him over with her witty essays and becomes one of his favored students.

Harry Goldberg: Harry Goldberg is a sixteen-year-old boy who likes Anne. He walks her to school every day and even comes to meet her parents. He has been going out with a dull girl named Fanny, but he forgets about her when he gets to know Anne. His grandparents think that Anne is too young for him, and want him to date Fanny. He goes behind his grandparents’ backs to date Anne, and also to attend meetings of the Zionist movement.

Fanny: Fanny was going out with Harry Goldberg, but he broke off the relationship when he started to spend time with Anne.

Vossen: Vossen is another one of Otto Frank’s business associates. He is diagnosed with cancer while they are in the Secret Annexe.

Objects/Places

Kitty: Kitty is the name that Anne gives to her diary. She writes to Kitty as if she were a friend, addressing each letter 'Dear Kitty.' She wants to share her thoughts completely with someone who is a real friend, and since she does not have one of these, she shares them with Kitty. Her entries get more and more frequent as her time in the Secret Annexe goes on.

Secret Annex: The Secret Annex is the place where the Franks, the Van Daans, and Mr. Dussel hide. It is the back of a warehouse building that is owned by associates of Otto Frank. The door to the Annexe is hidden by a swinging bookshelf. There are three floors. There is a kitchen and bathroom, several bedrooms, and sitting rooms.

Winston Churchill: Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of England at the time of World War II. The occupants of the Secret Annex listen to his speeches on the radio.

Adolf Hitler: Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) was the Chancellor and Fuhrher of Germany. He was the leader of the Nazi party. He believed that the Germans were a superior race, and blamed Jews for the problems that plagued Germany, such as poverty and unemployment. He and his Nazi party came to power in the winter of 1933, and banned all other parties but the Nazi party. He arranged for propaganda against the Jews and enacted many laws against them. An extremely charismatic man, he was also able to organize and mobilize a campaign of genocide against the Jews, which he referred to as 'The Final Solution.'

Benito Mussolini: Benito Mussolini was the Fascist dictator of Italy. The people in the Secret Annexe are happy to hear when the Fascist party is banned from Italy.

Moortje: Moortje is Anne’s cat. They leave the cat behind when they flee to their hiding place.

Mouschie: Mouschie is the Van Daan’s cat. Peter is very affectionate with the cat.

Bookshelf: A large bookshelf hides and blocks the stairway to the Secret Annex.

Bouche: Bouche is Peter Van Daan’s cat. He disappears while they are in hiding.

Ration Cards: During wartime, ration cards are used to allocate a certain amount of food per person. The people who are hiding the families have four illegally bought ration cards, which they use to provide the families with food.

Zionist Movement: The Zionist movement had as its goal the creation of the Jewish State of Israel in Palestine. This was finally realized in 1948. It now exists to support modern Israel.

S.S.: The S.S. was a Nazi unit used first as Hitler’s bodyguard, then used for security, policing, and extermination. They often served as guards in concentration camps. S.S. officers deliver the call-up notices for Margot and Daddy.

Concentration Camp: Hitler organized concentration camps to facilitate the mass murder of Jews, Catholics, gypsies, blacks, the handicapped, and homosexuals. People were deported to the camps in cattle cars, and upon arrival, usually separated from their families, tattooed with a serial number, deloused, and completely shaven. Often they were forced into hard labor. Disease was rampant, and many starved to death. Most were shot, gassed, or cremated alive. An estimated ten million people were killed, including six million Jews and at least one million young children. Some of the major camps were Auschwitz-Birkenau (Poland), Bergen-Belsen (Germany), Sobibor (Poland), Treblinka (Poland), Theresienstadt (Czechoslovakia), Dachau (Germany), Westerbork (Holland), Maidanek (Poland), and Mauthausen (Austria).

Westerbork: Westerbork was a concentration camp in Drente, Holland. Anne hears that many of their friends have been deported there, and about how horrible the conditions are.

Gestapo: The Gestapo is the Nazi secret police organization.

Sabbath Candles: It is part of the Jewish tradition that on Friday evenings two candles are lit, and blessings are chanted to welcome the Sabbath.

Het Achterhuis: Het Achterhuis literally means 'house behind.' It is the name Anne uses for the Secret Annexe, and the title that Anne wants to give her journal if it is published after the war.

call-up: Margot and Daddy receive call-ups, which prompts the Franks’ early flight to their hiding place. The call-ups are notices for deportation to a concentration camp.

Quotes

Quote 1: "Still," she writes, "what does that matter? I want to write, but more than that, I want to bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart." Saturday, 20 June, 1942, pg. 2

Quote 2: "The first thing I put in was this diary, then hair curlers, handkerchiefs, schoolbooks, a comb, old letters; I put in the craziest things with the idea that we were going into hiding. But I'm not sorry, memories mean more to me than dresses." Wednesday, 8 July 1942, pg. 12

Quote 3: "a rather soft, shy, gawky youth; can't expect much from his company." Friday, 14 August, 1942, pg. 20

Quote 4: "Anyhow, I've learned one thing now. You only really get to know people when you've had a jolly good row with them. Then and only then can you judge their true characters!" Monday, 28 September, 1942, pg. 31

Quote 5: "Nice people, the Germans! To think that I was once one of them too! No, Hitler took away our nationality long ago. In fact, Germans and Jews are the greatest enemies in the world." Friday, 9 October, 1942, pg. 36

Quote 6: "I only look at her as a mother, and she just doesn't succeed in being that to me; I have to be my own mother. I've drawn myself apart from them all; I am my own skipper and later on I shall see where I come to land. All this comes about particularly because I have in my mind's eye an image of what a perfect mother and wife should be; and in her whom I must call 'Mother' I find no trace of that image." Sunday, 7 November, 1942, pg. 41

Quote 7: "'This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.'" Monday, 9 November 1942, pg. 42

Quote 8: "I feel wicked sleeping in a warm bed, while my dearest friends have been knocked down or have fallen into a gutter somewhere out in the cold night. I get frightened when I think of close friends who have now been delivered into the hands of the cruelest brutes that walk the earth. And all because they are Jews!" Thursday, 19 November, 1942, pg. 48

Quote 9: "I could go on for hours about all the suffering the war has brought, but then I would only make myself more dejected. There is nothing we can do but wait as calmly as we can till the misery comes to an end. Jews and Christians wait, the whole earth waits; and there are many who wait for death." Wednesday, 13 January, 1943, pg. 48

Quote 10: "If I just think of how we live here, I usually come to the conclusion that it is a paradise compared with how other Jews who are not in hiding must be living," Saturday, 1 May, 1943, pg. 71

Quote 11: "Quickly into dressing gown, soap in one hand, pottie, hairpins, pants, curlers, and cotton wool in the other, I hurry out of the bathroom; but usually I'm called back once for the various hairs which decorate the washbasin in graceful curves, but which are not approved of by the next person." Wednesday, 4 August, 1943, pg. 86

Quote 12: "I see the eight of us with our 'Secret Annexe' as if we were a little piece of blue heaven, surrounded by heavy black rain clouds. The round, clearly defined spot where we stand is still safe, but the clouds gather more closely about us and the circle which separates us from the approaching danger closes more and more tightly. Now we are so surrounded by danger and darkness that we bump against each other, as we search desperately for a means of escape. We all look down below, where people are fighting each other, we look above, where it is quiet and beautiful, and meanwhile we are cut off by the great dark mass, which will not let us go upwards, but which stands before us as an impenetrable wall; it tries to crush us, but cannot do so yet. I can only cry and implore: 'Oh, if only the black circle could recede and open the way for us!'" Monday, 8 November, 1943, pg. 103

Quote 13: "Lies, Lies, if only I could take you away, if only I could let you share all the things I enjoy. It is too late now, I can't help, or repair the wrong I have done. But I shall never forget her again, and I shall always pray for her." Saturday, 27 November, 1943, pg. 108

Quote 14: "'Would anyone, either Jew or non-Jew, understand this about me, that I am simply a young girl badly in need of some rollicking fun?'" Friday, 24 December, 1943, pg. 111

Quote 15: "The war goes on just the same, whether or not we choose to quarrel, or long for freedom and fresh air, and so we should try to make the best of our stay here. Now I'm preaching, but I also believe that if I stay here for very long I shall grow into a dried-up old beanstalk. And I did so want to grow into a real young woman!" Saturday, 15 January, 1944, pg. 125

Quote 16: "When I looked outside right into the depth of Nature and God, then I was happy, really happy. And Peter, so long as I have that happiness here, the joy in nature, health and a lot more besides, all the while one has that, one can always recapture happiness.

"Riches can all be lost, but that happiness in your own heart can only be veiled, and it will still bring you happiness again, as long as you live. As long as you can look fearlessly up into the heavens, as long as you know that you are pure within, and that you will still find happiness." Wednesday, 23 February, 1944, pg. 143

Quote 17: "Oh, Peter, if only I could help you, if only you would let me! Together we could drive away your loneliness and mine!" Monday, 6 March, 1944, pg. 150

Quote 18: "I've found that there is always some beauty left-in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you. Look at these things, then you find yourself again, and God, and then you regain your balance. And whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery!" Tuesday, 7 March, 1944, pg. 152

Quote 19: "I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me. I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn." Tuesday, 4 April, 1944, pg. 177

Quote 20: "If the truth is told, things are just as bad as you yourself care to make them." Friday, 14 April, 1944, pg. 188

Quote 21: "I don't believe that the big men, the politicians and the capitalists alone, are guilty of the war. Oh no, the little man is just as guilty, otherwise the peoples of the world would have risen in revolt long ago! There's in people simply an urge to destroy, an urge to kill, to murder and rage, until all mankind, without exception, undergoes a great change, wars will be waged, everything that has been built up, cultivated, and grown will be destroyed and disfigured, after which mankind will have to begin all over again." Wednesday, 3 May, 1944, pg. 201

Quote 22: "It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again." Saturday, 15 July, 1944, pg. 237

Quote 23: "[F]inally I twist my heart round again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside, and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and what I could be, if... there weren't any other people living in the world." Tuesday, 1 August, 1944, pg. 241

Topic Tracking: Family

Saturday, 20 June, 1942

Family 1: Anne's family is very important to her. She describes her family right away, in one of the first few entries in her diary. Her family is very close-knit, and they all hide together in the Secret Annexe.

Wednesday, 8 July, 1942

Family 2: Although the family members receive separate call-up notices for deportation to the concentration camps, they do not go because they know that they will go into hiding all together and they do not want to separate.

Friday, 21 July, 1942

Family 3: Anne complains often throughout the book about how her parents and the other people in the Secret Annexe treat her like a child. She knows herself very well, but is sensitive to criticism, and takes it to heart when people criticize her.

Wednesday, 2 September, 1942

Family 4: Anne is shocked at the differences between her own family and that of the Van Daans, who fight openly and let their son Peter be lazy and cranky. Her own family is more close-knit, and both she and Margot are well behaved and studious.

Sunday, 27 September, 1942

Family 5: Anne does not at all like how the Van Daans criticize her upbringing, as if she were their own child. In addition, she does not particularly like the Van Daans. She is glad when Daddy comes to her defense.

Monday, 28 September, 1942

Family 6: Anne notices the difference between calm Mummy and hysterical Mrs. Van Daan, and decides again that she does not at all like the foolish and frivolous Mrs. Van Daan: "Anyhow, I've learned one thing now. You only really get to know people when you've had a jolly good row with them. Then and only then can you judge their true characters!" Monday, 28 September, 1942, pg. 31

Saturday, 3 October, 1942

Family 7: There is a tension between Anne and her mother, for Anne finds her cold, and it is Anne's personality that she is not afraid to tell people what she thinks of them. Anne is closer to her father, who she praises often as modest and sweet. Mummy is upset, but Anne feels that because she told the truth about her feelings, it cannot be wrong.

Friday, 16 October, 1942

Family 8: Anne and Margot have a bonding moment when they read each other's diaries. They are close in age, only three years apart, but their personalities are so different that moments like this seem rare. Margot is quieter, and Anne is boisterous and opinionated.

Thursday, 29 October, 1942

Family 9: Anne does not feel close to her mother and resents that she must practice religion just to make her happy.

Saturday, 7 November, 1942

Family 10: One of the reasons why Anne is so independent is because she does not feel like her family approves of her. Often, they either treat her coldly or like a child, and she feels like she is too mature for this.

Saturday, 28 November, 1942

Family 11: Anne is very frustrated by the way, and the frequency with which, her family criticizes her. She wants to be taken seriously and not treated like a child. Her mother especially criticizes her.

Friday, 2 April, 1943

Family 12: Anne is not afraid to let Mummy know her true feelings. She treats Mummy as she feels Mummy treats her, which is with coldness, and is surprised, though not particularly sorry, when Mummy is upset. Anne is much closer to her father, who gives her lessons.

Sunday, 13 June, 1943

Family 13: Anne is very close to her father, and like him, she has an optimistic spirit, which he appreciates and writes a poem about for her birthday. Her father knows her best.

Monday, 9 August, 1943

Family 14: Anne often sees a sharp contrast between her family and the Van Daans, who she often finds ridiculous and foolish. Her family is more close-knit and low-key.

Friday, 24 December, 1943

Family 15: Anne finds her own mother unable to be what she needs her to be, and so imagines the improved and ideal mother she would like to be someday. Anne does not feel close to her mother because she feels that Mummy treats her coldly and with indifference, and finds it impossible to talk to her.

Saturday, 25 December, 1943

Family 16: Anne feels very close to her father and as a result, she strives to achieve some of his traits, such as his modesty.

Sunday, 2 January, 1944

Family 17: Though in the past, Anne has felt cold toward her mother, she is ashamed that she has upset her, and she wishes to improve their relationship.

Friday, 17 March, 1944

Family 18: Anne and Margot are both frustrated that their parents treat them like children, for in hiding they have grown very mature inside. Anne's mother is still not living up to her expectations, and Anne still finds it difficult to be close to her.

Monday, 20 March, 1944

Family 19: Anne has grown closer to Margot, and worries that she feels left out when she goes to talk to Peter. Margot tells her that she is used to being the odd one out anyway. Anne grows closer to Margot throughout the course of the hiding, and comes to consider her a real friend.

Tuesday, 11 April, 1944

Family 20: Anne knows that she has already surpassed her mother's achievements by being so strong and independent at such a young age. She does not want to be a housewife like her mother and Mrs. Van Daan, and strives to be more like her father.

Friday, 5 May, 1944

Family 21: Anne has always been very close to her father, but she believes that he did not properly handle the struggle she was going through. In addition, she is angry that he does not trust her to visit Peter upstairs.

Sunday, 7 May, 1944

Family 22: Anne is ashamed that she has hurt her father's feelings. She realizes that she still has a lot to learn, and she realizes her capacity to hurt people.

Saturday, 15 July, 1944

Family 23: Anne does not like that her father treated her struggle to find and improve herself as nothing out of the ordinary. She sees herself differently than she thinks others see her.

Topic Tracking: Holocaust

Saturday, 20 June, 1942

Holocaust 1: As German Jews, Anne and her family are very affected by the anti-Jewish laws brought on by the Nazis, which restrict them from everyday activities, including owning businesses. These laws were especially harsh after 1940. They also must wear yellow stars with the word "Jew" at all times. The Nazis did these things in order to brand and dehumanize the Jews, and to set them apart from society.

Sunday, 5 July, 1942

Holocaust 2: Since Jews are not allowed by Nazi law to own businesses, Mr. Frank must transfer ownership to his non-Jewish associates. He anticipates the severity of the persecution and has been planning for them to go into hiding, moving their belongings for a year.

Wednesday, 8 July, 1942

Holocaust 3: The Nazis sent call-up notices for people to appear for deportation to concentration camps. Margot and Daddy both receive one, and this is what prompts them to go into hiding early, to escape deportation. While they are all fleeing, they must do so inconspicuously, so that they are not caught evading the call-up and are not suspected of going into hiding. Margot rides her bike there, which is especially risky, since Jews are not allowed to ride bikes.

Saturday, 11 July, 1942

Holocaust 4: They must be completely quiet in hiding, otherwise someone will report that there are people being hidden, and they will be discovered and either killed immediately by Nazi police or taken to concentration camps. Anne is frightened because she is not used to such darkness and silence at night.

Friday, 25 September, 1942

Holocaust 5: It is important that no one finds out that the Franks are hiding in Amsterdam. For this reason, Daddy replies to business letters to people in his handwriting via another country.

Thursday, 1 October, 1942

Holocaust 6: Anne is very afraid of being discovered. The loud noise at the door startles her. Anne is easily frightened because she is so afraid of being discovered.

Saturday, 3 October, 1942

Holocaust 7: Though they are in hiding, they hear news of what is happening to Jews outside, including the terrible conditions at the concentration camp of Westerbork, in Drente, Holland. Most of their friends are deported to concentration camps, and people do not help the Jews because they fear for their own lives. Anne is so upset with the behavior of the Germans that she renounces her German nationality, and later in the book, she mentions several times that she wishes to become Dutch after the war.

Tuesday, 20 October, 1942

Holocaust 8: Anne has a great fear of being discovered, especially when something goes slightly wrong, such as the door getting jammed. The tension inherent in their situation affects her greatly.

Thursday, 19 November, 1942

Holocaust 9: Anne feels intensely guilty that she is safe in hiding when so many of her friends have been deported and may already be dead. She is very aware of both her Jewish background and her good luck to still be alive.

Sunday, 13 December, 1942

Holocaust 10: Anne feels guilty again, seeing the sad state of the Jews outside the Secret Annexe. She feels remorse for not being able to help the people who were not lucky enough to find hiding place.

Wednesday, 13 January, 1943

Holocaust 11: Anne feels lucky, yet guilty and powerless again when she sees people being dragged off, probably to concentration camps:

"I could go on for hours about all the suffering the war has brought, but then I would only make myself more dejected. There is nothing we can do but wait as calmly as we can till the misery comes to an end. Jews and Christians wait, the whole earth waits; and there are many who wait for death." Wednesday, 13 January, 1943, pg. 48

Thursday, 25 March, 1943

Holocaust 12: Everyone gets very nervous when there is a threat to the security of their hiding place. Their situation is very tense, as they could be discovered at any moment.

Saturday, 27 March, 1943

Holocaust 13: Anne feels more guilt and has nightmares about people being sent to their deaths.

Saturday, 1 May, 1943

Holocaust 14: Though Anne feels lucky, knowing that they are much better off in hiding than those Jews in concentration camps, she feels intense guilt. She also realizes that there is no escape from their hiding place.

Monday, 19 July, 1943

Holocaust 15: Anne is very affected when she hears about the inhuman horrors of the war.

Monday, 8 November, 1943

Holocaust 16: Anne is aware of the constant threat of despair and death:

"I see the eight of us with our 'Secret Annexe' as if we were a little piece of blue heaven, surrounded by heavy black rain clouds. The round, clearly defined spot where we stand is still safe, but the clouds gather more closely about us and the circle which separates us from the approaching danger closes more and more tightly. Now we are so surrounded by danger and darkness that we bump against each other, as we search desperately for a means of escape. We all look down below, where people are fighting each other, we look above, where it is quiet and beautiful, and meanwhile we are cut off by the great dark mass, which will not let us go upwards, but which stands before us as an impenetrable wall; it tries to crush us, but cannot do so yet. I can only cry and implore: 'Oh, if only the black circle could recede and open the way for us!'" Monday, 8 November, 1943, pg. 103

Saturday, 27 November, 1943

Holocaust 17: Anne feels guilty about her luck in having a hiding place when others are dying in concentration camps. This guilt manifests itself in a waking dream about her friend Lies, who is probably suffering in a concentration camp. She feels lucky, guilty, and powerless.

Wednesday, 10 May, 1944

Holocaust 18: The outside world does know about the situation in the concentration camps, as they hear in the news broadcasts.

Topic Tracking: Optimism

Saturday, 20 June, 1942

Optimism 1: Though the Nazi laws severely restrict her lifestyle, Anne does not despair or even complain. Even after describing how she cried upon leaving her school for the Jewish Secondary school, she still writes that everything is all right.

Sunday, 5 July, 1942

Optimism 2: Anne's father, like Anne, is also optimistic and believes in living life to the fullest while they still can. He encourages this spirit in her, telling her to live her life and not worry about when they will be going into hiding.

Saturday, 11 July, 1942

Optimism 3: Anne is cheerful and faces her situation with an optimistic attitude. She does not give up in despair, but instead moves on with her life and accepts her circumstances by making her room feel like home.

Monday, 9 November, 1942

Optimism 4: A large bag of beans splits open, spilling 50 pounds, but they do not panic or despair; instead they are able to see the humor in the situation and laugh at themselves.

Friday, 20 November, 1942

Optimism 5: Anne knows how bad the situation is outside of the Annexe, but she also knows that they must keep themselves happy to avoid falling into the trap of gloom. She recognizes that their jokes are what keep them going, and that it does no good to be miserable. She sees the light at the end of the tunnel and knows that soon the sadness will lift.

Monday, 7 December, 1942

Optimism 6: Though Miep is risking her life to hide the families, she goes beyond the call of duty to be cheerful and even brings them Christmas presents. This makes Anne very happy and hopeful.

Saturday, 1 May, 1943

Optimism 7: Despite the fact that she is in effect trapped in the Annexe, not allowed outside for fresh air and restricted in their movements and food intake, Anne realizes frequently how lucky they really are to be in hiding, compared with all of the other Jews who are being killed in concentration camps.

Tuesday, 18 May, 1943

Optimism 8: Though she has just witnessed an act of wartime violence, and heard news of more of the same, they are still able to break the tension, and laugh at each other and themselves.

Sunday, 13 June, 1943

Optimism 9: Anne's father notices and appreciates her optimistic spirit, writing an ode to it on her birthday.

Friday, 23 July, 1943

Optimism 10: They are optimistic about the end of the war, even discussing their first wishes for after the war. Anne especially has faith that they will survive.

Monday, 8 November, 1943

Optimism 11: Anne does have periods of depression, but beyond it all, she still is able to see that there is light and hope beyond the darkness of the war:

"I see the eight of us with our 'Secret Annexe' as if we were a little piece of blue heaven, surrounded by heavy black rain clouds. The round, clearly defined spot where we stand is still safe, but the clouds gather more closely about us and the circle which separates us from the approaching danger closes more and more tightly. Now we are so surrounded by danger and darkness that we bump against each other, as we search desperately for a means of escape. We all look down below, where people are fighting each other, we look above, where it is quiet and beautiful, and meanwhile we are cut off by the great dark mass, which will not let us go upwards, but which stands before us as an impenetrable wall; it tries to crush us, but cannot do so yet. I can only cry and implore: 'Oh, if only the black circle could recede and open the way for us!'" Monday, 8 November, 1943, pg. 103

Monday, 27 December, 1943

Optimism 12: Though they are risking their lives even hiding the families, Miep and the others go beyond the call of duty to include them in their holiday celebrations. Anne especially appreciates these holiday celebrations, and they keep her in good spirits, giving her something to look forward to.

Wednesday, 12 January, 1944

Optimism 13: Throughout the bad circumstances of the war and of having to hide, Anne holds fast to her faith in God and her belief that good things will happen to her. She thanks God for sending Peter as a helper.

Saturday, 15 January, 1944

Optimism 14: Anne does not bemoan her circumstances, but focuses on how she wants to make the best of their situation while the war continues. She anticipates the best case scenario, which includes living through the war and becoming a young woman.

Thursday, 3 February, 1944

Optimism 15: Anne experiences a dip in her optimism, but still, she is able to place her trust in luck and her hard work.

Wednesday, 23 February, 1944

Optimism 16: Anne's love of nature and having Peter as a companion keep her happy and in good spirits:

"When I looked outside right into the depth of Nature and God, then I was happy, really happy. And Peter, so long as I have that happiness here, the joy in nature, health and a lot more besides, all the while one has that, one can always recapture happiness.

"Riches can all be lost, but that happiness in your own heart can only be veiled, and it will still bring you happiness again, as long as you live. As long as you can look fearlessly up into the heavens, as long as you know that you are pure within, and that you will still find happiness." Wednesday, 23 February, 1944, pg. 143

Tuesday, 7 March, 1944

Optimism 17: Anne recognizes that she has improved herself since being in the Secret Annexe, and believes that it is better to be optimistic than to be miserable:

"I've found that there is always some beauty left-in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you. Look at these things, then you find yourself again, and God, and then you regain your balance. And whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery!" Tuesday, 7 March, 1944, pg. 152

Sunday, 19 March, 1944

Optimism 18: Peter's companionship makes her very happy, for he notices her cheerfulness, and Anne anticipates more wonderful times with him in the future.

Friday, 31 March, 1944

Optimism 19: Although the political situation is bad, Anne is still happy because she has found companionship in Peter, and she still retains her religious faith and optimism. She thanks God for bringing him into her life.

Tuesday, 4 April, 1944

Optimism 20: Anne's optimism comes in part from the goals which she hopes to achieve once they are out of hiding, such as being a journalist. She always sees the best possible future for herself. She wishes to surpass the standard female role and to have a career as well as a family, unlike her mother and Mrs. Van Daan.

Tuesday, 11 April, 1944

Optimism 21: Anne has faith that God with raise Jews out of the suffering, as God has done before, and that one day, all people will learn from the Jews. She has faith that she will achieve the goals that she sets for herself, for she has already surpassed the achievements of her mother.

Friday, 14 April, 1944

Optimism 22: Anne recognizes that her optimism comes from the work she does and from her courage. She also recognizes that things are only as bad as one thinks they are, and that unlike her, the other people in the Secret Annexe are grumpy and dissatisfied, for she makes a conscious effort to keep herself in good spirits.

Wednesday, 3 May, 1944

Optimism 23: Anne believes that although humanity will destroy itself, it will be redeemed and start again. She recognizes her own optimism; that she can laugh because she has kept her spirits high and has never despaired.

Friday, 26 May, 1944

Optimism 24: Even at the lowest point, when they are all restless, Anne writes about how they still love life and have hope. They do not give up and let themselves fall into depression but come together and try to make the best of their situation.

Tuesday, 6 June, 1944

Optimism 25: Anne is so hopeful about the end of the war that she imagines returning to school in the fall.

Thursday, 6 July, 1944

Optimism 26: Anne notices the contrast between her optimistic, self-improving nature, and Peter's lack of motivation to improve himself. She works so hard at self-improvement that his weakness frustrates her.

Saturday, 15 July, 1944

Optimism 27: Anne has faith that the cruelty of war will end and that peace will return.

June/July 1942

Sunday, 14 June, 1942:

Anne writes about receiving her diary on her birthday, June 12th. She thinks it is the nicest present of all. She goes to school with her friend Lies, and during recess she treats everyone to sweet biscuits.

Monday, 15 June, 1942:

At her birthday party she shows a film, which her friends enjoy. Mummy is always asking her who she will marry. Anne already knows that she wants to marry Peter Wessel. Her best friends are Lies and Sanne, but lately, she has become good friends with Jopie de Waal.

Saturday, 20 June, 1942

Anne thinks that it is an odd idea for someone like her to keep a diary because she does not think that other people will be interested in what a thirteen year old girl has to say. "Still," she writes, "what does that matter? I want to write, but more than that, I want to bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart." Saturday, 20 June, 1942, page 2 She does not think that anyone will believe that a girl of thirteen can feel alone, especially someone who has nice parents, a sister, more than thirty friends, and lots of boyfriends. She wants the diary to be her friend, and names it Kitty.

She gives a brief story of her life. Her father married her mother when he was thirty-six and her mother twenty-five. Her sister Margot was born in 1926 in Germany, and Anne in 1929, also in Germany. They emigrated to Holland in 1933, and her father manages a company there. In 1938, after the pogroms, or destructive anti-Jewish raids, some of her family escaped to the US, and her grandmother came to stay with the family in Holland. After May 1940, Hitler's anti-Jewish laws became more strict. Jews were made to wear a yellow six-pointed star, forbidden to ride bicycles, trains, and cars, given limited shopping hours and a curfew, forbidden to enter places of entertainment, forbidden to play sports, forbidden to visit Christians, and other restrictions. She writes that so far everything is all right.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 1
Topic Tracking: Family 1
Topic Tracking: Holocaust 1

Saturday, 20 June, 1942

Anne writes about how much she likes ping-pong and ice cream, at the few places where Jews are still allowed to go. She tells Kitty that boys like talking to her. There are also boys who try to blow kisses or hold her hand, but she pretends to be insulted.

Sunday, 21 June 1942

Anne is nervous about the teachers' meeting, which will determine who in her class will move up to the next level and who will not. Anne is sure that she will move up. Her math teacher Mr. Keptor gets annoyed with her because she talks so much, but eventually, she wins him over with her sense of humor.

Wednesday, 24 June 1942

The weather is very hot, but Jews cannot ride the cool tram. Anne's bicycle was stolen. She meets Harry Goldberg. He walks her to school that morning and the morning after, and she thinks that he will continue to do so from then on.

Tuesday, 30 June, 1942

Harry had a girlfriend named Fanny. Now that he knows Anne, he has forgotten her. His grand mother thinks that Anne is too young for him. His grandparents don't know that he goes to meetings of the Zionist Movement, whose goal was the creation of Israel as a Jewish state. They pass Peter Wessel and he says hello.

Friday, 3 July 1942

Harry meets her parents, and brings cake, sweets, and tea. They go walking, and Daddy is cross that he brings her back after the Jewish curfew. She tells Kitty she is not in love.

Sunday, 5 July, 1942

Anne has done very well on her exams. Since her father is restricted by the Nazi laws, his business partners, Mr. Koophuis and Mr. Kraler have taken over. She is surprised to hear him talk about going into hiding, and to hear that for a year they have been taking food, clothes, and furniture to other people. She asks when they will leave, and he says not to worry, and to make the most of her life while she can.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 2
Topic Tracking: Holocaust 2

Wednesday, 8 July, 1942

Sunday, the S.S., Nazi police, sent a call-up notice for her father and for Margot for their deportation to a concentration camp. She packs:

"The first thing I put in was this diary, then hair curlers, handkerchiefs, schoolbooks, a comb, old letters; I put in the craziest things with the idea that we were going into hiding. But I'm not sorry, memories mean more to me than dresses."Wednesday, 8 July 1942, pg. 12

The family wakes early and puts on tons of clothes so they can transport them without a conspicuous suitcase.

Topic Tracking: Family 2
Topic Tracking: Holocaust 3

Thursday, 9 July 1942

Anne sees people staring sympathetically at her and her family with their yellow stars. They will be hiding in a part of her father's office. There is a warehouse on the ground floor. At the top of a set of stairs is the main office, where Miep, Mr. Koophius, and the typist Elli work during the day. There is a showroom and a private office up a few steps, with a kitchen and bathroom. On the next floor, there is a doorway to their Secret Annexe. There is a small sitting room, a room for Anne and Margot, and a bathroom. On the next floor, there is a big light room with stove and a sink, which the Van Daans will use. Their son Peter will have a small room on that floor. There is also an attic.

Friday, 10 July, 1942

Upon arriving, the Franks unpack and scrub the Annexe all day. Anne writes that she did not even have time to realize what was happening to her until Wednesday.

Saturday, 11 July 1942

She does not feel quite at home yet. She has decorated her room with film-star pictures and postcards, and has put her mind to making it more cheerful.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 3

On Friday, they listen to the radio. They are nervous that the neighbors will detect them, so they are always quiet, and have made curtains. Margot has a cough, but they give her medicine so she won't make noise. The silence of the night frightens Anne. She fears that they will be discovered and shot.

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 4

August/September 1942

Friday, 14 August, 1942

The Van Daans arrived on July 13. She describes their son Peter as "a rather soft, shy, gawky youth; can't expect much from his company." Friday, 14 August, 1942, pg. 20 The Van Daans tell them that they helped start the rumor that the Franks fled to Belgium or Switzerland.

Friday, 21 August, 1942

Mr. Kraler puts a movable cupboard in front of the door to the Secret Annexe. Anne complains that Mummy treats her like a baby, Peter seems like a lazy fool, and she must stay inside when the weather is lovely.

Topic Tracking: Family 3

Wednesday, 2 September, 1942

Anne is shocked at the trivial quarrel between the Van Daans, and at how lazy and touchy Peter is. Mummy and Mrs. Van Daan are not getting along either; Mrs. Van Daan refuses to share her sheets, and as a result, so does Mummy. Peter sneaks away with a book about women, and Mummy disapproves and says that he is not as mature as Margot and should not read it. Peter gets into trouble. After three days, things are all right again.

Topic Tracking: Family 4

Monday, 21 September, 1942

Mrs. Van Daan is picky and pushy. Anne sarcastically refers to her as Madame. Anne is working on her family tree with Daddy, which she likes very much. She likes the books that Mr. Koophuis brings for her. She is working hard on her French and listens to the news. Mrs. Van Daan enters as Anne is writing about her and Anne refuses to let her see.

Friday, 25 September, 1942

Anne goes upstairs to visit the Van Daans. Peter's parents ask her if she could grow fond of Peter, and she says no, for he is shy, as he has not had much to do with girls.

To correspond with the outside world, they smuggle letters to a chemist who does business with the firm, and who lives in a neutral country. He sends the reply in an envelope to the office. When this letter arrives, it is replaced by a letter in Daddy's handwriting.

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 5

Sunday, 27 September, 1942

Anne has a big fight with her mother. It is surprising, since the family usually does not have such outbursts. Anne comments sharply on how the Van Daans treat her as one of their own children. Once, when Mrs. Van Daan was criticizing how few vegetables Anne was eating, Daddy pointed out how few Mrs. Van Daan had on her own plate.

Topic Tracking: Family 5

Monday, 28 September, 1942

Anne rants about how it seems she is constantly criticized in everything she does. Anne knows that she has her faults, but also knows that she is not as bad-mannered, conceited, pushy, lazy, and stupid as they think. At the table, Mrs. Van Daan claims to have an unassuming nature. Mr. Van Daan advises Anne not to be too unassuming. Mrs. Van Daan criticizes Mummy for agreeing. Mummy stays calm; Mrs. Van Daan turns scarlet and storms out like a fool, red in the face.

Topic Tracking: Family 6

Tuesday, 29 September, 1942

They have a washtub and there is plenty of hot water. Each person has his own place for bathing. Anne thinks her place is the best of all.

October 1942

Thursday, 1 October, 1942

When the bell rings loudly Anne thinks it is the S.S, but it is only the postman. She does not like that Mrs. Van Daan flirts with Daddy. Peter and Anne make the grownups laugh by cross-dressing. Elli has gotten Anne and Margot new dresses, and Anne comments how different they are in quality as compared with before the war.

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 6

Saturday, 3 October, 1942

In a quarrel, Mummy tells Daddy what she thinks of Anne and then cries. Anne hears and tells her father that she likes him more than Mummy.

Topic Tracking: Family 7

Friday, 9 October, 1942

Anne tells Kitty that her Jewish friends are being taken away by the dozen. They are loaded into cattle trucks and sent to Westerbork, a concentration camp in Drente, Holland. She has heard that the conditions there are horrible-one bath for a hundred people; men, women, and children all sleeping in one room. She hears on the radio that they are being gassed. Anne has to tear herself away from the terrible stories Miep is telling her. She tells her of an old Jewish woman who was waiting for the Gestapo to take her away, and no one would take the risk to take her in. As a punishment for sabotage, the Germans execute hostages and describe the deaths as fatal accidents. Anne is disgusted: "Nice people, the Germans! To think that I was once one of them too! No, Hitler took away our nationality long ago. In fact, Germans and Jews are the greatest enemies in the world." Friday, 9 October, 1942, pg. 36

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 7

Friday, 16 October, 1942

Anne writes about how she likes her French but finds math foul. She and Margot read pieces of each other's diaries and talk about the future. She chases Peter off, then lies on his bed. She asks Margot if she is ugly and Margot tells her she is not.

Topic Tracking: Family 8

Tuesday, 20 October, 1942

Anne's hand is shaking. Someone begins knocking, pulling, and pushing the cupboard that hides the secret door and Anne is sure that she is about to die. It turned out to be Mr. Koophuis, and that the door to the Secret Annexe had been jammed.

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 8

Thursday, 29 October, 1942

Anne tells Kitty that she is worried about Daddy, who has a fever and a rash, which looks like measles. They cannot call a doctor because they are in hiding. All of Mrs. Van Daan's possessions have been taken out of her home, and no one has told her because they do not want to hear her moaning about it, since they had to leave all of their things too. Anne reads a book that mentions prostitution, and she says that she would die of shame. She writes that she longs to have her period. Mummy is making her pray with her, and while Anne finds the prayers beautiful, she does not like to be pious just to oblige.

Topic Tracking: Family 9

November/December 1942

Saturday, 7 November, 1942

Anne writes that Mummy and Margot stick together, and she is jealous when Daddy praises Margot. She loves Margot but wants to be taken seriously too. Anne writes about her relationship with her mother:

"I only look at her as a mother, and she just doesn't succeed in being that to me; I have to be my own mother. I've drawn myself apart from them all; I am my own skipper and later on I shall see where I come to land. All this comes about particularly because I have in my mind's eye an image of what a perfect mother and wife should be; and in her whom I must call 'Mother' I find no trace of that image." Sunday, 7 November, 1942, pg. 41

She feels the inner conflict of a dual role in the family: Anne who is sensible and mature; and Anne who is silly and stupid. She hates being looked down upon and misunderstood, and she loves her diary because it does neither and is patient with her.

Topic Tracking: Family 10

Monday, 9 November 1942

They celebrate Peter's birthday on Sunday. They hear that the British have landed in North Africa. They hear the famous statement by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill: "'This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.'" Monday, 9 November 1942, pg. 42

She refers to the Van Daans as greedy pigs. There are four illegal ration cards. Food is expensive. They buy dried food, including beans, one sack of which breaks open, showering Anne with beans up to her ankles. Peter laughs. Anne mentions that Daddy has recovered.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 4

Tuesday, 10 November, 1942

Anne tells Kitty that they are going to take in an eighth person, since conditions for Jews are getting worse. Daddy wouldn't accept any more Van Daans, so they take in a dentist named Albert Dussel. He will sleep in Anne's room.

Thursday, 12 November, 1942

Dussel wants to wait a couple of days and settle his accounts before disappearing, which Anne thinks is pretty crazy.

Tuesday, 17 November, 1942

Dussel is shocked to see the Franks, thinking they were in Belgium. He is impressed with the Secret Annexe, and they give him a copy of the rules and guidelines for living in the Annexe, such as speaking softly, fat-free diet, lessons, small pets, mealtimes, bathing, and radio.

Thursday, 19 November, 1942

Anne finds Dussel pleasant, and understands that she must sacrifice some of her privacy to hide him. Dussel tells them the Germans are deporting entire families. Anne writes:

"I feel wicked sleeping in a warm bed, while my dearest friends have been knocked down or have fallen into a gutter somewhere out in the cold night. I get frightened when I think of close friends who have now been delivered into the hands of the cruelest brutes that walk the earth. And all because they are Jews!" Thursday, 19 November, 1942, pg. 48

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 9

Friday, 20 November, 1942

When Miep brings them news about the fates of their friends, Mummy and Mrs. Van Daan cry, so she does not tell them much anymore. But they still have fun together, and Anne says that there is no point in having a "Secret Annexe of Gloom."

Topic Tracking: Optimism 5

Saturday, 28 November, 1942

They have used more than their ration of electricity, and as a result must not use any for two weeks. Anne has also discovered that Mr. Dussel is old-fashioned. She is confused by all the criticism she is receiving from everyone. She falls asleep sometimes wishing she were different. She apologizes for confusing Kitty, advising her to disregard the confusion.

Topic Tracking: Family 11

Monday, 7 December, 1942

They celebrate Chanukah with not much fuss. Christmas Eve, Miep decorates a large basket, which contains presents for all of them. Anne has never before celebrated Christmas, and finds it a wonderful introduction.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 6

Thursday, 10 December, 1942

They buy a lot of meat to preserve. They make a funny, chaotic mess making sausages. Dussel tries to be a dentist for Mrs. Van Daan, who throws a fit, driving the instrument even further into her tooth. Anne says it looks like a scene from "A Quack at Work."

Sunday, 13 December, 1942

Anne watches the dirty people walking outside. She and Margot decide that even if they were to clean them, by the next day they would be just as dirty again. She sees Jews outside and feels guilty.

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 10

Tuesday, 22 December, 1942

Mrs. Van Daan has a bruised rib and is milking the injury. Dussel does silly exercises, which keep Anne awake. She writes that she spends so much of her brainpower learning to be good that she won't have any left after the war.

January/February/March 1943

Wednesday, 13 January, 1943

Anne is upset to see more people being dragged off and separated and sent off to camps or the war. She writes that she and the others in hiding are the lucky ones.

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 11

Friday, 30 January, 1943

Anne wishes that people would accept her nature as God made it.

Friday, 5 February, 1943

Anne is constantly contrasted with the more mature Margot. They laugh at Mrs. Van Daan's nonsense regarding what to say when flirting.

Wednesday, 10 March, 1943

Anne is very afraid of the sounds of the guns and planes, and seeks her father's comfort. Mrs. Van Daan fearsburglars in the house, but it is only rats. Peter gets bitten.

Friday, 12 March, 1943

The members of the Secret Annexe are eating so many beans that Anne can't stand them anymore. She is reading a book about the war, writing, and the emancipation of women, and she is not very interested. She has grown out of all her shoes.

Thursday, 18 March, 1943

Turkey has entered the war and there is great excitement.

Friday, 19 March 1943

Turkey is not in the war after all. Anne hears of the terrible conditions of a German soldier who is excited to be interviewed by the Fuhrer.

Thursday, 25 March, 1943

Noises in the warehouse make them paranoid and none of them sleep well.

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 12

Saturday, 27 March, 1943

Anne is excited about learning mythology and everybody thinks it is crazy. Mr. Dussel is making a fuss out of a minor cold. There has been an order to deport all Jews out of the German-occupied territories before July 1. Anne gets nightmares thinking about all the people being sent to slaughterhouses. There is some good news: saboteurs have gotten into the German Labor Exchange and destroyed important papers.

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 13

April/May/June 1943

Thursday, 1 April, 1943

Koophuis has had a hemorrhage of the stomach, Elli has the flu, and Mr. Vossen has an ulcer. Daddy sends Kraler to a meeting in his place, and Anne, Margot and Daddy listen in.

Friday, 2 April, 1943

Anne refuses to say her prayers with Mummy, upsetting her greatly. Anne feels sorry for her, but she did not know that Mummy would be upset by the coldness with which she herself treats Anne. Anne is indifferent, and remains aloof because it is her true feelings.

Topic Tracking: Family 12

Tuesday, 27 April, 1943

Everyone is angry. Anne cannot sleep because of air raids, and they are eating terribly-dry bread and ersatz coffee for breakfast, and spinach and rotten potatoes for dinner.

Saturday, 1 May, 1943

"If I just think of how we live here, I usually come to the conclusion that it is a paradise compared with how other Jews who are not in hiding must be living." Saturday, 1 May, 1943, pg. 71 She is amazed at the level to which their manners have sunk. Anne packs a bag in case they have to escape, but realizes there is nowhere to escape to.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 7
Topic Tracking: Holocaust 14

Tuesday, 18 May, 1943

Students must sign that they are in sympathy with the Germans and that if they do not, as eighty percent have not, they are sent to labor camps. Mrs. Van Daan causes a ruckus, thinking the house is on fire. Mr. Dussel makes them all laugh by inviting the frantic Mrs. Van Daan into his bed. They laugh and forget about their fears.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 8

Sunday, 13 June, 1943

Daddy writes her a birthday poem, which is both an apology for the conditions under which they are living and an ode to her optimistic spirit.

Topic Tracking: Family 13
Topic Tracking: Optimism 9

Tuesday, 15 June, 1943

Mr. Vossen has cancer. They will have to hand in their big radio as it is too conspicuous, but they will get another, smaller one.

July/August 1943

Sunday, 11 July, 1943

Anne is upset at the criticism she receives even when she tries to be good. She and Margot are doing office work. She writes about how much books and radio mean to her.

Tuesday, 13 July, 1943

She asks Dussel politely if she can use their little table, but he refuses. Anne negotiates persistently and is surprised with how small-minded he is for an adult.

Friday, 16 July, 1943

Burglars steal money, sugar coupons, and checkbooks from the offices downstairs. Luckily, nothing is taken from the Secret Annexe.

Monday, 19 July, 1943

Anne is horrified to hear of the destruction of North Amsterdam, and of all of the deaths and orphans, and she recalls the sound of the trains headed for the concentration camps.

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 15

Friday, 23 July, 1943

They talk about their first wish for when they are allowed outside again. Margot and Mr. Van Daan: a hot bath, Mrs. Van Daan: cream cakes, Dussel: his wife, Mummy: coffee, Peter: town and cinema, Daddy: seeing Vossen, and Anne: a home of her own and school.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 10

Monday, 26 July, 1943

There is a warning siren at breakfast, and a heavy bombing afterwards. Anne cannot sleep until the bombing and firing stops at two in the morning. She wakes to the news that Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini has resigned, and that the King of Italy has taken over. This gives them hope for peace.

Thursday, 29 July, 1943

Anne and Dussel fight over a book which he liked but which she and Margot did not like. He says that she has been brought up wrong and reads unsuitable books and had better hurry up and find a husband.

Tuesday, 3 August, 1943

Political news is good-the Fascist party has been banned in Italy. There is a third air raid. Mrs. Van Daan is cowardly. Anne complains that her body is stiff and out of shape.

Wednesday, 4 August, 1943

Anne begins to describe an ordinary day in the Annexe, starting in the evening: Nine p.m. they set up beds. There is creaking and thundering. Anne performs her beauty routine in the bathroom:

"Quickly into dressing gown, soap in one hand, pottie, hairpins, pants, curlers, and cotton wool in the other, I hurry out of the bathroom; but usually I'm called back once for the various hairs which decorate the washbasin in graceful curves, but which are not approved of by the next person." Wednesday, 4 August, 1943, pg. 86

Lights out at ten. At half past eleven, Dussel returns from work. Three a.m., Anne goes to the bathroom, Dussel breathes like a fish out of water, and she hears gunfire and runs to Daddy. They wake at quarter to seven.

Thursday, 5 August, 1943

At half past twelve, Margot and Daddy read, and others clean. At one, they listen to the

radio, and at quarter past one, they eat soup and hear news from Mr. Koophuis.

Monday, 9 August, 1943

The evening meal: Mr. Van Daan takes a lot of food, and is a know-it-all. Madame (Mrs. Van Daan) acts foolish and flirty. Peter eats like a bottomless pit and is very quiet. Margot eats little. Mummy eats and talks well. Daddy is unassuming and a great contrast with Dussel, who is nervous and impatient. Elli is always cheerful and cleans her plate.

Topic Tracking: Family 14

Tuesday, 10 August, 1943

Anne has taken to being quiet at mealtimes so that she is not criticized. Her favorite clocktower bell has stopped chiming. She has new shoes that are admired by all. Dussel endangers them by asking Miep to bring a forbidden book criticizing Hitler and Mussolini.

Wednesday, 18 August, 1943

They peel potatoes together. Mrs. Van Daan tries to flirt with Dussel and she also quarrels loudly with Mr. Van Daan. The Franks try hard not to laugh at them.

Friday, 20 August, 1943

Anne continues the timetable. Half past five, Elli comes to tell them that the warehouse is empty. Quarter to six, they set up to do their work.

Monday, 23 August, 1943

Quarter to eight in the morning, bathroom routine again, and afterwards a bit of family life, with the Franks all reading together, and after that, breakfast at nine.

September/October 1943

Friday, 10 September, 1943

They are overjoyed to hear that Italy has unconditionally surrendered. The bad news, though, is that Koophuis must have more abdominal surgery.

Thursday, 16 September, 1943

Relations between the members of the Secret Annexe are worsening. Mealtimes are silent. Adding to the tension is that one of the warehousemen is suspicious.

Wednesday, 29 September, 1943

It is Mrs. Van Daan's birthday. All they can give her is food and flowers. Mr. Van Daan and Daddy seem especially tense and angry lately.

Sunday, 17 October, 1943

Koophuis is back. Mrs. Van Daan throws a fit because they are out of money, and she does not want to sell her fur coat. Everyone is feeling a bit crazed. Anne studies.

Friday, 29 October, 1943

More fights between the Van Daans. Anne is so affected by the tension in the house that she goes to bed crying. She longs for fresh air, and sleeps to pass the stillness and fear.

November/December 1943

Wednesday, 3 November, 1943

Daddy plans to order a lesson in Latin, and he asks Koophuis for a New Testament.

Monday evening, 8 November, 1943

Anne tells Kitty that if she were to read all her letters, she would be struck by how many different moods there are, and she is presently depressed.

"I see the eight of us with our 'Secret Annexe' as if we were a little piece of blue heaven, surrounded by heavy black rain clouds. The round, clearly defined spot where we stand is still safe, but the clouds gather more closely about us and the circle which separates us from the approaching danger closes more and more tightly. Now we are so surrounded by danger and darkness that we bump against each other, as we search desperately for a means of escape. We all look down below, where people are fighting each other, we look above, where it is quiet and beautiful, and meanwhile we are cut off by the great dark mass, which will not let us go upwards, but which stands before us as an impenetrable wall; it tries to crush us, but cannot do so yet. I can only cry and implore: 'Oh, if only the black circle could recede and open the way for us!'" Monday, 8 November, 1943, pg. 103

Topic Tracking: Optimism 11
Topic Tracking: Holocaust 16

Thursday, 11 November, 1943

Anne's fountain pen fell on the floor last Friday and was accidentally swept up and burned.

Wednesday, 17 November, 1943

Elli cannot visit because people in her home have diphtheria. Margot is progressing in Latin. The sixteenth of November was their one-year anniversary of being in the annexe. Dussel has been very disagreeable lately.

Saturday, 27 November, 1943

Anne has a waking dream of Lies Goosens, one of her closest friends. Lies asks her why she has deserted her, and begs Anne to rescue her from hell. Anne questions why she was chosen to live and Lies was sent off to a concentration camp:

"Lies, Lies, if only I could take you away, if only I could let you share all the things I enjoy. It is too late now, I can't help, or repair the wrong I have done. But I shall never forget her again, and I shall always pray for her." Saturday, 27 November, 1943, pg. 108

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 17

Monday, 6 December, 1943

For Christmas, Anne and Daddy compose a poem for each person and put them all in a decorated laundry basket. Everyone is pleased and laughs.

Wednesday, 22 December, 1943

Anne had the flu. The war is at a standstill and they are cranky with heavy food.

Friday, 24 December, 1943

"'Would anyone, either Jew or non-Jew, understand this about me, that I am simply a young girl badly in need of some rollicking fun?'" Friday, 24 December, 1943, pg. 111 She misses fresh air, but insists on not pitying herself.

She thinks of the mother that she wants to be to her children someday, a mother who does not take things too seriously, who would be called "'Mumsie.'"

Topic tracking: Family 15

Saturday, 25 December, 1943

Daddy is so modest and tolerant that it is rare that he expresses anything of his own feelings. Anne hopes to grow to be like him.

Topic Tracking: Family 16

Monday, 27 December, 1943

Koophuis, Kraler, Miep and Elli prepare a lovely Christmas cake and presents.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 12

Wednesday, 29 December, 1943

On Tuesday night, Anne thought again about Lies and Granny. She misses Granny and feels remorse for Granny's suffering and loneliness. Anne berates herself for being selfish and cowardly and for not having enough faith in God. She hopes that she is praying enough so that God will perform a miracle and save her fellow creatures.

January 1944

Sunday, 2 January, 1944

Anne is ashamed to see that she wrote that she hated Mummy. She writes that the anger, which she showed her mother, could have been expressed in private or in her diary so that it did not reach her mother's heart.

Topic Tracking: Family 17

Wednesday, 5 January, 1944

Mummy has said that she thinks of her daughters as friends, but Anne writes that a friend cannot take a mother's place. She loves what is happening to her body, and her period, which is her "sweet secret." She remembers a time that she had an urge to kiss a girl friend who was sleeping over, and to feel her breasts. She longs for a girl friend.

Thursday, 6 January, 1944

Anne longs to talk to someone and goes to Peter's room and cannot help but chatter. She looks deep into his eyes. She has a romantic dream of Peter Wessel, who she had a crush on before going into hiding. She still loves him.

Friday, 7 January, 1944

Anne was fond of a boy in kindergarten, then years later met and fell in love with a good-looking boy named Peter Wessel. His older friend told him that Anne was childish, and he gave her up. She prays to God that she will meet Peter when she gets out of hiding and that he will realize how he has missed her.

Wednesday, 12 January, 1944

Anne has been practicing dance and made herself a dancing costume. Margot is maturing into a real friend. Anne writes of how she can see herself through others' eyes, and look at her life from the outside. She talks more about her mother's coldness. She thanks God for sending Peter as her helper.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 13

Saturday, 15 January, 1944

A great fight leads to the division of food.

"The war goes on just the same, whether or not we choose to quarrel, or long for freedom and fresh air, and so we should try to make the best of our stay here. Now I'm preaching, but I also believe that if I stay here for very long I shall grow into a dried-up old beanstalk. And I did so want to grow into a real young woman!" Saturday, 15 January, 1944, pg. 125

Topic Tracking: Optimism 14

Saturday, 22 January, 1944

Anne writes that is horrible that people hide their feelings and do not trust one another. Anne has also noticed that as selfish as Mrs. Van Daan is, she is easier to talk to than Mummy. She wants to start fresh and reexamine her relationship with the Van Daans.

Monday, 24 January, 1944

Anne remembers that Mummy told her never to discuss sex with boys. Peter's cat Boche looks pregnant, but he points out the cat's male genitalia. Anne remarks on how normal the situation was, and that he did not mean anything unpleasant.

Thursday, 27 January, 1944

Anne likes working on family trees, listening to the radio, and reading about the cinema and theater. She is upset that people don't like it when she tries a new hair style

Friday, 28 January, 1944

Anne apologizes to Kitty for giving her the same news again and again. They can all finish each other's stories. Miep and Henk are always cheerful.

February 1944

Thursday, 3 February, 1944

The Germans may resort to flooding certain areas to defend Holland from the English. The families are worried about what will happen if they evacuate Amsterdam. Everyone has a different idea of what to do. Henk and the men of the Secret Annexe argue over the inhumane lengths to which the Germans will go. Anne does not care much whether she lives or dies, for the world will keep turning without her, so she trusts to luck.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 15

Saturday, 12 February, 1944

Anne feels intense longing. She feels like it is spring in her mind, body, and soul.

Sunday, 13 February, 1944

She notices that Peter looks at her. She wants to be alone a lot, and Daddy notices.

Monday, 14 February, 1944

Peter tells Anne he gets very tongue-tied, and admires how she always says exactly what she wants. She senses a real friendship, as she has only known with her girl friends.

Wednesday, 16 February, 1944

It is Margot's birthday. Anne goes to get her potatoes and when Peter tells her that they are first rate, she glows, seeing that he wants to please her. When he tells her that he feels useless, she tells him that he has a very strong inferiority complex. They talk about Daddy. She sees that he needs more affection, and that he hugs his cat Mouschi often.

Friday, 18 February, 1944

She tells Kitty that she is not in love, but that her talks with Peter give her confidence and friendship. Mummy says she will be a nuisance to him, and gives her suspicious looks.

Saturday, 19 February, 1944

Anne does not know how to reach Peter. She cries, thinking she has imagined that she is special; that he does not need her to confide in, and she is scared of being alone again.

Wednesday, 23 February, 1944

Anne goes up to see Peter every morning. Looking at the blue sky outside the window, she comes to the revelation that while she does miss outward, or material things, she still has her inward compensation, which is her happiness with Peter.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 16

Sunday, 27 February, 1944

Anne thinks of Peter constantly. They have a lot on common, including the lack of a mother and a constant battle with their inner feelings, though he is shy and she noisy. She wonders how long her common sense will keep her longing under control.

Monday, 28 February, 1944

Anne is in despair but pretends to be happy. Peter Van Daan and Peter Wessel have grown into one in her mind, and she longs for him. She is tired of her family.

March 1944

Wednesday, 1 March, 1944

Burglars steal a projector and Kraler's portfolio. They are scared, because the thief may have been one of the warehousemen, and he may have heard Mr. Van Daan.

Thursday, 2 March, 1944

Mummy tells a discouragedElli that she should think of others' troubles. Anne thinks it is stupid to make oneself more miserable. Mummy is jealous that Anne talks more to Mrs. Van Daan. Anne advises Peter to talk to Daddy and become his pal.

Friday, 3 March, 1944

Anne feels comforted by Sabbath candles. Peter governs her moods. She sees warmth in his eyes. He asks if she is in love-she says why, and he says, why not. She worries that he does not like her chatter, but is sure that he feels as happy as she does.

Saturday, 4 March, 1944

Anne sits close to Peter during her lessons. Later, she finds him waiting for her, and wonders if he is going to fall in love with her after all. Mrs. Van Daan teases her.

Monday, 6 March, 1944

Anne longs to help him overcome his solitude and indifference. "Oh, Peter, if only I could help you, if only you would let me! Together we could drive away your loneliness and mine!" Monday, 6 March, 1944, pg. 150 She is glad that the Van Daans have a son, and she lives from one meeting to the next.

Tuesday, 7 March, 1944

She thinks back to her life back in 1942, how unreal it seems. She was king of the castle at school, driving away her emptiness with pranks. Her carefree school days are over and she does not even long for them, for she has found her flaws and changed herself. She has a desire for beauty and nature, and writes that people should recapture happiness.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 17

Sunday, 12 March, 1944

Anne loves talking to Peter, but her longing for him makes her feels miserable. She pours her sadness into her diary and is happy by day. Margot takes her too seriously.

Tuesday, 14 March, 1944

The people who gave them the illegal food coupons have been caught. The potatoes are rotten. Mrs. Van Daan feels sick at the smells. Mr. Van Daan smokes to forget and craves meat. Mummy craves rye and disapproves of his smoking. Mr. Frank is easygoing and optimistic. Mr. Dussel is retentive.

Wednesday, 15 March, 1944

Their hosts are all sick, and this has the potential to leave them isolated. Luckily, Henk comes to see them. The doctor's office is extremely busy due to the war.

Thursday, 16 March, 1944

The weather is lovely. Anne is more restless than Peter because he has his own room and she does not. She has closed up in order to maintain her outward calm while desire and common sense wage war inside her. She wonders how someone so quiet could like her noisiness, and wonders if their mutual pity will turn to love.

Friday, 17 March, 1944

Their hosts are better and they are relieved. Margot and Anne are tiring of their parents' strictness. The family structure is disintegrating, largely due to the fact that Anne and Margot are still treated as children. Anne feels independent and superior over Mummy because she does not exaggerate, is not prejudiced, and is more precise.

Topic Tracking: Family 18

Sunday, 19 March, 1944

Anne decides to talk things over with Peter. He has never kissed anyone, nor has he confided in his parents. They talk about how different things were in 1942, but how they are now glad for the company. He says her cheerfulness helps him, and she feels that they now share a secret.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 18

Monday, 20 March, 1944

Peter invites her to look at the moon with him. In trying to treat her like an adult, Daddy is being cold. Anne worries that Margot is jealous and loves Peter. Margot writes Anne that she does not hold a grudge, and that she would not confide in someone unless they were on intimate terms. Anne writes her that she strives to be sweet like Margot and Daddy.

Topic Tracking: Family 19

Wednesday, 22 March, 1944

Margot writes Anne that she should not feel guilty about Peter, or pity her, that he is like a younger brother. Anne writes about how handsome he is, and wonders if he thinks of her as only a sister. She is glad he knows that she is a dreamer like him. She will put in a good word with Peter for Margot and invites her to join them.

Thursday, 23 March, 1944

The men who got them their food coupons are freed from jail. Their hosts are better. The Germans were cowardly enough to shoot at soldiers as they were fleeing their plane. Dussel and Van Daan make remarks when Anne goes up to see Peter, and Peter says that the grown ups are just jealous and have forgotten their youth. Peter tells her to laugh because he likes her dimples, and they compliment each other's looks.

Monday, 27 March, 1944

Politics are a touchy and opinionated subject for everyone. The British are making non-stop air raids, as are the Germans making non-stop lies. The parents listen to news all day and Anne believes it is affecting their brains. They are cozy in their nightgowns listening to a speech by Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Britain, but nervously await the consequences of the speech and are anxious to debate it afterward.

Tuesday, 28 March, 1944

Mummy forbids Anne to go upstairs often because she thinks Peter is in love, and because Mrs. Van Daan is jealous. Peter has invited Margot to join them, and Anne wonders if it is just out of politeness. Daddy does not object, so she is stuck between her parents. She wonders if she will ever feel his cheek against hers, as she felt Peter Wessel's in her dream.

Wednesday 29 March, 1944

She hears on the news that they will be making a collection of diaries and letters after the war. She wants to publish her diary so people will read about how the Jews lived in hiding. People line up for food, and thefts and riots are frequent. However, sabotage increases, as very few of the Dutch are on the "wrong side."

Friday, 31 March, 1944

It is cold. The Germans occupy Hungary, which is bad news for Jews. Things are calmer with Peter, and she can talk about anything with him, even menstruation. She is happy.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 19

April 1944

Sunday, 1 April, 1944

She longs for a kiss and wonders if Peter thinks of her as just a friend. She is not used to sharing her troubles with someone, yet she would like to put her head on his shoulder.

Monday, 3 April, 1944

Anne writes of "food cycles," where they have so much of one food that they eat it constantly. Yet they enjoy their poor meals because they are alive.

Tuesday, 4 April, 1944

Anne is upset that she is so behind in her studies. She wants to be a journalist, not a housewife like Mummy and Mrs. Van Daan.

"I want to go on living even after my death! And therefore I am grateful to God for giving me this gift, this possibility of developing myself and of writing, of expressing all that is in me. I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn." Tuesday, 4 April, 1944, pg. 177

Topic Tracking: Optimism 20

Thursday, 6 April, 1944

Anne's hobbies are writing, family trees, history, mythology, film stars and family photos, reading, poets, and art. She only hates math.

Tuesday, 11 April, 1944

Sunday Anne and Peter listen to Mozart. Dussel is upset that they used his cushion so they put hard brushes in his bed as revenge. Burglars make a large hole in the door and the families have to wait in fear and silence for two days. Anne wishes for a time when they will all be people again, not just Jews. God will raise them from suffering, as God has always done, and someday, all the world will learn goodness from them. She wishes to become Dutch after the war. She knows she is stronger and more independent than Mummy.

Topic Tracking: Family 20
Topic Tracking: Optimism 21

Friday, 14 April, 1944

Anne feels sentimental when she hears the birds singing and sees the trees, sun, and blue sky. She knows that her work, optimism, and courage keep her from complaining and being grumpy and dissatisfied like everyone else: "If the truth is told, things are just as bad as you yourself care to make them." Friday, 14 April, 1944, pg. 188 She doubts that anyone will be interested in publishing her messy thoughts after the war.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 22

Saturday, 15 April, 1944

Peter puts them in extreme danger by accidentally locking Kraler and other men out of the house. Everyone is very upset with him. Anne wants to console him.

Sunday, 16 April, 1944

She and Peter sit with his arm around her and her head on his shoulder. He touches her hair and face and kisses her on the cheek. She is absolutely ecstatic.

Monday, 17 April, 1944

She knows that Mummy and Daddy would not approve of her kissing a boy without talk of marriage, but she wants to follow her heart because it makes her happy.

Tuesday, 18 April, 1944

Daddy expects large-scale operations in Russia and Italy, which could lead to liberation. Anne and Peter kiss again. Anne loves the spring, and Elli brings them flowers.

Wednesday, 19 April, 1944

Anne thinks there is nothing more wonderful than sitting before an open window watching spring with Peter in her arms. She is completely tranquil.

Friday, 21 April, 1944

A warehouseman is suspected of burglary and blames Elli. Anne wants to send some of her stories to a paper for publication under a pseudonym.

Tuesday, 25 April, 1944

Dussel sits in the front office even though it is unsafe. Daddy and Van Daan are furious.

Thursday, 27 April, 1944

Anne translates a piece from Dutch to English, studies history, and reads about Brazil, a family tree, the Church, monkeys, the Bible, Charles V, French verbs, and Mississippi.

Friday, 28 April, 1944

She recalls her dream about Peter Wessel and feels the same intensity with Peter. She feels like two Annes: reckless vs. loving and gentle. She wonders if he can tell. They kiss and she wonders if she is letting herself go too much, for Peter has turned her inside out. She knows that she is beyond her years, but she is tormented by the battle of heart and reason.

May 1944

Tuesday, 2 May, 1944

She and Peterdecide to tell Daddy a bit about their relationship. He tells her to be careful, for Peter is not a strong character and is easily influenced. Anne tells Peter she trusts him as much as Daddy, and worries that he will forget about her when they leave the Annexe. Dussel has apologized to Van Daan. They celebrate his birthday.

Wednesday, 3 May, 1944

There are no new politics. Peter's cat has disappeared. They are eating very little, almost no vegetables. Anne wonders why so much money is spent on war and so little on medical services, the poor, and artists.

"I don't believe that the big men, the politicians and the capitalists alone, are guilty of the war. Oh no, the little man is just as guilty, otherwise the peoples of the world would have risen in revolt long ago! There's in people simply an urge to destroy, an urge to kill, to murder and rage, until all mankind, without exception, undergoes a great change, wars will be waged, everything that has been built up, cultivated, and grown will be destroyed and disfigured, after which mankind will have to begin all over again." Wednesday, 3 May, 1944, pg. 201

She is often downcast, but never in despair. She regards hiding as a dangerous adventure, and she can laugh because she is young and strong, with a happy nature.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 23

Friday, 5 May, 1944

She writes Daddy a letter telling him how she has struggled bitterly and can now live completely without being responsible to anyone. When she was struggling, no one helped her. Now, she will go upstairs, and either he forbids it or he trusts her.

Topic Tracking: Family 21

Saturday, 6 May, 1944

The letter upsets Daddy. Food and supplies are getting extremely scarce and expensive.

Sunday, 7 May, 1944

Daddy tells her that her loving parents did not deserve a reproach. Anne feels guilty for being harsh, and her pride is wounded, for she has been taken off the pedestal where she can do no wrong or hurt. She is ashamed of herself and realizes she still has a lot to learn, but that she is not alone, for she has Peter's love and her writing and happy temperament.

Topic Tracking: Family 22

Monday, 8 May, 1944

Mummy and Daddy's families were wealthy. Anne hopes they will still be rich after the war. She wants to study in other countries. Miep tells them of a lavish engagement party she went to, and their mouths water. Anne wonders how the granddaughters of a millionaire are now so poor.

Tuesday, 9 May, 1944

She finishes a short story about a fairy for Daddy's birthday. A woman who works in the office wishes to eat lunch in the office, so they are restricted.

Wednesday, 10 May, 1944

Mouschi the cat uses the wood shavings as a litterbox and the urine drips and just misses the potatoes and the dining room table. They all laugh about it. They hear the Queen of Holland speak, and there is also a prayer for the Jews.

Topic Tracking: Holocaust 18

Thursday, 11 May, 1944

Anne is busy reading about Galileo, Palestine, Charles V, mythology, and the Bible. She is bursting with excitement about learning. She wants to publish her journal as Het Achterhuis, or Secret Annexe, and she wonders if she will ever achieve greatness.

Saturday, 13 May, 1944

Friday was Daddy's birthday. He receives many presents, including books and sweets.

Tuesday, 16 May, 1944

The Van Daans quarrel about the war, and put each other down. Mummy, Anne, and Peter can't help laughing.

Friday, 19 May, 1944

Anne had a stomachache on Thursday. Peter likes kissing even more than she does. She loves him, but he will have to work harder to get her to talk more about her inner self.

Saturday, 20 May, 1944

Water spills on Anne's books, and family trees. She cries, but it turns out to be not as bad as she thought, and she laughs at the fact that her algebra book is destroyed.

Monday, 22 May, 1944

Daddy loses five bottles of yogurt on a bet. They are horrified to hear that Jews are blamed for giving secrets to the Germans, and for the fates suffered by those Christians who hide them. German Jews who emigrated to Holland may have to return. What one Jew does is thrown back at all Jews. Anne does not understand why the Dutch of all people judge them, for she loves Holland, and wishes to make it her homeland.

Thursday, 25 May, 1944

Their vegetable man is picked up for hiding Jews. The world is turned upside down, with innocent people sent to concentration camps. Being hungry is better than being discovered.

Friday, 26 May, 1944

Anne is miserable, alternating between laughing and despairing. They are all extremely tense about the invasion delay, the bad food, and a blocked sewer. She wonders if it would have been better for them not to have gone into hiding, for they are suffering and putting Miep and Henk in danger. Yet they still love life, and have not forgotten about nature and hope. It is just the restlessness that crushes them.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 24

Wednesday, 31 May, 1944

It has been very hot in the Secret Annexe. They are listless and complaining.

June 1944

Monday, 5 June, 1944

Dussel and the Franks fight about butter. Dussel misses women. Rome is taken. The weather is bad and they still have very few vegetables and potatoes.

Tuesday, 6 June, 1944

It is D-Day, and the invasion begins. The English land on the French coast, and many French cities are heavily bombarded. There is great discussion about the hope of liberation, and they have fresh courage and strength. Anne feels like friends are approaching, and is looking forward to going back to school in September.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 25

Friday, 9 June, 1944

The excitement has worn off a bit, but they are still hoping that the war will be over at the end of the year. The Allies are still invading France. She is looking forward to getting away from Mrs. Van Daan. They are reading about composer Franz Liszt.

Tuesday, 13 June, 1944

It is Anne's fifteenth birthday and she receives a lot of nice food and books. She wishes she knew how people outside were reacting to the news of British involvement in the war, and hopes that people are giving the English credit for all that they have done. She gets her period after two months.

Wednesday, 14 June, 1944

She is disturbed that people still think she is too egotistical and forward, and she says that all of the characteristics which Mrs. Van Daan attributes to her, she exhibits even more strongly herself. Anne is disappointed with Peter's dislike of religion and his weakness.

Thursday, 15 June, 1944

She sees the night sky through a window and it is so powerful that it overcomes her fear. She wishes she could look at nature more often, and not through a dirty window.

Friday, 16 June, 1944

Mrs. Van Daan is desperate and suicidal, jealous that Peter does not talk to her, and Dussel does not flirt back. No one takes her seriously. She makes everyone cranky.

Friday, 23 June, 1944

English attack Cherbourg; Russians join the offensive. There are very few potatoes.

Tuesday, 27 June, 1944

Many cities have fallen, and the mood is optimistic, though it has been very rainy outside the Secret Annexe. German women and children are being evacuated. She refers to the Dutch leader of the National Socialist party as "old fatty."

Friday, 30 June, 1944

Weather is still bad, but tempers are improving. Anne is reading a book in English.

July/August 1944

Thursday, 6 July, 1944

She is disappointed in Peter for saying that it is easier not to change his weak nature. She does not want him to lean on her. She wants him to understand that what is easy can drag him down. She wishes everyone would think about how to improve themselves.

Topic Tracking: Optimism 26

Saturday, 8 July, 1944

They get a huge amount of strawberries. They lock the doors and mass-produce jam, and for two days, eat nothing but strawberries. They also get nineteen pounds of peas, which they must shell. Anne is sick of peas by the end of the day spent shelling them.

Saturday, 15 July, 1944

Anne reads a book that criticizes youth as superficial and lazy. Anne takes it personally. Daddy treated her struggle as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. She is often irritable because she still feels guilty about the letter. She realizes that she built up the image of Peter in her mind, and wishes he would stand on his own. She remembers a quote about how youth is lonelier than old age. Ideals meet truth and shatter, especially now that people are showing their worst side, yet she trusts that peace will return again.

"It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can't build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again." Saturday, 15 July, 1944, pg. 237

Topic Tracking: Optimism 27
Topic Tracking: Family 23

Friday, 21 July, 1944

Someone tried to assassinate Hitler. She is glad that the German officers fight among themselves. Hitler tells the armed forces that they must obey his Nazi police, the Gestapo. Anne does not want to be too hopeful, but she is excited at the prospect of returning to school in the fall. She calls herself a little ball of contradictions.

Tuesday, 1 August, 1944

Anne talks more about her duality, the cheerfulness, and the deeper, purer side that no one knows. She worries that people think she is superficial, and the deeper Anne cannot withstand that. Clown Anne takes over even when she tries to be good. She behaves as if she does not care about things, but inside, she cares so intensely.

"[F]inally I twist my heart round again, so that the bad is on the outside and the good is on the inside, and keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would so like to be, and what I could be, if... there weren't any other people living in the world." Tuesday, 1 August, 1944, pg. 241

This is her last entry in the diary, for on August 4, 1944, the Secret Annexe was raided and they were taken away to German and Dutch concentration camps.