Anne Frank – Victim of the persecution of the Jews
On January 31, 2023 by Arundhutee Bhattacharya
Anne Frankwas just one of six million jews murdered by the Nazis between 1939 and 1945. but her words, and her life, have become potent symbols of the shoah, of which she is arguably the most well-known victim.
1929 saw the birth of Anne Frank in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Margot, Anne’s sister, was three years older than her. It was a time when Adolf Hitler and his party were gaining
momentum since unemployment was high and poverty was severe in Germany. Hitler
detested Jews and held them responsible for the nation’s issues. He profited from the
widespread anti-Semitism in Germany. Otto and Edith Frank, Anne’s parents, chose to go to Amsterdam due to anti-Semitism and the dire economic conditions. Otto established a
business there that dealt with pectin, a gelling ingredient used in jam production.
The Nazis went above and beyond. There were rumors that all Jews would have to leave the Netherlands and that they would have to start wearing a Star of David on their clothing. On July 5, 1942, Margot’s parents were concerned when she received a call-up to report for a purported “labor camp” in Nazi Germany. They didn’t think the call-up had anything to do with their jobs and made the decision to hide the following day in order to avoid being persecuted.
In the annex of his commercial space at Prinsengracht 263 in the spring of 1942, Anne’s
father had begun furnishing a hiding spot. His previous coworkers offered assistance. They were soon joined by four additional individuals. The hiding spot was confined. Anne often experienced fear. Just before they went into hiding, Anne received a diary for her thirteenth birthday. Anne wrote during her two years in hiding about the Secret Annex’s activities as well as about her emotions and ideas. She also created short stories, began a novel, and compiled sentences from books she had read into a book called “Beautiful Sentences.” She used writing to pass the time.
Anne was motivated to reconstruct her different journals into one continuous account, named Het Achterhuis, when the Dutch government in England’s Minister of Education appealed on Radio Orange to save war diaries and documentation (The Secret Annex).
Otto was profoundly affected by Anne’s writing. He discovered that Anne had dreamed of
becoming a writer or journalist and that she intended to share her life experiences through the Secret Annex. Het Achterhuis was printed in 3,000 copies in June 1947 after friends persuaded Otto to publish the diary.
Not only that but the book was also adapted for the theatre and the movie and was
subsequently translated into around 70 different languages. The Anne Frank House became a museum in 1960 after the tale of Anne was made known to people all over the world.
Otto was profoundly affected by Anne’s writing. He discovered that Anne had dreamed of
becoming a writer or journalist and she intended to share her life experiences through the Secret Annex. Het Achterhuis was printed in 3,000 copies in June 1947 after friends persuaded Otto to publish the diary. Not only that, but the book was also adapted for the theatre and the movie and was subsequently translated into around 70 different languages. The Anne Frank House became a museum in 1960 after the tale of Anne was made known to people all over the world. Otto was actively associated with the museum and the Anne Frank House up to his passing in 1980. He believed that through reading the diary, readers would learn about the perils of prejudice, racism, and anti-Semitism.
On August 4, 1944, Anne began rewriting her diary again, but before she was finished, she and the other persons sheltering were found and taken into custody by police. Two of the helpers were also detained by the police. We still don’t know why the police raid occurred.
Despite the raid, some of Anne’s writing was saved because two other assistants removed the papers before the Nazis ordered the Secret Annex to be cleared out.
