Introduction

The Diary of Anne Frank, also known as The Diary of a Young Girl, comprises journal entries written by Anne Frank from June 1942 to August 1944. Anne, a young Jewish girl, wrote these entries while hiding from the German occupation forces in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Through her writings, she expresses her feelings, shares her views on the war, and narrates her experiences of girlhood.

On August 4, 1944, just two months after Anne turned 15, she, her family, and the others hiding in the Secret Annex were betrayed and seized. 

They were arrested by the Nazis and sent to various concentration camps. Anne and her sister, Margot, were taken to Bergen-Belsen, where they died from typhus just before the camp was liberated by the Allies.

Anne's diary, left behind in the annex during the Nazi raid, was given to her father, Otto Frank, who was the only surviving member of the Frank family. Honoring Anne's wish, Otto published her journals in loving memory of her.

Plot Summary

On June 12, 1942, Anne Frank received a diary for her thirteenth birthday, filling her with excitement to start writing. Her first entry on June 14th details her birthday celebrations and the gifts she received. She imagines herself writing to Kitty Francken, a character from Dutch author Cissy van Marxveldt's novels, known for being cheerful and chatty like Anne.

Anne tells Kitty (how she addresses her diary throughout) about her life, explaining how she was born in Frankfurt but had to move to Amsterdam with her family due to the rise of the Axis powers. In Amsterdam, her father runs a jam production company called the Dutch Opekta Company, and Anne lives a fairly normal teenage life. She attends school, gets scolded for her talkative nature, makes new friends, has crushes on boys, and ponders about the world around her.

Everything shatters when the Germans invade the Netherlands and impose strict anti-Semitic laws. Jews are forbidden from using public transportation, shopping at certain stores, and attending regular school.

Anne's sister, Margot, who now attends the Jewish Lyceum in Amsterdam, is suddenly summoned by the SS, the Nazi paramilitary force, for an interview. The family thinks that if she goes, she might be taken to a concentration camp.

Fearing for their lives, the Franks, along with the van Daan family and their son, Peter, and an elderly dentist named Mr. Dussel, decide to go into hiding. They seek refuge in a small hidden annex behind a bookcase in Otto Frank's office, which he had been preparing for a while to make livable.

Even though it is small, the annex provides some privacy for its inhabitants. They pass the time reading and conversing; they rely on information about the outside world and the war from Otto's workers and the radio. Anne's chatter bothers the van Daans and Mr. Dussel. Their arguments annoy her.

Anne notes that she does not particularly like the van Daans or their son, whom she considers dull. She expresses love for her parents, finding her father fascinating and her sister beautiful and intelligent. However, she struggles to connect with her stern and distant mother.

As the war continues, pillaging and raids are happening in the Netherlands. Anne starts menstruating and is bothered by the poor washing and bathing conditions, though she is grateful to have them at all. She also starts thinking about her crush from school, Peter Schiff, and begins to see some of his qualities in Peter van Daan.

Peter van Daan reciprocates her feelings, and they start flirting. However, Mr. Daan disapproves of their flirting, so Anne decides to distance herself and focus on her writing and schoolwork.

She hears an address on the radio by Dutch Minister Bolkestein, who encourages everyone to keep journals and documents so that future generations will know about their experiences. Anne then starts editing her diary, aiming for better clarity and language.

She hopes to have her diary, along with some of the stories and books she is working on, like The Secret Annex, published one day. Her dream is to become a journalist and a celebrated author.

As she grows older, Anne becomes more isolated and confides only in her diary. She begins writing about humanity and the oppression of Jews, and she ponders her identity and her place in the world. Despite the challenging circumstances and her fears for her family's safety, she maintains hope, believing that "in spite of everything, ...people are really good at heart."

In her final entries, she expresses her desire to show her more mature side to the world instead of being seen as a chatty girl. She wonders if she will ever have the chance to reveal her true character.

The diary ends on August 1, 1944, with no new entries.