The Diary of Anne Frank chronicles the experience of teenage girl, her family and a number of their acquaintances who spent months in hiding from the Nazis in a small apartment above a warehouse. The family had been living in Germany but were forced to flee to Amsterdam, and then were forced into hiding when the Nazis invaded Holland.
Hiding Jews was a crime and so the owners of the warehouse risked arrest as well. The family and the other people living with them in their hiding place had to be quiet during daytime working hours, so that they would not be discovered and turned over to the military police. Anne's comment that they had "freedom after five" means that once the warehouse workers were done working for that day (after five o'clock), the family in hiding could move about and even speak softly, because the risk of discovery was...
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lessened greatly in the evening and overnight. They still could not use lights or make noise to attract attention to themselves, but unlike their daytime hours, they did not have to remain still and silent.
In Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, what does Anne mean by "freedom after five"?
The Franks and the Van Daans hide in a secret loft, or annex, that is attached to a warehouse and business offices. This is also where the men used to work. Life seems to have stopped for Jews who are in hiding, but for the men and women who must report to work each day, they must keep regular business hours. In order to secure their safety and secrecy while living above a busy warehouse, the families must not use the toilet or walk around too much during the day. If someone flushes the toilet during the day, for example, someone at work might hear the flushing or rushing of water in the pipes and realize that someone is living upstairs. If the families move around too much during the day, their footsteps might also be heard. Anne says, "We have to whisper and tread lightly during the day, otherwise the people in the warehouse might hear us" (21). Therefore, freedom after five refers to the time when the workers downstairs go home and the families above are free to move about as needed.