ANNE FRANK “CHILD OF THE HOLOCAUST”

Through the eyes of one adolescent girl, this book depicts the feelings of many Jewish people whose lives were forever changed by the Nazi Invasion in the 1940’s during World War II. The Holocaust was an atrocious time in Europe when approximately 6 million Jews were tortured, beaten and murdered as a result of their religion. During this era, the Jewish people were taken to concentration camps and were gassed or burnt to death. For many people, Anne Frank became a symbol of those six million Jewish men, women and especially the children who were murdered by the Nazis as these tragic events unfolded. It is almost impossible to comprehend this number, but the story of Anne Frank makes it possible to understand what the war meant for one of these victims. For my book report, I chose to focus on a life of a young girl named Anne Frank.

Anne was a German Jewish girl whose family fled the Nazi Persecution of Jews in Germany in the 1930's, settling in what they hoped was the safety of Amsterdam, Holland. When the Nazis invaded Holland in 1940, the terror returned and the Franks went into hiding in a Secret Annex, hidden rooms at the back of Otto Frank's (father) business premises in Amsterdam. Most books about famous people only tell the reader about what the person was like as a child, to help explain what they were like as a grown up. But Anne’s diary is all about her childhood because she never had a chance to grow up. Very few people become famous as children, but Anne Frank eventually became one of those few.

To understand why Anne Frank became famous we must know a little something about her family background. The Frank family settled in the German city of Frankfurt during the seventeenth century. They prospered as the city expanded and grew rich by trade. Otto Frank, Anne Frank's father was born in 1889. Otto was brought up in a pleasant suburb of the city Frankfurt. During World War I (1914-18) Otto and his two brothers served in the army as did millions of other German citizens in which he rose to the rank of lieutenant. When the war ended, he left the army and went to work for his father's banking firm. Otto married Edith Hollander in 1925 and within a year later they had their first child Margot Betti (Anne‘s sister). Their second daughter Annelies Marie (Anne, for short) was born on 19 June 1929. In 1933, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party came into power in Germany. As soon as the Nazis were in power they began to treat Jews like enemies. Many Jews decided to leave Germany before they lost more than their jobs. Otto Frank was fortunate to still have a job and a nice house in a bright, modern suburb. Even so, he decided to leave his job, his home and his country, to take Edith and the two girls to live in Holland. Otto believed his family would be safe in Holland as they took no part in fighting during World War I. In April 1940 Germany invaded Denmark and Norway. A month later Germany attacked France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Holland. With the Nazis making life unbearable for the Jewish in Holland, Otto Frank decided to go into hiding with his family. He prepared a hiding place in the upstairs rooms of the Prinsengracht building. Margots order to report to a labour camp hastened their move to the "secret annex" in July 1942.
The Frank's "Secret Annex" consisted of just 6 rooms. For two years this was not just to be their home but their whole world for no less than eight people - Mr. and Mrs. Frank, Margot and Anne, Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan and their son Peter, and Mr. Dussel, a dentist who joined them in November 1942. It was here when Anne started writing in her diary about her life in the annex.
Although Anne was hidden away from the daily world, the radio kept her in contact with events, and her own powerful sympathetic imagination allowed her to understand the sufferings of her fellow Jews in Europe. Life in the annex settled down to a monotonous routine. They woke at 0645 and they all used the bathroom. By 0830 they all had to be quiet as work began in the warehouse beneath them. Breakfast was served at 0900 and this was normally eaten in the Van Daan's room, on the top floor, where they would least likely be heard. After breakfast, all movement was kept to an absolute minimum until 1230 when the warehouse closed for lunch. At this time, the inhabitants of the annex had lunch and listened to the radio. At 1400 the warehouse reopened and there was silence once again. Between 1400 and 1730, time was spent resting or reading. When the warehouse closed at 1730, everyone could move around again and the evening meal was prepared and served. At 2100 preparations were made to go to bed. The routine varied on weekends with no welcomed visitors from downstairs and even more need to keep quiet to avoid attracting the slightest attention to what supposed to be an empty building. They were cut off from the outside world, faced boredom, hunger and constant fear. As every day passed, there was an even greater threat of being discovered and death itself being part of the Holocaust horror. This routine went on for two years until they were captured in 1944.

The Nazis somehow found out about the Jews living in the secret annex and arrested them. The Franks, the Vann Daans, and Mr. Dussel were taken to Westerbork. From there Mr. Dussel was taken to Neuengamme concentration camp where he died. The Franks and Van Daans were loaded onto the last train to Auschwitz, the most well-known and feared concentration camp.
At Auschwitz, Mr. Van Daan was gassed to death. With Mrs. Frank being weak and ill, she died shortly before the camp was liberated by the Russians. Peter Van Daan died in Mauthausen concentration camp on the day it was liberated by the Americans. Mr. Frank survived his ordeal in Auschwitz, and had gone into the women's section to find out what had happened to his wife and daughters. Here he learned that his wife had just died and that Margot and Anne, together with Mrs. Van Daan, had been taken to Bergen-Belson, a work camp. This camp was well known for cruelty, hunger and disease but at least there were no gas chambers. This gave Mr. Frank some hope that his daughters might still be alive. Unfortunately, Mrs. Van Daan died in Bergen-Belson while Margot caught typhus and died between February and March 1945 . Anne was now completely alone. Shortly afterwards, she too died of typhus.

Otto Frank soon realized that neither Anne nor Margot survived the war. Someone eventually had found Anne’s diary and passed it on to her father. After reading his daughter’s words, Otto Frank is greatly moved and points out that he like many parents, didn’t know his child in many ways. In 1947 Mr. Frank managed to publish Anne’s diary in an edited form of Dutch. Otto died in 1980. He was the last of the secret annex’s survivors, and it pained me once again as I remembered how the seven others had died in concentration camps. Anne Frank’s diary has appeared in more than 50 different editions with 18 million copies sold world wide. Anne wanted to grow up to be a writer but never got the chance. Her voice was preserved out of the millions that were silenced with a voice no louder than a child's whisper.

The story tells how millions lived, spoke, ate, and slept, and it has outlived the shouts of the murderers and has soared above the voices of time. After World War II, nations all over the world came together to create an international organization called the United Nations. It’s purpose is to safeguard human rights and prevent further conflicts. A series of international human rights laws were passed including the Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide. However, racism and discrimination persist despite all the good post-war intentions. This book not only shows that it is the duty of the world to battle against racism and discrimination but it is also the responsibility of each and every individual.

I have never read too many books or even took much interest to any history classes when growing up as a child. Since coming into the Air Force in 1994, I have slowly gained interest in history and have read a few boring books on several different subjects. Since reading this book though, I can honestly say my whole outlook has changed dramatically. Anne Frank “Child of the Holocaust” is really an interesting book and I was so touched by getting a chance to read it. The story really takes you inside the thoughts of a girl in hiding during the Holocaust. It is a completely stripped down version of any Holocaust or WWII book you will ever come across. The author seems completely honest in his writing and almost makes you feel like you know her. I love to see that Anne Frank, going through so much still continued to have a good heart and never got bitter in spite of it all. That’s really something to look up to. I feel most people will better understand and appreciate life after they have finished reading this amazing book. If more today took what she said to heart, the world would be a much better place. Lessons that the Holocaust have to offer are the most powerful in all man kind. One that does not learn from history is doomed to repeat it. Such a powerful event must not only be taken lightly, as history often does repeat itself, and if we are not ready, the history of the past will surly consume us in the future. I plead to my fellow readers and to the youth of the world… take these writings and all history to heart, and do not let such atrocities repeat in the future. This book stresses the need for every individual to make a choice, not only with regard to what happened in the past, but also with regard to what is happening today. Children and other innocent civilians continue to be targets of violence, war and conflict while others are still treated as second-class citizens due to their descent. This book provides a vehicle for people to view and think about prejudice, discrimination, hate and violence. Through Anne Frank’s story, I hope readers feel motivated to look at their own attitudes. I can’t stress enough how one person can make a change, one person at a time.

The only thing that I didn’t like about this book was it never told who actually turned all of the people in the annex in? I tried doing some further research and still could not locate an answer? It might be unknown by all but just wish it had mentioned something in that regard. To this day, I still don’t understand and find it hard to believe that there was no place for freedom for these people under Hitler’s government. All I do know is that Germans finally succumb to the allied forces and victory was so sweet. Although many Jewish people had perished, the allied forces were their savior in the end.

Due to her cheerfulness and undying courage, Anne Frank was able to keep up the hopes of her family members as well as the Van Daan’s during their time in hiding. Her never ending love for all people was fueled by the fact that she would never let anyone’s cruelty and power bring her spirits to the ground. Anne died at Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in 1945, yet her voice still lives on through her famous diary. Even the Nazi’s, who had killed over six million Jews by the end of World War II, could not diminish the hope for peace of a fourteen-year-old girl named Anne Frank. I leave all readers with one last question… had Anne Frank-an ordinary young Jewish girl-lived next door, could she have counted on you for help during the Nazi occupation? This is the question this book forces us to ask, again and again.