THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL - Anne Frank- PROSE -discussion

You have heard of Kitty, the favourite companion of Anne Frank, a Jewish girl of fifteen. She was a victim of anti-Jewish laws of Nazi Germany. Her family was forced to go into hiding in an Amsterdam warehouse from 1942 to 1944.The diary talks about her experience in hiding. It was first published in Dutch and in 1952 translated into English under the title The Diary of a Young Girl. She died of typhoid in the concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen in 1944.

 The diary addressed to Kitty begins on Wednesday, 8th July 1942.Anne was surprised and shocked at what had happened on Sunday afternoon. The whole world seemed to have tumbled down. But the only relief was that she was alive, and that was a great thing under the trying conditions of the time. On Sunday afternoon, Daddy was served a call-up notice. To prevent Daddy being sent to jail mother had gone to the house of Van Daan. They were also getting ready to go into hiding as soon as Daddy came back from Joodse Invalide, after visiting some old people. It was really a time of unspeakable tension and everyone fell silent. No one dared to open the door when the bell rang, for fear of the officials. Van Daan, Mummy and Harry came back. Anne and Margot were sent to the room. Margot tried to console Anne, but it was of no use. 

There was a talk about going into hiding and Anne was anxious. The family extremely tense. Anne was not permitted to ask those questions that disturbed her much. Margot and Anne had to pack up their vital belongings. The first thing that Anne put in her satchel was her diary, because memories meant more to her. When Anne’s Daddy arrived at 5 ‘o’ clock, Mr. Koophius was telephoned and asked to come over in the evening. Vaan Daan fetched Meip. Meip has been Daddy’s business partner since 1933. Meip was also a good friend. She came and took a set of clothes and went away. The upstairs portion of Anne’s house was given on rent to a certain Mr. Goudsmit. Again at eleven ‘o’ clock Meip and Henk Van Santen ( Meip’s new husband) came and took some clothes and went away. Anne realized that it was her last day on her own bed. Nevertheless she fell asleep. Mother woke her up at 5.30. Everyone wore as many dresses as they could because it was not easy for Jews to travel with suitcases. Anne bid farewell to her cat and they started their journey, not knowing the destination. Here the diary stops with the statement “continued tomorrow.” The next entry given is dated 25th may 1944, Thursday.

Anne Frank’s diary published in 1952 as The Diary of a Young Girl is prominent as a piece of unbiased reporting from the Jewish viewpoint. She was only 15 years old when she wrote her diary, but in it we get the picture of a girl growing up under the most trying circumstances. The diary, addressed as kitty, soon became a close companion of Anne who was leading a life in hiding fearing German persecution. In her diary, we read about the horrors unleashed by the S S, the fear and stigma associated with a ‘call up’ notice and so on. The call up notice was a notice ordering a person, usually a Jew, to show up before the S S. 

When Anne Frank’s elder sister gets the call up notice, the family decides to go into hiding. The fear and pain associated with the existence as a second-class persecuted citizen is very well conveyed by Anne. Every knock on the door frightens them, every sound made by a passerby unnerves them. Fearing police intervention, the family of Anne Frank quickly slip out of their residence carrying only their bare essentials with them. In an entry dated 25 May 1944, Anne Frank writes about the horrors awaiting those who got trapped by the S S for hiding Jews in their houses. Food is rationed, vegetables became unattainable and the family inevitably settles down to the idea of a life lived in hunger. As days and weeks pass by, the morale of the family is seriously affected. 

The family continued to discuss such issues as the vegetable man captured by the S S, the Jewish question, the invasion delay, the strain and at the same time joyous events taking place around them. At a certain point of time, Anne Frank even complains that while the strain and suspense was lifted off for the non-Jewish at least for a temporary period, for people like her, it never lifted for a moment. As food became more and more precious, the signs of comfortable life also receded. The house has now plumbing problems and the fear of the police forcibly making an entry increases. What made matters worse for the Jews was the truth that as they suffered their miseries they were also dragging their protectors into danger. Anne Frank’s Diary ends three days before her family and friends were discovered by the Nazis. Anne died in 1944, in a Nazi concentration camp after contracting typhoid.