The Diary of Anne Frank

[honesty]

Hmmm yes, Anne Frank...
I have read her diary and have adored it. So inspirational,to readers.

[floragord]

My Mother gave me the Diary to read when I was 13 (probably to make the point there was a tough world out there very different from my Enid Blyton experiences up to that age) It made a massive impression on me. I was fortunate enough to visit the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam a few years ago. The atmosphere was extremely sombre and all the visitors were obviously deeply moved by the experience. Unforgettable. We took ourselves for a large hot chocolate with schlagobers after to cheer ourselves up.

[Nair Snehalatha]

I have read ''The Diary Of Anne Frank''--- about a year ago.I was so sad after reading it--- Ayoung girl's life snuffed out at such a young age.The way they lived in hiding was really horrible. The good are made to suffer more.

[Poppy]

It wasn't only Anne, though. So many others died through the World Wars, and Anne reflects her experience in an emotional, inspirational way. I have only read a few extracts of her diary when I was learning about WWII once and we printed out a few pieces. My sister has the diary though, so I'll have to have a look at it sometime.

[Wolfgang]

There is an online version of the Anne Frank museum, http://annefrank.org/en/subsites/home/, I think some people might be interested in it.

[Jack400]

Yes, thank you , Wolfgang. I'll bookmark this page for when I have more time. Thanks again.
Jack

[Anita Bensoussane]

Thanks for the link, Wolfgang.

[Ragamuffin Jo]

Hi.

If you enjoyed reading 'The Diary of Anne Frank', I highly recommend you read the book 'Anne Frank Remembered' by Miep Gies and Allison Leslie Gold. It tells the story of Anne Frank from the perspective of the people that helped look after the Frank family whilst they were in hiding. It is a powerful book and provides a lot of background into the setting of that time period. It expands upon 'The Diary'. Miep Gies is an amazing lady. I hope you will consider reading it.

Jo.

[Eddie Muir]

Thank you for the link, Wolfgang. I have visited the Anne Frank House on two occasions and found the experiences of doing so profoundly moving.

I have a copy Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies and Alison Leslie Gold and agree that it is a great book, Jo. Another superb book is The Story of Anne Frank by Mirjam Pressler.

[Machupicchu14]

Merged with an older topic.

Yesterday I went to Anna Frank's house in Amsterdam. I believe many of you have already been to this beautiful city and to her house. It took us a long time and more still because we had to queue for two hours. But in the end it was worth it.
The experience altogether was very moving and memorable and I believe this first time to the house will always be special for me.
Us three, my mum, sister and me, have all read Anne Frank's Diary. It's really difficult to explain how I felt when I went into their 'secret annexe' and to see everything now so empty. And I also remembered her dreams and hopes and how her life was so cruelly ended. Being in the house which was for two years the dwelling of eight people was emotive.
Apart from that, we enjoyed doing the tour, shopping and being in Amsterdam.
And if I could talk about Holland, I can only say it's simply beautiful.

[Soenke Rahn]

I never been in Amsterdam. Thank you, interesting to read you impressions.

[Chrissie777]

Strangely enough I met lots of people in my life who have been to Amsterdam and went to the van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum, but not to the Anne Frank House.

Like Floragord I was 13 when my parents gave me "The Diary of Anne Frank" on my birthday and shortly after we went to Amsterdam in 1968 to visit the Anne Frank House.
Until 1979 I visited it 2 more times and was deeply moved.
Since the early 1980's and owning the first VCR I recorded all those late night interviews with Holocaust survivors and WW II documentaries on German TV which I wanted to watch at a more convenient time.
I also read dozens of books on Anne Frank and the other 7 people who did hide in Prinsengracht 263.

My favorite biographies are the ones written by Melissa Mueller and Carol Ann Lee who also wrote an absolutely riveting book on "The Hidden Life of Otto Frank" (it was hard for me to ever put that book down to take care of chores).
Miep Gies wrote a wonderful biography called "My Time with Anne Frank" (it was filmed with Mary Steenburgen) and Willy Lindwer wrote in 1991 "Anne Frank: The Last 7 Months" which was heart-breaking, because up to that moment in 1991 I did not realize HOW unimaginably hard those last months in Anne Frank's life have been.

About two year ago I finally discovered a coffee table book called "Inside Anne Frank's House" which reported on/about the extensive renovations that were done in the late 1990's in order to put it back into the state where it was in August 1944 when the Gestapo arrested the 8 people in the annex. And that's when I realized, I haven't been to the Anne Frank House since 1979. What a shame!
So I convinced my husband to extend our UK trip in 2018 for a few days in order to visit the Anne Frank House. He is the most easy going person I ever met and agreed right away. André said that he also would like to visit the van Gogh and the Rijksmuseum one more time as this will be one of our last trips to Europe before retirement.

Well, for some private matters we were forced in 2018 to post-pone our UK trip to 2019 and now it's getting very close to our trip: we'll fly to London on 5th of May and visit the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam on 22nd of May.

[number 6]

I'm glad you and your family enjoyed your time in Amsterdam, Maria Esther, and I'm pleased you got to see Anne Frank's house. To me, it's quite an humbling experience. To think what they had to endure throughout those brutal days of occupation, hidden away in fear, is truly sobering. We lit a candle in a local church in remembrance of Anne and her family, as well as the other occupants of the Secret Annexe. We lit another one in special memory of Anne and her sister, Margot, who both tragically perished together at Bergen-Belsen..not long before liberation came.
The experience made me think hard of all the selfish people in Today's World, who moan and groan about the slightest thing, no matter how insignificant and trivial it is!

[Chrissie777]

Yesterday I went to Anna Frank's house in Amsterdam. I believe many of you have already been to this beautiful city and to her house. It took us a long time and more still because we had to queue for two hours. But in the end it was worth it.

Maria Esther, too bad that you didn't mention it before your trip to Amsterdam, because 60 days in advance of visiting the Anne Frank House you can get online tickets for a certain time of the day and that saves you waiting in a queue.
We did the same 2 years ago in Paris and avoided the queue in front of the Louvre. We also booked online tickets for the van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum as we have so little time on those 3 days in Amsterdam.

[Chrissie777]

I have a copy Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies and Alison Leslie Gold and agree that it is a great book, Jo. Another superb book is The Story of Anne Frank by Mirjam Pressler.

Eddie, I didn't know Mirjam Pressler's book was translated into English. I have a copy, still need to read it.