The Diary of Anne Frank

Saturday, April 1, 1944

Anne longs to be kissed! (Sigh.) She hopes Peter loves her and wonders if
hes too shy to tell her.

Monday, April 3, 1944

Anne writes about food and how food comes in cycles so you will eat
nothing but endive and lettuce for a week. You eat it because youre
hungry. This all sounds very unappetizing. Apparently it isnt a problem
only in the Annex but all over Europe.
Tuesday, April 5, 1944

Anne says that if the war isnt over by the coming September, shell
never go back to school because she doesnt want to be so far behind
everyone else. But then she decides to work hard at her school work again
so she can eventually be a journalist.
She describes a crying episode. Or rather episodes when she cant hold
herself together when alone. Its descriptions like these that remind you
how much stress and fear Anne lives with every day.
Anne has big dreams. She wants to be a writer, impact people, and be
immortalized by her writing. Isnt this sadly ironic? But also nice that her
dream came true?

Thursday, April 6, 1944

Anne lists her hobbies: writing, family trees, history, Greek and Roman
mythology, movies and movie stars, plus a few others.

Tuesday, April 11, 1944

Somebody tries to break into the office again and the men go downstairs
to investigate. Stupidly, Mr. Van Daan yells "police" trying to scare them
away.
A plank to the door of their secret hiding place gets busted by the
intruder.
Then a married couple comes along and shines a light inside and the men
are turned from police to burglars.

The men come upstairs to wait, assuming that the married couple will call
the police.
Finally they call Mr. Kleiman. Jan and Miep show up to fix the broken
plank.
Changes are made in everybodys behavior. They cant open any
windows anymore or flush the toilet after 9:30pm.
Everyone is concerned about whether the neighbors can be trusted.
Mr. Kugler is mad that the men went downstairs at all, reminding them
that they are Jews and their lives are at stake.
Anne is more scared of death now. The burglary is a dose of reality and
shes hoping very much that shell live through the war.

Friday, April 14, 1944

Everybody is strained and tense. Only Annes work, hope, love, and
courage keep her going.

Saturday, April 15, 1944

Peter forget to unbolt the door at night so Mr. Kugler and the workers
cant get in the next morning. Mr. Kugler is furious as he has to go
around to the back and force open the kitchen window.
The Secret Annex crew had also left some windows open and some
outsiders might be starting to get suspicious. Mr. Kugler is really mad,
and for good reason.
The cats are getting sick.
Fresh food is scarce.

Sunday, April 16, 1944

Anne and Peter cuddle, which she describes, cheek caressing and all.
Anne is psyched because their heads were touching for so long.
Peter gives Anne her first kiss, although it doesnt actually land on her
lips.

Monday, April 17, 1944

Anne wonders if she is acting morally to cuddle and kiss Peter without
any intention of marrying him. Were wondering if shes actually even
kissing him on the lips, but regardless, this seems to be a big deal for the
1940s.
She wonders if she should talk to her father. And certainly, she thinks she
and Peter should talk about it; she does not want simply the physical but
emotional intimacy as well.

Tuesday, April 18, 1944

Its amazing how innocent 17 year old boys were back in the 1940s. Anne
tells Peter about female anatomy and he has a few surprises. You have to
read this entry. The humor is too good to dilute by summarizing it.
Today they kiss "near the mouth."
Anne hopes to start talking about intimate and important things, rather
than just lying around in each others arms all the time. She really wants a
deep relationship.

Wednesday, April 19, 1944

This entry is short and puppy-lovey, focusing on holding Peter in her

arms and never wanting to be interrupted.

Friday, April 21, 1944

Anne had a sore throat, but is better now.

Yesterday was Hitlers birthday.
She chats on about royalty.
One of the warehouse workers, Mr. van Maaren, is probably the one who
has been stealing stuff from the office, but hes trying to blame it on Bep.
Anne wants to get some of her fiction published in a magazine under a
pseudonym.

Tuesday, April 25, 1944

Mr. Dussel and Mr. van Daan arent speaking to each other. Basically Mr.
Dussel is all sulky because of security measures. This guy doesnt seem
very in touch with reality and is managing to insult everyone in the Secret
Annex.
Anne is sick and is getting her family sick. Shes worried Peter will get
her cold since he insists on continuing to kissing her.

Thursday, April 27, 1944

Mrs. van Daan complains, as usual.

Anne talks about the many things she learns and does in one single school
day at home.

Friday, April 28, 1944

Anne describes her two selves: one is outgoing and amusing, the other is
shy and desperately wants to be loved.

The second, more tender Anne came out while she was with Peter, but
shes not even sure if he noticed, which bothers her.
They actually kiss on the lips, although its not clear if that was really the
original plan.
Anne thinks deep and hard about whether what she is doing with Peter is
right. She feels utterly torn. She desires the closeness desperately but
does not feel he would be the right man to marry, so is the intimacy of
their relationship OK or not?
Anne recognizes Peters weaknesses: hes emotionally younger than his
age, and lacks courage and character.
Anne worries that shes giving too much of herself to him too soon, and
maybe she should be saving herself for Mr. Right, not Peter van Daan.

Tuesday, May 2, 1944

Anne talks to her father about her relationship with Peter. He does not
take it well, worried that she cant have a normal teenage relationship
considering the circumstances.
Father tells Anne he would rather she didnt go upstairs quite so often,
and that its up to Anne, as the female in the relationship, to "set the
limits."
Like Anne, her father also sees Peters weakness of character.
Anne and Peter discuss what Mr. Frank said, and Anne reassures Peter
that she trusts him.
Peter tells Annes dad that theyll keep themselves under control in the
relationship and not get too serious.
Mr. Dussel finally apologizes for being so annoying and sulky recently.
But since he does this the day before his birthday, were suspicious that
he did it for the gifts.

Wednesday, May 3, 1944

Boche, the cat, has disappeared and Anne is making up stories about what
might have happened to him.
Anne suggests that all people are guilty for a war like this, not just the big
politicians and war-mongers. She thinks wars will continue until the
average people no longer have an inner desire to kill.
Anne likes the young woman she is turning out to be, and is making plans
to be somebody, not just a housewife.

Friday, May 5, 1944

Daddy is not pleased. He does not want Anne to go upstairs and "neck"
with Peter.

Anne writes her father a little letter about how her life has not been easy,
shut up away as it has been, and she has had to learn to be very
independent, without support from her parents. They have not, and do
not, help her through her difficulties so she has had to become older than
she really is. So now that he wants her to be obedient and stop seeing
Peter, she feels she should make her own decisions. Either he forbids or
he trusts her, theres no middle ground.

Saturday, May 6, 1944

Anne puts the letter in her fathers pocket. According to Margot, hes
pretty upset by it.
Everything costs so much more money than it used to Anne lists some
increased prices and life is so much more dangerous. Girls are
disappearing every day.

Sunday morning, May 7, 1944

Anne and her dad finally talk about the letter and they both cry.
He reproaches Anne about her letter, saying he and her mom do not
deserve to be criticized so harshly since they have always protected and
cared for her.
Anne feels terrible and repents having written it, but really only regrets
criticizing her father; she cant take back what she wrote about her mom.
She decides to try to start over and be a better person, and feels she can
do it with Peters support.

Monday, May 8, 1944

Anne discusses the irony of how rich her family was both her parents
grew up with a lot of wealth compared with how they live now, with
not even enough to eat.
Anne doesnt believe she needs to be rich, but does want to study in
London and Paris, have beautiful clothes, and live a life of adventure.
Miep tells Anne and Margot about a party she went to at a rich cousins
house and about all of the delicious food. The sisters are really hungry
and cant stop thinking about the fancy feast Miep enjoyed.

Tuesday, May 9, 1944

The inhabitants of the Secret Annex learn that they will be restricted from
doing anything during the lunch hour because Mrs. B, who used to be
demonstrator for the business, wants to eat her box lunch in the office at 2
p.m. every afternoon.

This also means that they cant get supplies and potatoes from Bep during
the lunch hour.
The group jokes about getting rid of Mrs. B by slipping her a laxative.
Anne notes Mr. Dussels bathroom use schedule. He seems to go very
predictably at the same times every day.

Wednesday, May 10, 1944

A little bit more humor in Annes gloomy life: The cat pees and misses
the litter box. It leaks through the floor and down next to the potatoes.
Anne is in hysterics.

Thursday, May 11, 1944

Peter gets a major scolding for being more than a pest to his mom.
Probably isnt a good idea to hit your mom.

Thursday, May 11, 1944 (second entry)

Anne is really busy with schoolwork, doing things like reading a

biography of Galileo. Shes so busy she has to neglect her "work" (a.k.a.
mythology studying).
Anne wants to publish a book called The Secret Annex and is sure that her
diary with be a big help in the eventual writing of the book.
Anne is writing a work of fiction that she claims is based on her fathers
life.

Saturday, May 13, 1944

Pims birthday was yesterday and everyone tried to spoil him.

Tuesday, May 16, 1944

The van Daans have an argument about who will win the war the
Germans or the Allies. Mrs. van Daan thinks that Germans could win,
which makes her husband mad. Theyre incredible bickerers.
The Franks cant resist laughing at the van Daans silly arguments.
Anne does a survey about what kinds of books and subjects each member
of the Secret Annex prefers.

Friday, May 19, 1944

All is well between Anne and Peter. He seems kind of needy of affection.

Anne decides she will not reveal her inner self to him unless he works for
it. Now that shes conquered him, she takes a step back.

Saturday, May 20, 1944

Annes entire portfolio of work is soaked when a vase is tipped over,

though most of it is recoverable. Her math book, unfortunately, is also
recoverable.

Monday, May 22, 1944

The British invasion of Holland hasnt happened yet, so Mr. Frank loses
his bet with Mr. van Daan.
Anne thinks its a bit foolish that the Dutch people think its the duty of
the English to liberate Holland. Anne points out that the first priority of
the English is to protect their own people.
More Dutch people are beginning to express anti-Semitism and Anne
hopes that the good, righteous Dutch people will prevail over racists.

Thursday, May 25, 1944

Bep just got engaged, which Anne thinks is a bad idea. She thinks Beps
fianc will hold Bep back from her dreams.
More bad news. The vegetable man is picked by the police up for hiding
two

Thursday, May 25, 1944 (second entry)

Jews in his house. This is a big personal loss as well, as the girls (Bep
and Miep) cant haul potatoes that far.

Friday, May 26, 1944

Anne begins to despair. Will life ever be normal again? Will the war end?
Will they make it until the war ends?
Anne briefly mentions how much responsibility and tension their
protectors carry.
The plumbing is broken.
Miep is all stressed because shes worried that the Secret Annex crew
thinks the protectors are anti-Semitic. Mr. Franks is astonished and tries
to talk her out of the idea.
Anne wonders if it would have been better not to go into hiding and just
be dead right now instead of suffering so much.

Wednesday, May 31, 1944

Anne finally resorts to discussing the weather but in truth, the heat
makes everybody inside and outside the Secret Annex miserable.

Monday, June 5, 1944

The cat has decided to stop using the litter box and the whole Annex
reeks.

Tuesday, June 6, 1944

D-Day! The invasion has begun. The British are invading France.
The Secret Annex listens to a lot of radio, including a speech by
Eisenhower.
Anne is so excited and wonders if 1944 will bring an end to the war.
The invasion seems to be going well, and Anne gives some interesting
details about the number of planes in use and how many tons of bombs
are being dropped.

Friday, June 9, 1944

Good news from the Allied front. However, the war will probably not be
over until the end of the year.
Everybody in the Annex reads a biography of the composer Franz Liszt.
Anne describes him

Tuesday, June 13, 1944

Anne turns fifteen. She receives an art history book, a set of underwear, a
handkerchief, two bottles of yogurt, a pot of jam, a spiced gingerbread
cake, a book on botany, a bracelet, exercise books, sweet peas, three
slices of full-cream cheeseThe riches are stupendous given that just a
couple months earlier she was eating rotten lettuce and endives.
The invasion is going well, with the Allied forces having captured many
French towns.
Anne again points out how foolish the Dutch people are for thinking the
English are lazy because they have not yet liberated Holland.
Anne reviews her faults and wonders if she is as arrogant as people think.
Shes determined to change and tries to refute her accusers arguments
against her character. She takes criticism very deeply to heart.
Anne thinks Peter loves her as a friend, not as a girlfriend. She feels like
he isnt sharing his whole self with her and cant understand why hes
holding back.

Anne is aching to be outdoors and in nature. She feels that nature is

rejuvenating and restores her courage.
Anne is an early feminist. Shes wondering why women have always
been considered inferior to men, and why women have gone along with it
for so long. Shes angry that her culture values the suffering of male
soldiers, but not the pain of women who bear children for the
continuation of the human race.
As a fine man, but "exceptionally vain."

Wednesday, June 16, 1944

Mrs. van Daan has totally freaked out. Shes talking about lots of morbid
stuff, like getting shot. She quarrels, cusses, and cries. And it makes
everybody else rude or morose.
Shes also totally jealous of Peters affection for Anne.
Mr. Kugler has received another call-up for doing forced work by the
Germans, but he is trying to get out of it.

Friday, 23 June, 1944

Anne herself says, "nothing special going on here."

Tuesday, June 27, 1944

Everything is wonderful. The Allies have recaptured and liberated a lot of

land. Everyone is just waiting for them to reach Holland.
German women not in military service are being evacuated.

Friday, June 30, 1944

Bad weather.
Tempers are improving, although the van Daans seem to be snagging
sugar.
Bep has changed her hairstyle and Miep has the week off.
Mr. Dussel is doing a root canal on Anne, who almost passes out from the
pain of the procedure.

Thursday, July 6, 1944

Anne despairs of Peters weak character. Why cant he improve himself?

Hes always looking for the easy way out.
Peter is starting to depend on Anne too much, which she doesnt like at
all.

She doesnt understand Peter. He is lazy. Why doesnt he like to work or

make goals for himself? Like tons of women before her and tons of
women after her, Anne wonders, whats wrong with him?
Peter isnt religious and even ridicules it. This bothers Anne as well. She
isnt extremely religious, but values religion because it encourages people
to live a better life.

Saturday, July 8, 1944

They receive tons of strawberries so they are making jam.

Theres a slight scare of another break-in, but it comes to nothing.
They receive tons of green peas, too a real gift, but it will be a lot of
work.

Saturday, July 15, 1944

Anne reads the book What Do You Think of the Modern Young Girl? She
then discusses her opinion of the modern young girl. She feels that the
writer was attacking youth and wishes to defend herself and her kind
from the charges laid against them.
Anne says that one of her best qualities is that she is very self-aware. This
seems like a pretty true statement based on reading her diary.
Anne again looks at how she has been raised. She thinks that her family
didnt take her seriously and blew her off with generic parent lingo like
"youll grow out of it."
Anne comes to the conclusion that she conquered Peter and that she ought
not to have allowed their intimacy.
She wonders if their lack of emotional closeness is because of his shyness
or just because hes actually more shallow than she thought.
Anne cant see a way to go back to just being casual friends with Peter,
which is what she wants. He leans on her too much now.
She is surprised she hasnt lost all her ideals and faith in justice, given her
situation.

Friday, July 21, 1944

Good news: somebody has tried to kill Hitler. Unfortunately, Hitler

managed to get away with just a few scratches and burns. But it shows
that a lot of generals and officers are sick of the war, too. Maybe itll
make the war end sooner.
Hitler lets his army know that they may shoot anybody who was involved
in this attempt on his lifewithout a trial.

Tuesday, August 1, 1944

Anne reflects on the fact that her personality is a "bundle of

contradictions." She is a dual personality but she never shows the nicer,
softer, gentler inside Anne to people they only see the frolicsome, flirty,
easy-going outside Anne.
She says that when she tries to show her more quiet and serious side,
everyone thinks shes either in a sour mood or sick and pumps her full of
medicine.
This is the last entry of Annes diary.

On 4 August 1944, everyone in the Secret Annex is arrested. Someone has

betrayed them. They are deported first to the Westerbork transit camp, and then
on to Auschwitz. In the Auschwitz concentration camp, Anne ends up in the
same barracks as her mother and sister. Later, Anne and Margot are taken to
Bergen-Belsen. Anne dies there in March 1945, at the age of 15. Otto Frank is
the only person from the Secret Annex to survive the camps. The others all die.
The identity of their betrayer has never been established.

The Diary of Anne Frank

Annes diary begins on her thirteenth birthday, June 12, 1942, and ends shortly
after her fifteenth. At the start of her diary, Anne describes fairly typical
girlhood experiences, writing about her friendships with other girls, her crushes,
and her academic performance at school.
During the two years recorded in her diary, Anne deals with confinement and
deprivation, as well as the complicated and difficult issues of growing up in the
brutal circumstances of the Holocaust. Her diary describes a struggle to define
herself within this climate of oppression.
Annes diary ends without comment on August 1, 1944, the end of a seemingly
normal day that leaves us with the expectation of seeing another entry on the
next page. However, the Frank family is betrayed to the Nazis and arrested on
August 4, 1944. Annes diary, the observations of an imaginative, friendly,
sometimes petty, and rather normal teenage girl, comes to an abrupt and silent
end.

From April to August 1944

On April 15, 1944, Anne gets her first kiss. Anne suddenly feels she is very
advanced for her age. She writes that the longer the war drags on, the more
difficulty she has imagining ever being liberated. She then thinks about trying to
have a fairy-tale published in a magazine.
Anne writes about her schoolwork and also includes the familys war-ration
recipe for potato kugel in her diary. She asks Peter if he thinks she should tell
her father about their relationship, and he believes they should. Mr. Frank says
that he thinks it is not a good idea to carry on a romance in the annex, and he
asks Anne if Peter is in love with her. Mr. Frank tells her not to take it too
seriously and that it is her responsibility to show restraint.
Anne wonders about the point of the war and laments that money is being spent
on fighting rather than on medicine, the poor, and the arts. She reflects on
human nature and concludes that until all of humanity undergoes a profound
change, peoples tendencies toward violence will lead to endless wars and
destruction. Anne writes that she is young and strong and living through a big
adventure. Her father complains that she is going upstairs to see Peter too
much. Anne wants to explain why she visits Peter a lot, so she writes her father
a letter, which makes him very upset. He tells her it is the most hurtful letter he
has ever received. Anne feels deeply ashamed and decides to try to improve
herself.
Anne tells her diary the story of her family, including her parents biographies.
She writes that her wish is to become a famous journalist and writer. Mr. Frank
has lost a bet with Mrs. Van Daan about when the war will end, so he has to
give her five jars of yogurt in payment. Anne hears that anti-Semitism is
becoming more common among the Dutch, and she is deeply disheartened. She
grows depressed again and wonders if it would not have been better to suffer a
quick death rather than go into hiding. She counteracts this thought by writing
that they all love life too much.
On June 6, 1944, D-Day, the BBC announces that the Allied invasion of
France has begun. The residents of the annex are very excited. Anne turns
fifteen and writes that the liberation is going splendidly. Her mood improves,
and she contemplates her love for nature and the question of why women are
thought of as inferior to men. Near the end of July, Anne writes about an

assassination attempt on Hitler and hopes it is proof that the Germans want to
stop the war themselves.
On August 1, 1944, Anne describes her new insights into her own character
and muses that perhaps she could become the kind of person she wants to be if
only there were no other people in the world. This is the last entry of Annes
diary.
On 4 August 1944, everyone in the Secret Annex is arrested. Someone has
betrayed them. They are deported first to the Westerbork transit camp, and then
on to Auschwitz. In the Auschwitz concentration camp, Anne ends up in the
same barracks as her mother and sister. Later, Anne and Margot are taken to
Bergen-Belsen. Anne dies there in March 1945, at the age of 15. Otto Frank is
the only person from the Secret Annex to survive the camps. The others all die.
The identity of their betrayer has never been established.