What do you think?
Rate this book
The Secret Annexe: from The diary of Anne Frank
This extract from the Definitive Edition of Anne's diary begins on Tuesday 10 November 1942.
For her thirteenth birthday Anne Frank received a diary as a present from her father. She kept it from 12 June 1942 to 1 August 1944. In this diary, which she addressed to an imaginary friend called Kitty, Anne wrote about her life - first in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam and then, when the Nazi persecution of Jews forced her family into hiding, in the sealed-off back rooms of an Amsterdam office building, which they referred to as 'the Secret Annexe'. Anne had always dreamed of being a writer and hoped one day to publish her diary.
For her thirteenth birthday Anne Frank received a diary as a present from her father. She kept it from 12 June 1942 to 1 August 1944. In this diary, which she addressed to an imaginary friend called Kitty, Anne wrote about her life - first in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam and then, when the Nazi persecution of Jews forced her family into hiding, in the sealed-off back rooms of an Amsterdam office building, which they referred to as 'the Secret Annexe'. Anne had always dreamed of being a writer and hoped one day to publish her diary.
56 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
4 people are currently reading
592 people want to read
About the author
Anne Frank
243 books5,833 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Annelies Marie Frank was a German-born Jewish girl who kept a diary documenting her life in hiding amid Nazi persecution during the German occupation of the Netherlands. A celebrated diarist, Frank described everyday life from her family's hiding place in an Amsterdam attic. She gained fame posthumously and became one of the most-discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust with the 1947 publication of The Diary of a Young Girl (originally Het Achterhuis in Dutch, lit. 'the back house'; English: The Secret Annex), which documents her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944. It is one of the world's best-known books and has been the basis for several plays and films.
Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1929. In 1934, when she was four-and-a-half, Frank and her family moved to Amsterdam in the Netherlands after Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party gained control over Germany. By May 1940, the family was trapped in Amsterdam by the German occupation of the Netherlands. Frank lost her German citizenship in 1941 and became stateless. Despite spending most of her life in the Netherlands and being a de facto Dutch national, she never officially became a Dutch citizen. As persecutions of the Jewish population increased in July 1942, the family went into hiding in concealed rooms behind a bookcase in the building where Frank's father, Otto Frank, worked. The hiding place is notably referred to as the "secret annex". Until the family's arrest by the Gestapo on 4 August 1944, Frank kept and regularly wrote in a diary she had received as a birthday present in 1942.
Following their arrest, the Franks were transported to concentration camps. On 1 November 1944, Anne Frank and her sister, Margot, were transferred from Auschwitz to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they died (presumably of typhus) a few months later. They were estimated by the Red Cross to have died in March, with Dutch authorities setting 31 March as the official date. Later research has alternatively suggested that they may have died in February or early March.
Otto, the only Holocaust survivor in the Frank family, returned to Amsterdam after World War II to find that Anne's diary had been saved by his secretaries, Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl. Moved by his daughter's repeated wishes to be an author, Otto Frank published her diary in 1947. It was translated from its original Dutch version and first published in English in 1952 as The Diary of a Young Girl, and has since been translated into over 70 languages.
Annelies Marie Frank was a German-born Jewish girl who kept a diary documenting her life in hiding amid Nazi persecution during the German occupation of the Netherlands. A celebrated diarist, Frank described everyday life from her family's hiding place in an Amsterdam attic. She gained fame posthumously and became one of the most-discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust with the 1947 publication of The Diary of a Young Girl (originally Het Achterhuis in Dutch, lit. 'the back house'; English: The Secret Annex), which documents her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944. It is one of the world's best-known books and has been the basis for several plays and films.
Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1929. In 1934, when she was four-and-a-half, Frank and her family moved to Amsterdam in the Netherlands after Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party gained control over Germany. By May 1940, the family was trapped in Amsterdam by the German occupation of the Netherlands. Frank lost her German citizenship in 1941 and became stateless. Despite spending most of her life in the Netherlands and being a de facto Dutch national, she never officially became a Dutch citizen. As persecutions of the Jewish population increased in July 1942, the family went into hiding in concealed rooms behind a bookcase in the building where Frank's father, Otto Frank, worked. The hiding place is notably referred to as the "secret annex". Until the family's arrest by the Gestapo on 4 August 1944, Frank kept and regularly wrote in a diary she had received as a birthday present in 1942.
Following their arrest, the Franks were transported to concentration camps. On 1 November 1944, Anne Frank and her sister, Margot, were transferred from Auschwitz to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they died (presumably of typhus) a few months later. They were estimated by the Red Cross to have died in March, with Dutch authorities setting 31 March as the official date. Later research has alternatively suggested that they may have died in February or early March.
Otto, the only Holocaust survivor in the Frank family, returned to Amsterdam after World War II to find that Anne's diary had been saved by his secretaries, Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl. Moved by his daughter's repeated wishes to be an author, Otto Frank published her diary in 1947. It was translated from its original Dutch version and first published in English in 1952 as The Diary of a Young Girl, and has since been translated into over 70 languages.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 31, 2015
I have known about Anne Frank's diary for a very long time, but I have never actually read it. This extract seems to capture so much about life in the Secre Annexe: the attempts to be quiet and positive, the too-human interpersonal conflict, the tension about being discovered, the fear when Amsterdam is bombed by Allies's planes. The perspective of the young Anne is honest and insightful; if she had survived the war, she would probably have been a strong literary voice in the post-war world. This demonstrates the real tragedy of war: the destruction of so much beauty and potential.
Hierdie uittreksel is die eerste deel van die bekende dagboek van Anne Frank wat ek lees. Die borrelende persoonlikheid van die jong skrywer spreek duidelik, ten spyte van die ernstige sake wat sy opteken. Hierdie klein boekie inspireer my om die volledige teks te lees, en met Lina Spies se Afrikaanse vertaling beskikbaar, het ek nie werklik meer 'n verskoning nie!
Hierdie uittreksel is die eerste deel van die bekende dagboek van Anne Frank wat ek lees. Die borrelende persoonlikheid van die jong skrywer spreek duidelik, ten spyte van die ernstige sake wat sy opteken. Hierdie klein boekie inspireer my om die volledige teks te lees, en met Lina Spies se Afrikaanse vertaling beskikbaar, het ek nie werklik meer 'n verskoning nie!
March 12, 2022
I cried, I was enraged, I was bewildered as to how people can be treated so insanely bad. Anne did not deserve her treatment, she was a young, wonderful girl wanting to live her dreams. I read this during part of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and can imagine several innocent Ukrainians suffering at the hands of this Russian, Putin, land grab. Do we really have to wait to step in as the Allies did in June of 1944? How many Ukrainians will have to die before we act?
February 1, 2022
Very beautiful representation of the writings of youth. The short story "Eva's Dream" featured in the collection is my favorite short story of all time. I actually read the collection before reading her diary, and when it provided so much more insight into her mind when I was reading the diary. Some of the stories are a little bit dry for my taste but I read it all in one sitting which is probably not how it was intended to be read, as it is a collection of short stories.
November 4, 2019
First read then.........
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 29, 2024
Fuuuuuccckkkkk
December 28, 2024
Read for the second time, after visiting the Frank's hiding place in Amsterdam
February 2, 2025
I love history books, but this book have a special place in my heart
December 20, 2011
No había leído el diario de Ana Frank y tengo apenas vagos recuerdos de una película. Y me sorprendió, porque esperaba encontrar algo más oscuro y deprimente. Todos sabemos cómo terminó la historia, pero acá lo que está es la voz de una adolescente rebelde, por momentos sarcástica, por momentos sensible, y siempre alerta. La prosa es rápida y precisa, y cuesta creer que lo haya escrito alguien tan chico (¿habrá ayudado la traducción al inglés?). Esta crónica del encierro (las ratas, las ropas agujereadas, el inodoro que se tapa), mientras afuera caen las bombas, no es tan claustrofóbica ni triste como pensé.
August 15, 2011
The Diary of Anne Frank is one of those books that somehow passed me by. After reading this extract it is a fault that I fully intend to rectify immediately.
Read
October 13, 2014How could you rate it any less than five? I don't know what the difference between that and the main diary is... But anyway. She was incredibly gifted at writing. What more can I say? It's tragic.
February 9, 2016
A window into the life of a teenage girl trying to make it through the war.
April 14, 2019
"I've found that there is always some beauty left -- in nature, sunshine, freedom, in yourself; these can all help you..."
This book is a gem, though a difficult one to rate and review. For starters, The Diary of a Young Girl, is a hauntingly powerful glimpse into the mindset of a young girl as she goes through things, such terribly evil things, that no human being, let alone a child, should have had to experience. Yet it is truth. It happened. As a historical document, it is worth reading. The hard part of rating and reviewing such a thing comes with the fact that it is so hard to hear these truths, to know the darkness of what this child, this little girl, actually lived through. Of course it’s important, invaluable really, but at the same time it’s painful, bitter...and as a diary, almost too intimate to be read. It’s greatly disturbing. But it is powerful and deeply inspirational, however harrowing...
For all of those that judge this book by the same standards as they would any conventional fiction novel, NEWS FLASH, it’s a diary. It’s not meant to be a story. It wasn’t written with the intent of being entertainment or a literary masterpiece. It should not be read for enjoyments sake alone. The characters in this book are real, the things they went through are real. Anne was, IS, a real girl, not a fictionalized heroine. Her story should be told and remembered. For those that criticize her personality, well that’s just sad. For those that criticize the writing, even sadder.
"Where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again."
This book deserves a solid 5 stars by historical significance standards alone, not to mention how enlightening it was. But honestly, Anne Frank was a treasure, a bright young girl who loved to contemplate, to read and write. She was intelligent, feisty and passionate. Her diary reflects the phases of her short life, going from naive innocence to matured strength through the sufferings and hardships. I highly recommend this read.
"I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains."
And her voice will remain...
[OFFICIAL RATING: 5 STARS]
FURTHER QUOTATIONS:
"I wish to go on living even after my death.”
"It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart."
"In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit."
"Paper is more patient than man."
"I can't imagine how anyone can say: "I'm weak," and then remain so. After all, if you know it, why not fight against it, why not try to train your character? The answer was: "Because it's so much easier not to!"
"An empty day, though clear and bright,
Is just as dark as any night."
"We aren't allowed to have any opinions. People can tell you to keep your mouth shut, but it doesn't stop you having your own opinion. Even if people are still very young, they shouldn't be prevented from saying what they think."
"I need to have something besides a husband and children to devote myself to! I don’t want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living even after my death!"
"This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
This book is a gem, though a difficult one to rate and review. For starters, The Diary of a Young Girl, is a hauntingly powerful glimpse into the mindset of a young girl as she goes through things, such terribly evil things, that no human being, let alone a child, should have had to experience. Yet it is truth. It happened. As a historical document, it is worth reading. The hard part of rating and reviewing such a thing comes with the fact that it is so hard to hear these truths, to know the darkness of what this child, this little girl, actually lived through. Of course it’s important, invaluable really, but at the same time it’s painful, bitter...and as a diary, almost too intimate to be read. It’s greatly disturbing. But it is powerful and deeply inspirational, however harrowing...
For all of those that judge this book by the same standards as they would any conventional fiction novel, NEWS FLASH, it’s a diary. It’s not meant to be a story. It wasn’t written with the intent of being entertainment or a literary masterpiece. It should not be read for enjoyments sake alone. The characters in this book are real, the things they went through are real. Anne was, IS, a real girl, not a fictionalized heroine. Her story should be told and remembered. For those that criticize her personality, well that’s just sad. For those that criticize the writing, even sadder.
"Where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again."
This book deserves a solid 5 stars by historical significance standards alone, not to mention how enlightening it was. But honestly, Anne Frank was a treasure, a bright young girl who loved to contemplate, to read and write. She was intelligent, feisty and passionate. Her diary reflects the phases of her short life, going from naive innocence to matured strength through the sufferings and hardships. I highly recommend this read.
"I don't think of all the misery, but of the beauty that still remains."
And her voice will remain...
[OFFICIAL RATING: 5 STARS]
FURTHER QUOTATIONS:
"I wish to go on living even after my death.”
"It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart."
"In the long run, the sharpest weapon of all is a kind and gentle spirit."
"Paper is more patient than man."
"I can't imagine how anyone can say: "I'm weak," and then remain so. After all, if you know it, why not fight against it, why not try to train your character? The answer was: "Because it's so much easier not to!"
"An empty day, though clear and bright,
Is just as dark as any night."
"We aren't allowed to have any opinions. People can tell you to keep your mouth shut, but it doesn't stop you having your own opinion. Even if people are still very young, they shouldn't be prevented from saying what they think."
"I need to have something besides a husband and children to devote myself to! I don’t want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living even after my death!"
"This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews