Anne Frank Q&A
Sunday, November 4, 2007 2:04 AM PST
Information courtesy of The Anne Frank Center, USA online
p Why is Anne Frank so well known?
A young Dutch victim of the Holocaust and the author of a famous diary Anne Frank has become a symbol of 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust.
For many people Anne Frank became a symbol of the six million Jewish men, women and especially the children who were murdered by the Nazis in the WWII.
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.
p What language did Anne use to write her
diary?
Anne wrote her diary in Dutch.
p Why are there different versions of the diary?
The (a) version of the diary was the very first writings made by Anne. After hearing on Wednesday, March 29, 1944, on a daily radio broadcast from London, Anne heard the Dutch Minister Bolkestein say that after the war all diaries and letters about the war would be collected.
The (b) version of the diary is Anne rewriting of her work as she stated on May 11, 1944, “You’ve known for a long time that my greatest wish is to become a journalist someday and later on a famous writer. In any case, I want to publish a book entitled ‘het Achterhuis’ (The Secret Annex) after the war, whether I shall succeed or not, I cannot say, but my diary will be a great help.”
The (c) version of the diary appeared after a Dutch newspaper in April 3, 1946, (Het Parool ö The Motto) printed an article about the diary and a publisher was found. Anne Frank’s diary was published in an edition of 1,500 copies in the summer of 1947.
p Why is the diary so widely read?
The diary was first printed in Dutch in 1947, then French and German. By 1951 an English edition was published.
The diary became world famous, and today it is printed in approximately 67 different languages and has sold more than 31 million copies.
p Was Anne’s diary the only diary ever found from the Holocaust?
No, there are many diaries and testimonies from the Holocaust. Students may want to read more, such as “We are Witnesses: Five Diaries of Teenagers Who Died in the Holocaust,” Jacob Boas (Scholastic, 1995); also, “Witnesses to War, Eight True-Life stories of Nazi persecution,” Michael Leapman (Viking 1998); “Edith’s Story,” Edith Velmans, (Bantam) 2000; and “Salvaged Pages: Young Writers’ Diaries of the Holocaust,” Alexandra Zapruder (Yale University Press) 2002.
p How did Anne Frank’s diary get published?
On June 3, 1945, Otto Frank arrived in Amsterdam and he went straight to the home of Miep and Jan Gies. Almost two months later Otto received word that both his daughters had died.
As it was now certain Anne was dead, Meip got out the diaries and gave them to Otto. Otto started reading them immediately and was moved and astonished. He had never realized that Anne had recorded everything that happened in the Secret Annex so well and accurately. Otto typed large parts of the diary in German and sent them to his Mother in Switzerland.
Later he let other people read parts of the diary. They urged him to look for a publisher, but no one wanted to publish it so soon after the war.
Anne Frank’s diary was published in an edition of 1,500 copies in the summer of 1947.
