Introduction (1)

Intro: Earlier this year I visited the City of Amsterdam, fulfilling my dream of visiting the Anne Frank house. This is my experience.

Background (2)

In 1929 Anne Frank was born to Otto and Edith Frank. Her childhood was a happy one until Hitler came to power, by 1940 when the Netherlands was invaded; Holland became a harsh place to live as a Jew. Jews were required to wear a yellow Star of David at all times and observe a strict curfew; they were also forbidden from owning businesses. Anne and her sister were forced to transfer to a segregated Jewish school. Facing persecution and terror the franks escaped to a secret annex in Amsterdam central.

The Diary (3)

 On June 12, 1942 Anne’s parents gave her a red checkered diary for her 13th birthday. She wrote her first entry, addressed to an imaginary friend named Kitty, that same day: "I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support."

The secret annex (4)

On July 5, 1942the family went into hiding in makeshift quarters in an empty space at the back of Otto Frank's company building, which they referred to as the Secret Annex. They were accompanied in hiding by Otto's business partner Hermann van Pels as well as his wife, Auguste, and son, Peter. Otto's employees Kleiman and Kugler, as well as Jan and Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl, provided food and information about the outside world.

(5)

Whilst in hiding Anne wrote in her diary frequently for two years. She wrote her fears, thoughts and feelings. Some betrayed the depth of despair into which she occasionally sunk during day after day of confinement. "I've reached the point where I hardly care whether I live or die," she wrote on February 3, 1944. "The world will keep on turning without me, and I can't do anything to change events anyway." However, the act of writing allowed Anne to maintain her sanity and her spirits. "When I write, I can shake off all my cares," she wrote on April 5, 1944.Her writings reveal a teenage girl with creativity, wisdom, depth of emotion and rhetorical power far beyond her years.

(6)

On 4 august 1944 Nazi officials arrested everyone hiding in the annexe where they were taken to various concentration camps and later death camps.  After the war Otto Frank returned home to Amsterdam, searching desperately for news of his family. On July 18, 1945, he met two sisters who had been with Anne and Margot at Bergen-Belsen and delivered the tragic news of their deaths. Otto worked hard for human rights to ensure something so inhumane would never occur again. After finding his daughters diary he later published it and it has touched so many people across the world and me being one of them. The Anne frank house opened in 1960s and since then people from all over the world have visited and been touched by Anne’s words

Ending (7)

As I visited the Anne house i felt an overwhelming despair for not only the franks but all the people prosecuted by the Nazis and feel it is an important duty to learn about the holocaust and ensure nothing so tragic happens again. Although the diary contains passages of despair, Anne’s diary is a story of faith, hope and love in the face of hate.

Thanks for listening