On June 25, 1947, the famous “Diary of Anne Frank” was published for the first time. A book which traces the writings of a young German Jewish girl, exiled with her family in the Netherlands. A look back at this work which marked History.
On June 25, 1947, the Netherlands saw a book appear in its bookstores called Het Achterhuis in Dutch, or “the Annex” in French. Otto Frank, Anne’s father, made this publication possible.
A French translation appeared in 1950, then an English translation (The Diary of a Young Girl) in 1952. In the 1950s, the book was increasingly translated and read around the world. Many countries then discovered the story of the Frank family. They also discover that of the young author through her eyes.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the book gained worldwide fame. It becomes an educational tool in schools. It serves to teach about the Shoah and to preserve the memory of the genocide of Jewish people and enemies of Nazism.
The story behind this post
Anne received her notebook on June 12, 1942 for her 13th birthday. She then begins to write. It continues until August 1, 1944. The young girl describes her daily life in the Secret Annex: obligatory silence, boredom and confinement.
She also expresses her emotions and thoughts, the war around her. It evokes the fear of raids and arrests, food deprivation and persecution against the Jews.
Three days after finishing his diary, the Gestapo arrested his family and the other occupants of the hideout. Anne Frank died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, seven months after her arrival. Otto Frank is the only survivor of the deportation.
On August 4, 1944, after the arrest of the eight people, Miep Gies, a Dutch Catholic who helped Jews during World War II, retrieved the diary from the annex. It is for this reason that the “Diary of Anne Frank” was initially associated with the name “The Annex”.
In June 1945, Otto Frank returned to Amsterdam. He then learns of the death of his family. Miep Gies gives him the newspaper. Otto Frank then realizes his daughter’s dream: to publish her work and allow her to become a writer.
The legacy of Anne Frank
Today the book is translated into more than 75 languages. It is one of the most read and best known works in the world, with more than 30 million copies sold. No precise classification exists. However, it is among the most widely distributed books, behind major religious texts like the Bible or the Koran.
It is possible to visit the house where Anne and her family lived in hiding in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands. This visit allows you to better understand his history and his diary. The museum offers video, audio and text archives.
This book plays an important role in the work of remembrance of the victims of Nazism. It is used in museums and in school education. Anne Frank and her family have become symbols of the crimes committed under Hitler’s regime in Germany.
