Anne Frank
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anne Frank (June 12 1929 – March 1945) was a Jewish girl who wrote a diary while she was hiding with her family from the Nazis. After her death in the Nazi concentration camps, her diary was published as a book which has been published in 20 languages. Her diary was also made into a movie.
[edit] History
Anne Frank was born in Germany. Soon after Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany (in 1939), Anne's father decided that the family would move to Holland. They lived in the Dutch city of Amsterdam. Mr. Frank opened a business that sold pectin, the ingredient that makes jam and jelly set.
In 1939, World War II began, and in 1940, the Germans took over Holland. Soon, they began to make laws against the Jews. Jews could not go to schools with other Dutch people, Jews could not own a business, Jews could not go on public buses; the Nazis did not even let them ride bicycles. They had to walk everywhere. And also they had to wear a yellow star, to show that they were Jews. Many Dutch people were outraged by these unjust laws.
Anne's father, Otto Frank, was afraid. He wanted to protect his family. He spoke to some of the people who worked in his business, One of them was a young woman of about 22 years old, and was named Miep Gies. Otto Frank needed help - he was going to turn the top floor of his business into a secret hiding place for himself and his family. Miep and the others would have to help them keep their secret, and bring them food.
Miep agreed to help. In 1942, the Frank family, together with some other Jews, moved into the secret hiding place that they had prepared. They planned to stay there until the end of the war. They hoped the war would end soon, but it did not. They spent over two years in their hiding place, never able to go out into the sunshine. During the day, they had to be very quiet, because the business continued downstairs, and not all the workers knew that the Frank family was in hiding in the upper part of the building.
A few months before the Franks went into hiding, Anne was given a diary, for her birthday. She called her diary, "Kitty" and wrote in it about all the things that were happening to her and to her family. Anne was only a young girl, but she knew how to write beautifully. She wrote about all the things that young girls think about - how she was getting along with her friends and parents, boys, and life. Anne had a strong ambition, to be a writer. She hoped to write a book that everyone would read.
No one knows exactly what happened, but after about two and a half years in hiding, not long before the end of the war, An unknown person told the Nazis that a Jewish family - the Franks - were in hiding. Nazi soldiers came into the Frank's secret hiding place. They sent the Franks and the others to a concentration camp. Miep Gies found Anne's diary and put it into a drawer. She wanted to keep it safe until after the war. She hoped that Anne would return, and she would be able to get her diary back.
However, that was not to be. Anne's father, Otto Frank, lived through the war and came back to Amsterdam. He hoped that his family had survived too - but they hadn't. Of all the family, only he survived. His wife was killed at Auschwitz. Anne and her older sister, Margot, died at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp - only a few days before the camp was freed by the Allied forces.
Miep Gies was with Otto Frank when he got the letter telling him that his two daughters were dead. Now she knew that Anne would never return for her diary. She went to the drawer where the diary was kept, and she gave it to Otto Frank. People who were close to Anne read the diary. They told Otto Frank that he should publish it. Anne had wanted to be a famous writer. Now, people would be able to read her book, and they would also learn about the difficult time that the Jews had during the war, and about the wonderful people who helped them.
Otto had Anne's diary printed. It became one of the world's most widely-read books. It has been printed in over 20 languages, and people across the world have read and enjoyed this true story. Today, for an admissions fee, you can visit the house in Amsterdam where Anne Frank and her family hid during the war. You can also see the diary that she wrote.