Es un libro interesante para conocer la lamentable situación de las familias judías en tiempo de nazis, aunque, en mi opinión, tiene muchas limitaciones narrativas y de calidad. Cierto es que está escrito por una niña y la calidad literaria era algo secundario en un mundo tan triste como aquel.
No obstante, es una experiencia de lectura interesante.

It is an interesting book to learn about the unfortunate situation of jewish families in Nazi times, although, in my opinion, it has many narrative and quality limitations. It's true that it was written by a girl, and literary quality was secondary in such a sad world.
Nevertheless, it is an interesting reading experience.

If only Anne Frank's diary was the figment of someone's imagination. If it meant that this spirited, intelligent and articulate girl hadn't died along with so many others in Belsen concentration camp, and that the holocaust had never happened, that would be a wonderful thing, but it did happen, and that makes the reading of this diary even more heartbreaking.

For a 13 year old girl, Anne was so articulate - the way she expresses her thoughts and feelings about herself and others is remarkable. She's able to analyse herself in a particularly honest way, her abilities, failures, weaknesses.

As Jews in Nazi occupied Holland, Anne and her parents and sister Margot, had to flee their home in Amsterdam to escape capture. From 1942 - 1944 they occupy rooms in an old office building, which they call 'The Secret Annexe'. Anne's diary details daily life within the confines of their safe house. They share the rooms with another couple and their teenage son and also with a former dentist. As can be expected, there were many disagreements, living in such close proximity to others, and even within their own families. Just a few of the office staff knew about The Secret Annexe, and these are the people who kept them supplied with food, but given the fact that everything was rationed due to the war, things became a bit fraught at times. The alternative however, didn't bear thinking about.

In August 1944, Anne's diary suddenly becomes silent. No more words will be written in its pages. Someone had betrayed them to the Nazis and they were arrested and transported to various concentration camps. The diary was left behind and was found by the office cleaner. After being interned in two concentration camps, Anne and her sister Margot were finally sent to Bergen-Belsen where they both died - Anne was just 15 years old. Only Otto Frank (the girls' father) survived, and the diary was returned to him.

This is one of those books where a silence descends on finishing it. How do you write a review? How do you do it justice? I honestly don't know. All I can think is, what a great contribution Anne would have made to an ugly world if she'd lived, her ambition was to be a writer, and yet, even in death, she HAS made a contribution by allowing us to share those two years in hiding with her, and giving us a chance to see what a beautiful soul she was. Feel so sad right now.

This book was given to me by my Rabbi as a gift on my confirmation.

My edition is so old, you can't even find it. It is a Modern Library Book edition with an introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt. It doesn't mean that I am that old (although I am old-ish), but, the copyright is 1952 (I will say I wasn't born then).

I still have this book.

So this book is very personal to me. For a past I experienced growing up in a very prejudiced neighborhood. The anti-semitic past and hatred I endured living in Southern California. So a lot of times, I had to hide that I was Jewish. To protect myself.

And it is especially hard to see the hatred in today's world.

I don't practice Judaism today. But it is my history. It is a part of me. And my ancestors have endured a lot. So, yes, this book, Anne Frank's experience, it is personal.

Premise: the diary of a young girl beginning on her 13th birthday (6-12-42). {Interesting that I am posting this review on the date that would have been celebrating her birthday 81 years later.} The diary ends August 1, 1944.

Despite all that was going on around her, Anne was a happy and cheerful person. She was talkative and inquisitive. She was challenged as a teenager, and didn't always understand everyone or the situation, but she still had a great sunshine spirit.

I think this was another reason the Rabbi felt this was an important book to share with us young ones as we were entering our commitment to Judaism. He not only wanted us to understand what it meant to be a Jew, and the sacrifices of those before us, but the joy of a good positive attitude - despite the circumstances they endured.

I'm not sure that always worked for me. I questioned why the Jews didn't fight back. Why they allowed themselves to be shuttled into camps so easily once they knew that was what was happening. And as I questioned, I was reminded of the deepness of their religious beliefs of love and fellowship and the goodness and belief in humanity.

Thank you Anne.

We need to get back there again. Love. Fellowship. Goodness and belief in humanity. Yes?

It feels weird giving this book a star rating. And I am extremely late to reading this one (weirdly I never had to read this in grade school). But as to be expected it was both deeply profound, especially in context of what comes after her diary ends, and surprisingly mundane. I mean mundane in that ultimately, Anne Frank was a teen girl writing about her lived experiences—she just happened to be in an unusual extreme situation—but that doesn't mean she is not also focused on things like maturing, crushes, bodily changes, family angst, and more. I was surprised at how little the book focused on the outside world and the war, but in looking back it makes more sense that she'd be focused on the world around her, i.e. her family and friends hiding in the annex. It's hard to say if this book is 'enjoyable' or not, but that's beside the point. It's an incredibly impressive feat for such a young writer, and it obviously had a huge impact that she could never have possibly expected. For that, it's worth reading and remembering.

Anne Frank’s diary is a personal coming-of-age account that takes places in the midst of one of the most dangerous times in our history.

I admit that I avoided this book for quite a while, put off by its imposing fame. This was a mistake. Anne Frank’s diary deserves its popularity.
tt
What struck me, first, was how well-written it was. Frank received her diary at the age of thirteen, shortly before her family was forced to go into hiding. From the very beginning, however, the diary is charming. Quite naturally, she possessed what many experienced writers struggle to develop: a voice. It is not an easy thing to make oneself heard with just pen and paper. For Frank it seemed as effortless as breathing. She comes alive in these pages.
tt
Not to belabor the point, but as somebody who both aspires to write and who attempts to keep a diary, I was deeply impressed. It is one thing to write well for others, to produce something great after much revision. But to write so well purely for oneself, with no audience in mind, and at such an early age? It is humbling. Granted, Frank’s personality came to the aide of her literary talent. Unlike so many writers, she was quite extroverted; she keeps her focus on the doings and events of those around her rather than wallowing in her own thoughts (which, admittedly, she does do from time to time). This helped to turn what could have been an illegible record of petty frustrations (like my diary) into something that often resembles a novel.
tt
Under any circumstances, then, I think that Frank would have been an author worth reading. Yet, of course, she was not living under just any circumstances. As a Jew in hiding from the Nazis, her diary is also a remarkable historical document—a window into an atrocity. She ably captures the terror of living in hiding, but also the annoyance, the boredom, the loneliness, and the longing, as well as the moments of hope, love, silliness, and fun.
tt
Of course, all of this is seen through the eyes of a teenager. Though at times strikingly mature, Frank is very much an adolescent in these pages, and can often be petulant and childish. Yet this is not a criticism. Indeed, though I have the great privilege, as a teacher, to work with teenagers, nothing in recent memory so powerfully brought back the feeling of being an adolescent than this diary. It was enlightening to vicariously relive this tempestuous phase of life.
tt
It need not be said that this diary is ultimately a tragic document. The thought that such a bright and blameless girl could be so senselessly murdered—it is heartrending to consider. And hers was just one of millions of tragedies—more visible, perhaps, but not any more senseless or horrific. I do not think I can offer any moral or consolation, only the hope that many others read this diary, as well as other first-person accounts of historical atrocities. All of this really happened, and might again.

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4 out of 5 stars to The Diary of a Young Girl, written during the 1940s by Anne Frank. Many are first exposed to this modern-day classic during their middle or high school years, as a way to read a different type of literature from that of an ordinary novel. In this diary, young Anne express her thoughts (both positive and negative) over a two-year period during which her family and friends are in hiding during World War II and the Holocaust. For most of us, this is one of the few ways we can actually read or hear the words from someone who was actually there and went through this, especially if you don't know anyone who was alive during this time period in the 1930s and 1940s in Germany and the surrounding areas. I read this in my 9th grade English course, and I remember disliking it a lot. Not because of the way it was written or published, but due to the topic. I dislike anything about that time in history. But I later re-read it and had a different level of appreciation for the value a book of this type can bring. Unlike The Book Thief, it's raw and natural in its words. But where I love The Book Thief because of its story, I found this one a bit harder to digest. It's not this extraordinary novel by any means, at least to me, but given how it came about, what happened to her and the way she expresses everything, it is definitely a great book. Everyone should read some passages from it at some point in their life.

n  n    About Men  n
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by.

Ya gotta hand it to this teen girl who was writing about her life with such clarity and eloquence when her life was hanging by a thread.

I've read reviews of The Diary of a Young Girl that complained about how Frank ignored the bigger picture of the war and that her subject matter was trite, whiny and insular. What else could it be, this diary of a teen secreted away in the compact environs of an attic with the same people for years learning little-to-no outside information?

From the standpoint of a detached, pure read, the fact that the diary includes a love interest is a blessing. But even without it, it's a wonderful and at times intense read. There were numerous times when the family was nearly caught during which my heart would race uncontrollably and my breath would catch. Knowing what happens to all of them after the diary ends packs the kind of punch you get in fiction...only it's not.

I wasn’t sure how to start this review but within the first few pages of my next read I found this quote: ‘You never want to get away from home as much as you do when you’re fifteen years old.’

After spending two years in hiding, Anne Frank was fifteen when she died, presumably of typhus, in Bergen-Belsen. Knowing this while reading the diary added to its impact.

One of my granddaughters read the diary and said she knew I would like it. I was dubious at first because its contents are so well known both in print and on the big screen. I felt I knew enough but, by coincidence, my buddy reader @Marge Moen also included it on a list of our next potential buddy reads. The decision was made for me.

Although it was a lifetime ago, I can still remember the intensity of being a teenager. Anne Frank’s teenage intensity is well described on the page; her desires, frustrations toward her parents, redefining herself whilst constricted by space, her challenges, desires and fantasies. There was also day-to-day stuff, including block toilets. She did not hold back or restrict herself to the hardships of the eight in hiding but also included details of the brave and kind people who harboured and cared for them. Her notes on the hopeful efforts by the Allies to put an end to the war were interesting.

Anne Frank was a good writer. She wanted to be a journalist. The heights she could have achieved with her writing, had she survived, can only be imagined.

Other takeaways:

After confirmation of her death, Anne Frank’s father, the only one of the eight to survive the Holocaust, was encouraged to publish it. He is reported to say he only fully got to know his daughter from reading her words.

Anne’s father and uncle fought for Germany in WWI.

The diary survived claims it was a hoax. The translations into many languages were criticised for somehow affecting the text and that the numerous iterations on stage and screen took some liberties. Anne’s experiences, as described by her, cannot be diluted by all that.

Anne’s sixteen-year-old love interest, Peter van Pels (he and his parents were given the pseudonym van Daan), died in the Mauthausen camp three days before it was liberated.

My granddaughter pointed out her concern that Anne had to share a room with a middle-aged man, a dentist known to her family. ‘Why did anyone think that was a good idea?’

Nelson Mandela read the diary while incarcerated, and encouraged others to do the same because of its strength and message of hope.

Anne Frank’s diary will leave a lasting impression on me.

I confess to feeling slightly voyeuristic while reading this. It was constantly in the back of my mind that this was no ordinary novel, or even a true-to-life account. This was someone’s diary. Every page written in confidence, each word revealing the thoughts closest to the heart of this young girl. As a journal-keeper myself, I sometimes find myself wondering, “What if someone else were to read this?” which causes me to wonder how much to filter my words. But then, isn’t the purpose of a diary or journal just the opposite? To record one’s honest and unfiltered thoughts? While reading Anne Frank – The Diary of a Young Girl I do not get the sense that there is any such ‘filtering’ going on. From the ages of 12-15 Anne lived an extraordinary life, and quickly grew far beyond her years in her understanding and handling of a horrendous situation.

There are surprises in this book. No matter how broad or limited your understanding of the world events that threw Anne and her family into a life in hiding, I had – before reading this – held the general assumption that, “Well, it was wartime. They were in hiding for their lives. They must have been miserable all the time. Who could possibly find anything good or redeeming in the confines of such a life?” In hindsight, of course, I have had to reconsider. I found bits of beauty, kindness, and even humour popping up in the most unexpected places. And why shouldn’t I? Aren’t our lives much the same? Oh – we’re not dodging bombs and trying to sleep to the sound of gunfire (at least not in Canada). But we, each of us, are often faced with some sort of tragedy or travesty. Sometimes we may have an entire ‘bad year’, or longer. And yet, doesn’t the buoyancy of the human spirit always shine through? It is really tough work to be miserable 24 hours a day. No matter how difficult or challenged our day-to-day life, we all have those little pockets of joy that arise, and sometimes it is those tiny occurrences that make the rest of it bearable.

On a personal level, I found myself comparing Anne’s childhood to that of my parents. After all, she was only a year younger than my Mom and Dad. I think back to stories they’ve told from their teen years, and it boggles the mind to think that at the exact moment my Dad and his brothers were tipping a cow, Anne was in hiding on the other side of the world. At a time when my mother was discovering make-up, Anne was realizing that life would never again be so youthful, so joyous and carefree as before the war. A generation was losing its innocence, but in very different ways.

I would recommend Anne Frank – The Diary of a Young Girl to absolutely everyone, for I believe that it holds some truth or enlightenment for everyone. I do not own this copy – it was borrowed from my daughter’s school library. She will be reading it next. She is 10. And you can bet that before long I will purchase my own copy, for I will be reading it again someday soon.

Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.

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One cannot fathom what other marvelous books the world might have known had this talented, perceptive girl been permitted the life she was due.

"We don't want our belongings to be seized by the Germans, but we certainly don't want to fall into their clutches ourselves. So we shall disappear of our own accord and not wait until they come and fetch us."
"But, Daddy, when would it be?" He spoke so seriously that I grew very anxious.
"Don't worry about it, we shall arrange everything. Make the most of your carefree young life while you can."
That was all. Oh, may the fulfillment of these somber words remain far distant yet!

Fifteen months later . . .

The atmosphere is so oppressive, and sleepy and as heavy as lead. You don't hear a single bird singing outside, and a deadly close silence hangs everywhere, catching hold of me as if it will drag me down deep into an underworld.

While her story is sad, the naked Emperor cult around this book is unmerited.

The key quotation about people being basically good at heart is absurd in the light of the story, and from a theological perspective, just plain wrong.