Anne Frank

Written By:Vanora Leigh

Illustrated By: Richard Hook

Fourteen year old Anne Frank and her family, the Van Daan family and Albert Dussel hid in the "Secret Annexe" for two years to escape Nazi persecution. Living in constant fear of the discovery of the Gestapo, Anne kept a diary of her innermost thoughts and dreams. Tragically, the occupants of the annexe were eventually captured as prisoners. Mr. Frank was the sole survivor of the atrocity of the Holocaust and upon returning to the annexe was given Anne's diary- her confident admist the tragedy of war. More than thirteen million copies of Anne's diary have been published today.

Knowledge Gained
I am familiar with the story of Anne Frank and I have read her published diary, but the tragedy of her wartime life never ceases to amaze me. By reading the biography of Anne Frank, I have learned facts about Anne's life that I never knew before. First of all, it surprised me that Anne Frank's family were once a wealthy family. Perhaps I was ignorant in believing so, but the details of her life left me under the impression that her family was poor. I never really stopped to think that the Nazis did not care if a Jewish family were rich or poor; they stole their entire lives away to reduce them to nothingness regardless. The reality of stripping away a Jewish life, or any life for that matter, to reduce their self-worth absolutely horrifies me. I realize that humans have the capacity within them to be pure evil. Another thing that surprised me about Anne Frank's life was that the family's Dutch friends continued to help them by bringing news of the outside world and food while in hiding. I previously believed that they had only helped Anne's family and the other occupants move into the annexe. I wonder if I could be so brave to do such a noble, good deed if I were placed in that same situation. I consider myself a friendly person who would go above and beyond to help a person in need, but could I truly sacrifice my own life to save another? The aid provided to Anne's family by their Dutch friends reminds me of the power of friendship and the goodness in people. The last fact that surprised me when reading Anne Frank's biography was that Mr. Frank was the only survivor of Auschwitz. I had previously believed that there had been no survivors (of the people living in the annexe). How could Mr. Frank or any other Jewish survivor, move forward from such an unbelievable atrocity?

Illustrations
I'll admit that when I read a text, I am rarely drawn to the illustrations. I tend to focus on the text, even when the illustrations prove phenomenal. However, I thought that the illustrations in the biography of Anne Frank are breath-taking for a number of reasons. First, the sketches are completely realistic. Each and every detail is so delicately portrayed which enables the reader to truly believe that those characters could have been the very real individuals described in the book. The expressions of the individuals are captured so poignantly, which enables a personal attachment and therefore empathy is felt for the individuals described. The colors used are reflected in browns, blacks and grays which convey the sinister, terrifying and awful anticipating mood. Lastly, there are real photographs used in the biography which enforce the realism of Anne's sad and tragic life. One photograph in particular showed individuals in a cattle train with the caption underneath that read "Jewish victims of Nazi persecution being transported to a concentration camp." This photograph made me realize that Anne was a real person, a person like you and a person like me who experienced something tragic beyond which I could ever imagine.

Relating the Biography to Real-Life Events
The biography of Anne Frank made me think back to a time when I was in grade eleven. I regret that I have forgotten his name, but the memory of his impactful speech will live on in my memory forever. The school had welcomed a Jewish holocaust survivor into the community to share his experiences with the students. That man stood at the front of the gymnasium for well over two hours and not a word was spoken by the entire school. His stories were so unbelievable that there really are no words that would do justice to explain how I felt in that moment. I remember thinking to myself "how does this man get up in the morning and share his story with so many people? How does he not live in constant fear?" And I will never forget what this incredible man said next. (I do not remember the words exactly, but he said something along the lines of what is to follow). "I live in constant fear. I fear everyday that somebody once more with so much hatred will rule over us. I fear that if I do not tell my story, then it will happen again." Then he said something that truly inspired me to make a personal goal of in my life-"do not hate anybody. The power of hate is too strong." I've heard so many people say that hate is a strong word but coming from this brave and inspiring man of haunting experiences and undeniable tragedy, no words have ever proven so powerful.

May we never forget