Book Title – Anne Frank – The Diary of a young girl
Original Title – Het Achterhuis
Original Language of the book – Dutch
English Translator – B.M.Mooyart
Author: Anne Frank (1929-1945)
Publication Date: 1947
Tribute to the spirit of Womanhood: “Anne Frank: The Diary of a young girl” is a remarkable non-fictional book which gives you the glimpse of Second world war and the sufferings of Jews through the diary of a Jewish girl named Anne Frank. For past 65 years, this book is hailed as an inspiring masterpiece and a bestseller by literary critics and has been loved by readers of all generations. The uniqueness of this book lies in the writings of the authoress who gives you the intimate details of her life and her quest to find happiness in the midst of heartbreaking situations.
Life was beautiful for this optimistic Jewish girl who lived her every moment joyfully with her parents (Otto Frank, Edith Frank) and her elder sister, Margot. But life for this Jewish family was not going to be peaceful anymore. To escape from the eye of Nazi Officials, the Frank Family had to undergo hiding in a sealed room along with other Jew family named Van Daan. For 2 years, this Frank Family had to face heartbreaking situations which comprised food shortage, power cuts, boredom and above all a fear of getting captured by Nazis. During this period, Anne Frank poured all her ideas, feelings and views in her diary with a small hope to see things getting better.
Anne Frank never knew that her diary will become the most popular book in the world, inspiring million lives across the globe. Anne Frank’s diary begins on Sunday June 14th 1942. Anne Frank calls this diary as her friend “Kitty” and records every moment of her life with humour, liveliness. Through this diary, we discover every minute detail of Anne’s life, her inner emotions about growing up, personal differences with her mother and a blossoming affection for Peter, the son of Van Daan. But her hopes for a peaceful life were shattered to pieces on 4th August 1944. Their whereabouts were disclosed by an employee of their office who betrayed them for greed of money. What happened next was a series of disturbing and heart breaking incidents which robbed off the peaceful life of Frank and Van Daan Family.
Even though Anne Frank died due to typhus in a concentration camp, she lived on to become a legend, a well known victim of holocaust whose every word echoed the sufferings of Jews. This book is not merely a diary; it’s a memoir, an unforgettable saga of a young girl who hoped to see a better nation, happily surrounded by love, hope and togetherness. There is not a single bookstore in the world which doesn’t have this book. The copies of this book were printed into millions and were read by countless readers across the globe. The original title of this book is known as Het Achterhuis and was written in Dutch by Anne. But later on, it was translated into English by B.M.Mooyart and was popularly known as Anne Frank – The Diary of a young girl.
Movie Adaptations – This book was adapted into Hollywood motion picture and television serial several times which includes the 1959 Movie “The Diary of Anne Frank”, 2001 Mini TV Series – Anne Frank: The whole story and 2009 Italian Television Movie – Mi Ricardo Anna Frank
Through this article, I have taken a small effort to re-tell the story of this Jewish girl whose ambition for a happy future was tragically cut short. Do read this classic non-fiction. You will definitely love it!