The Diary of a Young Girl June 14, 1942 - September 27, 1942 Summary

June 14, 1942 is Anne's thirteenth birthday, among other various presents she receives a diary. The diary becomes her confidant and takes the place of having a close friend. She has friends, but none in which she feels comfortable enough to confide in. Instead, she chooses to address all her entries to Kitty, the friend she always wanted but never had.

Her family has emigrated to Holland from Germany in 1933 so her father could work and also to be away from the immediate danger of the Nazis. Her uncles fled to America and her grandmother came to live with Anne's family. But even in Holland, the anti-Jewish decrees were very stringent. All Jews had to wear a yellow star and follow rules as to where they could shop, go to school, be outside, types of entertainment they could participate in and even who they could visit. Basically every aspect of their lives were controlled.

Even so Anne feels that her life is still able to go on with some degree of normality. She still had her family around her; she had her mother, father, and her older sister, Margot. She also was able to be with her friends and act like a normal teenager. Anne and her friends went to each other's houses, talked about boys, and went to the ice cream shop together; she felt that she could handle things as they were.

The family had been giving household items to friends to hold for them until the war was over. She knew that someday the family might have to go into hiding, but she felt that it would not be for a while. Unfortunately, that day came sooner than she had anticipated. On Sunday, July 5, 1944, the SS came to the Frank house with a call-up notice. At first Margot and Anne thought the order, which meant a person would be taken to a concentration camp, was for their father, but they soon realized the order was for Margot. This caused great stress and commotion in the family.

The family had been making plans, along with the Van Daan family, to go into hiding. These plans were moved up so that Margot could go into hiding right away. Miep, who was in business with Mr. Frank, and her husband Henk helped the family by taking some of their belongings to the hiding place.

The difficulty of this move was increased by the presence of Mr. Gousmit, who rented the upstairs rooms in the Frank house. He of course could not know of the family's plans and so they had to act as if all was normal in his presence.

Finally on Monday, July 6, 1944, first Margot and then the rest of the family made their way to the hiding place which was in the building that Mr. Frank had his office. The family, wearing all the clothes they could smuggle out of the house, finally arrived at the office building. It was not ready for them because the original date of their move was July 16th. So the upper rooms and attics of the building were still stacked with boxes and not cleaned up.

The family would eventually be sharing the rooms with the Van Daan family, so it would be a tight fit. There were two upper floors in the building which housed both families. Only 5 people knew of the hiding place, they were Mr. Kraler, Mr. Koophuis, Miep, her husband, and Elli Vossen. These people all worked for Mr. Frank, they made it possible for them to receive the food and other items necessary for living.

After several days of cleaning, the rooms were deemed fit for the family. Mrs. Frank and Margot had a difficult time adjusting to their new circumstance. Anne and her father were too busy unpacking and putting the rooms in order to think about it. Anne's father had brought some of Anne's collection of movie star pictures and her postcards, so she used them to decorate the walls and make the rooms seem cheerier. Of course they had to be quiet, especially during the hours in which the other workers in the building were there. They also had to cover all the windows so no one could see into the rooms, but the family was adjusting to their new surroundings.

Then the Van Daan family joined them earlier than was anticipated. It was either arrive early or not be able to escape at all. The family consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan, and their son Peter, who was fifteen-years old and lazy.

Mr. Van Daan helped the Franks by leaving their boarder with the impression that they had escaped to Switzerland. Mr. Goudsmit, who was told not to tell anyone of the Frank's whereabouts, of course told everyone.

Mr. Van Daan was easy to get along with, but his wife and son were another matter. Mrs. Van Daan felt the families should not pool their resources so she took to hiding her things. The two ladies, Mrs. Frank and Mrs. Van Daan did not get along. The Van Daan's also fought which embarrassed everyone else in the household. Mrs. Van Daan always needed to be right and would criticize any small infraction Anne made. While Mrs. Frank is not afraid to speak up in defense of her family.

This diary gives the reader a glimpse into how a thirteen year old girl tries to carve out a normal life during the most abnormal times. Anne allows us to see how the restrictions placed on her and those around her influence everything in their lives, such as the way different people cope with the situation, some by being kind and courageous, such a Miep and her husband, and others by being critical and mean, such as Mrs. Van Daan.



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