BOOK REVIEW: THE DIARY OF ANNA FRANK

 Hello everybody! I'm Sofia and today we are going to review together the Diary of Anne Frank! I hope you like it!

First of all, I'll leave you with the synopsis of the book: 

"Hidden with her family and another Jewish family (the Van Daans) in an attic of an Amsterdam warehouse during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Anne Frank, aged thirteen, recounts the life of the group in her diary, which she called 'Kitty'. Aided by several office employees, they stayed for more than two years in the achterhuis (known as the 'secret annexe') until they were finally betrayed and arrested. Anne kept a diary between 12 June 1942 and 1 August 1944. On 4 August 1944, neighbours (names unknown) betrayed the eight hiding in "the Secret Annex". In addition to the Diary, he wrote several short stories that have been published gradually since 1960. His sister, Margot Frank, also wrote a diary, but no trace of it has ever been found. After spending time in the concentration camps of Westerbork in the Netherlands and Auschwitz in Poland, Anne and her older sister, Margot, were deported to Bergen-Belsen, where they both died during a typhus epidemic between late February and mid-March 1945 (the typhus was caused by the extreme lack of hygiene in the concentration camp). Edith Holländer (mother of Margot and Anne) dies of starvation in Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. Hermann Van Pels (one of the eight people in hiding) was sent on 6 September 1944 to the gas chambers at Auschwitz, where he died weeks later. His wife, Auguste Van Pels, dies in mid-April 1945 in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Peter Van Pels dies on 5 May 1945, three days before liberation. Fritz Pfeffer died in the Neuengamme concentration camp on 20 December 1944. The diary was first published under the title Het Achterhuis (The Secret Annex) in the Netherlands in 1947 by the publisher Contact. In April 1955, the first English translation was published under the title Las habitaciones de atrás (The Secret Annexe) (Editorial Garbo, Barcelona). The Diary of Anne Frank is thus a unique testimony to the horror and barbarism of the Nazis, and to the feelings and experiences of Anne herself and her companions. Anne died in the Bergen-Belsen camp in March 1945. Her diary will never die.

The book was written by Anne Frank during the Second World War (1942-1944). In a notebook given to her by her parents, little Anne begins her account of her experiences "in the Secret Annexe", where they spent two years in hiding.

The hiding began when his sister Margot received a notice to work under the Nazis in Germany, and so they decided to go into hiding in a factory. In the end, 8 people live together in the hiding place.

In her diary, which Anna calls Kitty and considers her only friend, she tells the story of her daily routine in the house, with the fear of being found or killed, as bombing raids are heard all the time in the surrounding area.

CHARACTERS

The main characters of the book are:

• Anne Frank: a 13-year-old girl who, being Jewish at the time of the Second World War, remained in hiding to protect herself from Nazi persecution, along with eight other people.
• Kitty: refers to the name of her diary, a book given to her by her parents, which became her personal diary and her friend, in which she recounts all her experiences in hiding.
• Otto Frank: Anne and Margot's father, the person Anne loves the most.
• Edith Holländer: Anne and Margot's mother, who does not have a very good relationship with Anne.
• Margot: Anne's sister, she was 16 when she had to go into hiding.
• Mr. Van Daan: A member of "The Secret Annexe", and is considered an arrogant person.
• Mrs. Van Daan: Wife of Mr. Van Daan, spiteful but at the same time cheerful.

I think the book is very readable and gives an insight into what life was like during the Second World War. This book is able to get you involved in the fear of the people in hiding for two long years and the desire they have to enjoy life. It also allows you to get to know in depth each of the people who were in the house and as it is a true story, it increases your feelings towards them, or even your dislike of them.

I have read this book as the Second World War has always been a subject I have enjoyed and what better way to learn about it than to immerse yourself in a book that perfectly describes the horrors experienced during that time. 

As a moral, we can learn how man is capable of destroying himself to achieve an end, and that the end does not always justify the means. 

What is your opinion, would you read the book? I'll read you in the comments!