Anne received her first diary--the one with the red-plaid binding--as a birthday present when she turned 13, shortly before the family went into hiding. Her diary entries were written in the form of a letter to an imaginary friend named Kitty. When she ran out of pages in the original diary, she continued journaling her thoughts in two school exercise books.
Anne had expressed an interest in becoming a writer before entering the annex. And while in hiding, sadly, she had recognized the uniqueness of her situation. So prior to her arrest, she had been in the process of revising her diaries and preparing them to be published.
One of Otto Frank's workers, Miep Gies (who passed away in 2010 at the age of 100), found Anne's diaries in the Secret Annex following the arrest. She scooped them up, along with Anne's short stories, her favorite quotes, and some loose-leaf pages on which Anne had rewritten and revised parts of her dairy. When Mr. Frank returned to Amsterdam following the war, Miep gave the diaries to him, which he arranged to be published in 1947. This was followed by many translations, a play, and a movie.
Anne had expressed an interest in becoming a writer before entering the annex. And while in hiding, sadly, she had recognized the uniqueness of her situation. So prior to her arrest, she had been in the process of revising her diaries and preparing them to be published.
One of Otto Frank's workers, Miep Gies (who passed away in 2010 at the age of 100), found Anne's diaries in the Secret Annex following the arrest. She scooped them up, along with Anne's short stories, her favorite quotes, and some loose-leaf pages on which Anne had rewritten and revised parts of her dairy. When Mr. Frank returned to Amsterdam following the war, Miep gave the diaries to him, which he arranged to be published in 1947. This was followed by many translations, a play, and a movie.
I really paused when I read the following passage in her diary (the 70th Anniversary Edition). It was haunting.
Wednesday, 5, April 1944 ("Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl," page 250)
"...I'm overjoyed that at least I can write. And if I don't have the talent to write books or newspaper articles, I can always write for myself. But I want to achieve more than that. I need to have something besides a husband and children to devote myself to! I don't want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I've never met. I want to go on living even after my death! And that's why I'm so grateful to God for having given me this gift, which I can use to develop myself and to express all that's inside me!" Yours, Anne M. Frank
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