Anne Frank was a German-born Jewish girl whose diary about living in hiding from the Nazis during World War II became one of the most famous books about the Holocaust and a symbol of courage and hope.

Quick Scoop: Who was Anne Frank?

  • Full name: Annelies Marie Frank.
  • Born: 12 June 1929, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
  • Background: Jewish family that fled Nazi persecution in Germany and settled in Amsterdam in the 1930s.
  • Famous for: Her diary, later published as “The Diary of a Young Girl” (often called “The Diary of Anne Frank”), written while she was in hiding.

Hiding from the Nazis

  • After Nazi Germany invaded and occupied the Netherlands in 1940, Jews faced increasing persecution and deportations.
  • In July 1942, Anne, her family, and others went into hiding in a concealed part of her father’s office building in Amsterdam, later called the “Secret Annex.”
  • They stayed there for about two years, relying on trusted helpers to bring food, supplies, and news from outside.

The Diary

  • Anne received a red‑checkered diary for her 13th birthday, just before going into hiding, and began recording her daily life, fears, arguments, crushes, and hopes for the future.
  • She later began revising her diary with the idea of turning it into a book after the war, rewriting entries and using the name “Kitty” as a kind of imaginary friend she wrote to.
  • Her last diary entry was dated 1 August 1944.

Arrest and Death

  • On 4 August 1944, the hiding place was discovered after a betrayal, and everyone in the Annex was arrested by the Gestapo.
  • Anne and her sister Margot were first deported to Auschwitz and then to Bergen‑Belsen concentration camp.
  • Anne died of typhus at Bergen‑Belsen in February or March 1945, at about 15 years old, only weeks before the camp was liberated.

Legacy and Why She Matters Today

  • Anne’s father, Otto Frank, the only immediate family member to survive, recovered her diary after the war and arranged for its publication.
  • “The Diary of a Young Girl” has been translated into many languages and is studied worldwide as a powerful personal account of the Holocaust and of a teenager’s inner life under persecution.
  • Anne Frank has become an enduring symbol of the millions of Jewish children murdered in the Holocaust and of the human capacity to hope and reflect even in extreme danger.

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