A tragic firsthand account of the Holocaust and its victims.
Plot
This diary was preserved and published by Anne Frank's father following World War II. The Frank family went into hiding for two years with another family, the van Pels (names changed to van Daans in the book), so as to escape from the Nazis who were, at the time, occupying the Netherlands. The diary begins with Anne's thirteenth birthday, and ends before the two families are discovered and taken to a concentration camp. Each entry is addressed to an imaginary character, "Kitty", and explores the fear in which the family had to live, and all the perils of being a teenage girl, worsened by their tragic and inescapable situation.
Morality
Anne describes her growing dislike for her mother's protectiveness, and shows the typical selfishness that is expected of young teenagers who haven't yet learned all of life's lessons. The massive moral problems arise in that the world was undergoing a dreadful passage of ethnic cleansing and dictatorship - this was a terrible, saddening attribute of their lives, that went against all Christian values, and Anne often asks herself what the Jews ever did to deserve this.
Spiritual Content
Anne mentions that they rarely went to the synagogue before the war, and asks why God's chosen people have been sentenced to endure such anguish of religious and ethnic persecution.
Violence
No explicit violence is described, only the obvious fear of the violence that could ensue if they were discovered.
Drug and Alcohol Content
None.
Sexual Content
Anne Frank writes a lot about puberty, and, later, her strong feelings for Peter van Pels, being in such close confinement with another boy and missing the affection shared with past boyfriends. She describes her first period, and writes a great deal about her changing body. The sexual content would not be suitable for sensitive children under twelve.
Crude or Profane Language or Content
None.
Conclusion
This diary is a firsthand testament of the terrors of the Holocaust, and almost as unbearable to read as it is to put down. It is personal and emotive, and one of the most widely acclaimed books of the 20th Century. Any immorality is not necessarily condoned, only expressed in the way any girl might need to express her pains in such a desperate and fearful situation. This is a book to be savored. As a timeless relic of one of man's greatest sins, the diary will undoubtedly stir many generations to come.
This review is brought to you by Bethany.
