Educator Resources for Anne Frank

Most diaries contain hidden thoughts. Anne Frank's diary went further—it recorded a hidden life. Born in Germany before World War II, Anne fled with her family to the Netherlands to escape anti-Jewish laws passed by the Nazis. The Nazi Party rose to power by promoting racist ideas, particularly anti-Semitism, a hatred of Jewish people. Along with four other people, the Frank family spent two years in hiding above a factory in Amsterdam. Anne called their hiding place the Secret Annex. She wrote about the experience in her diary, describing everything from news of the war to the struggle of sharing a bathroom with seven people. Her eloquent and honest words revealed an ordinary teenager with both fear and hope for the future. Before the war ended, the Nazis discovered the Annex and arrested everyone. Anne was sent to the Bergen-Belsen prison camp, where she died of a fever at age 15. But her memory lives on through her diary, which her father published after the war. Today, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl continues to give readers a powerful glimpse into the life of one of the Holocaust's millions of victims. Press "play" to learn more about the young girl who showed that hope can shine through even the darkest of times.

The movie includes readings from The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition, by Anne Frank, edited by Otto Frank and Mirjam Pressler, and translated by Susan Massotty.