'The Diary of a Young Girl' by Anne Frank, often abbreviated to Anne Frank's Diary, is one of the most important pieces of fiction to come out of the second world war. It follows a young Jewish girl named Anne who lived in the Netherlands during the second world war. She had to go into hiding due to the prosecution of Jews and most of the diary is about how she lived with her family, another family of three and an old dentist named Fritz Pfeffer (called Albert Dussel in Anne's version as she wished to use pseudonyms). She spent about two years in hiding and maintained a diary, which has now been translated into many languages and is published worldwide.
While comparing her forced confinement to our corona confinement in many ways underplays how much she had at stake, readers will no doubt better understand the book if they read it now. While books are often used for escapism in times like these, reading this now might be psychologically helpful. It can be cathartic and inspiring. Even if you have read the book, as it's often recommended to young teens, you should revisit it now, and encourage teens stuck at home during the summer holidays to read it.
Photo: annefrank.org
Anne was 13 when she was confined to the hideout. Her diary starts a little before then and she comes across as a confident and cheerful girl, talking about outwitting her teachers, her large group of friends and the many boys who 'fell in love' with her. The evidence of Jew persecution is evident as she details how it grew in the beginning. After she moves with her family into hiding, you see the stress of the war and the hate outside and the tension of always living in close quarters with less than perfect people affecting her, but she still holds on to hope and more often than not remains cheerful. Many might be feeling similar things worldwide in their confinement.
Re-reading the book is recommended right now, not to draw comparisons and feel miserable that your life might resemble that of a Jew hiding from a Nazi; or to force yourself to feel better as you don't have it that bad; but to simply share the thoughts of someone who lived through something similar and find strength as you feel empathetic or inspired by her.
If you have read or are re-reading it during lockdown, here are some thoughts you can take away
Life goes onThe world was at war outside, their home was a hideaway and their future uncertain. Yet there are still chores to do, studies to attend to and work and money to worry about. Mixing the mundane with the new reality sometimes seems trivial, sometimes is comforting but always seems at odds with the situation.
However this book proves it can be a pathway to making a new normal, as they had to.
Books can provide a good escapeAnne constantly told her diary about what she was reading. How a funny series lightened her mood, how mythology fascinated her etc. Most in the annex were kept busy with their reading the same way many today are binging on book, movies and TV/web series.
Constantly learning and keeping the mind busy is good for youDespite the prospect of school being far, all the children kept up with their education, studying as well as taking other courses to supplement their learning. They had limited materials, relying on what books their friends could smuggle in for them but they never stopped trying. Just as Anne's sister decided to take up calligraphy, many today are trying to pick up skills as well as study something new. As Anne wrote, “Earning happiness means doing good and working, not speculating and being lazy. Laziness may look inviting, but only work gives you true satisfaction.”
People don't want to be cheered up and your cheerful voice will be silenced by gloom sometimesCabin fever is strongly displayed in the book and one thing we can take away is that in hard times not everyone is receptive to positivity. Though her words were concise, Anne was a chatterbox and often tried to maintain conversation only to be rebuked for it, even if she meant well. Such irritability is building up in many quarantined together and one shouldn't take it too personally.
It's okay to indulge in your 'shallow' interests if they bring you joyEven after a year of not being outside Anne would get excited to read the magazines on films their friends would sometimes get them. She would also try out hairstyles she saw in them and show them to the family and they made clear they found this frivolous. Many of us might have equally simple hobbies that bring us peace or joy. As long as they don't harm anyone, indulge in it and don't let anyone shame you for something that brings you joy.
Families aren't perfectSince Anne was a teenage girl, it's not surprising she had a lot of disagreements with her family and with the others, who thought she had been raised far too modern. A lot of her frustration was vented out in the pages and it shows that every family, even with the best intentions is not perfect. A sentiment all locked down with their families are feeling.
People don't want to be cheered up and your cheerful voice will be silenced by gloom sometimesCabin fever is strongly displayed in the book and one thing we can take away is that in hard times not everyone is receptive to positivity. Though her words were concise, Anne was a chatterbox and often tried to maintain conversation only to be rebuked for it, even if she meant well. Such irritability is building up in many quarantined together and one shouldn't take it too personally.
It's okay to indulge in your 'shallow' interests if they bring you joyEven after a year of not being outside Anne would get excited to read the magazines on films their friends would sometimes get them. She would also try out hairstyles she saw in them and show them to the family and they made clear they found this frivolous. Many of us might have equally simple hobbies that bring us peace or joy. As long as they don't harm anyone, indulge in it and don't let anyone shame you for something that brings you joy.
Families aren't perfectSince Anne was a teenage girl, it's not surprising she had a lot of disagreements with her family and with the others, who thought she had been raised far too modern. A lot of her frustration was vented out in the pages and it shows that every family, even with the best intentions is not perfect. A sentiment all locked down with their families are feeling.
People can get very pettyLiving in such close quarters bought out some of the worst sides of everyone's character. Mr. Dussel would grudge sharing his desk with Anne for even a few allotted hours though she needed it for her studies. Anne would resent her sister's relationship with her parents and Mrs. Van Pels would fight with her husband. Such occurrences were commonplace but confined quarters made big issues out of small problems, as many quarantined together would have noticed.
It's normal to crave for a friendAnne over time got so lonely she became friends with the van Pels' son Peter. Though they never liked each other at first, due to lack of options they became friends and at times Anne thought she felt more for him but also admitted to her diary that it was because they were stuck together. Humans are social animals by nature and being kept away from society for so long will make us find solace anywhere, so don't be surprised if you feel strongly in different ways about the people around you.
All the depressive and anxious feelings you feel are normalThough Anne seems to complain about others a lot, she is open about how that's also a manifestation of the frustration and fear the outside situation brings on. She writes on how hearing gunfire would fill her with fear, of how she sometimes had trouble sleeping especially if alarms were going on around the city and enemy planes were heard overhead. She openly admits, despite her age, that she'd go from the room she shared with Mr Dussel to sleep in her parents bed for comfort.
It's normal to crave for a friendAnne over time got so lonely she became friends with the van Pels' son Peter. Though they never liked each other at first, due to lack of options they became friends and at times Anne thought she felt more for him but also admitted to her diary that it was because they were stuck together. Humans are social animals by nature and being kept away from society for so long will make us find solace anywhere, so don't be surprised if you feel strongly in different ways about the people around you.
All the depressive and anxious feelings you feel are normalThough Anne seems to complain about others a lot, she is open about how that's also a manifestation of the frustration and fear the outside situation brings on. She writes on how hearing gunfire would fill her with fear, of how she sometimes had trouble sleeping especially if alarms were going on around the city and enemy planes were heard overhead. She openly admits, despite her age, that she'd go from the room she shared with Mr Dussel to sleep in her parents bed for comfort.
"I've been taking valerian every day to fight the anxiety and depression, but it doesn't
stop me from being even more miserable the next day. A good hearty laugh would
help better than ten valerian drops, but we've almost forgotten how to laugh.
Sometimes I'm afraid my face is going to sag with all this sorrow and that my mouth
is going to permanently droop at the corners. The others aren't doing any better.
Everyone here is dreading the great terror known as winter," she wrote.
With the constant news of increasing numbers, people doing risky things, governments not helping the situation and no cure in sight, many people are feeling exactly what she does.
You can remain positive most of the timeDespite all she would vent, Anne's thoughts would always end on a hopeful note that wasn't illogically wistful and one has to admire her strength. Maybe we should all try to ride out our emotions and face them and we can end in a better place.
Maintaining a diary helpsA diary helps sort out your emotions. When living in lockdown it can be hard to confide with the ones you're constantly with, as it might make the situation worse. A diary can help in that situation, as it helped Anne. She wrote, “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.”
stop me from being even more miserable the next day. A good hearty laugh would
help better than ten valerian drops, but we've almost forgotten how to laugh.
Sometimes I'm afraid my face is going to sag with all this sorrow and that my mouth
is going to permanently droop at the corners. The others aren't doing any better.
Everyone here is dreading the great terror known as winter," she wrote.
With the constant news of increasing numbers, people doing risky things, governments not helping the situation and no cure in sight, many people are feeling exactly what she does.
You can remain positive most of the timeDespite all she would vent, Anne's thoughts would always end on a hopeful note that wasn't illogically wistful and one has to admire her strength. Maybe we should all try to ride out our emotions and face them and we can end in a better place.
Maintaining a diary helpsA diary helps sort out your emotions. When living in lockdown it can be hard to confide with the ones you're constantly with, as it might make the situation worse. A diary can help in that situation, as it helped Anne. She wrote, “I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.”
A diary doesn't have to be maintained with a notebook and fountain pen as Anne did but can be typed on a device, a series of voice recordings or even a video journal.
News shouldn't be constantIn Anne's life news was heard on a radio at certain times of the day and local news came from friends who bought them supplies. Hearing it only fuelled the stress and anxiety but it was and is necessary to stay aware and informed. In our times we have to be careful we aren't overconsuming news or content as that will convince us the world is worse than it is. Like them, we must keep busy with other activities while staying informed.
News shouldn't be constantIn Anne's life news was heard on a radio at certain times of the day and local news came from friends who bought them supplies. Hearing it only fuelled the stress and anxiety but it was and is necessary to stay aware and informed. In our times we have to be careful we aren't overconsuming news or content as that will convince us the world is worse than it is. Like them, we must keep busy with other activities while staying informed.
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