6 Interesting Anne Frank Facts

Mary

July 5, 2023

The period when the Nazis reigned remains one of the darkest in world politics and affairs. The punishments and executions were horrific, and their ideologies were insane. From flogging to confinement and hanging, the Nazi regime wasn’t short of persecution ideas.

Given that they knew what they were doing was wrong, they used every method to suppress their inhumane acts. Fortunately, Anne Frank was there to document some of the things that the Jewish people went through. Through her diary, we learn about her short but impactful life.

Here are some Anne Frank facts that will shock you:

1. Anne Frank Was Famous for Her Diary

Anne Frank is a holocaust survivor famous for her diary. She documented everything her family and other Jewish went through during the Nazi reign. She was born on June 12 1929. At the time, poverty and unemployment were at their peak.

Adolf Hitler’s hate towards the Jewish people further compounded their miseries, so Anne’s family relocated to the Netherlands. Life in their new country was incredible! Anne learned the natives’ language and went to school while her father, Otto Frank, set up a new business.

However, their new-found joy was short-lived as Nazi Germany invaded Poland, marking the Genesis of World War II. Anne documented all the torture her family went through, her life at the concentration camp, and the events leading to her death.

2. Her Diary Was Discovered By Otto’s Secretary

If Anne Frank Died before publishing her writings, how were details of her diary discovered? Apparently, Miep Gies, Otto’s secretary, discovered Anne’s diary following a raid by the Nazi soldiers. Miep found the journal along with other notebooks and a stack of papers.

3. She Died of Typhus Fever and Exhaustion

Following her capture and that of her family in the Netherlands by the Nazi soldiers, Anne moved to various concentration and extermination camps. First, she was separated from her father when they arrived at Auschwitz. Here, she witnessed more than 350 people taken to gas chambers and killed.

The transport system from one torture center to another was not the best. They were bundled in trucks with limited air supply and one dirty toilet. Given that Anne was barely a teenager when all this was happening, it’s safe to say Anne Frank was very strong physically and mentally.

However, she could only survive for so long under such conditions. In late 1944, she was transported to Bergen-Belsen, where the conditions were equally horrible. With many contagious diseases around, Anne contracted typhus, which eventually killed her in 1945.

4. Anne Frank’s Exact Date of Death Is Not Clear.

For the longest time, history has it that Anne Frank died on March 31, 1945. This was shortly before the liberation of Bergen-Belsen (where she died). However, further interviews of the survivors by the Dutch Red Cross indicate that she could have died anywhere in March 1945.

With all the confusion and lack of certainty, the Dutch authorities agreed on March 31 as Anne’s official date of death. While there might be confusion about when she passed away, what is certain is that the narrative is sadder when you realize that the camp was liberated less than two weeks after her death.

She fell short of glory for someone who had seen and survived it all.

5. Two Versions of Anne’s Diary Are Available

Anne received her original diary for her 13^th birthday. All the events recorded in this autograph book are categorized as the first version (A). Understandably, some of the pages of this book were lost as she was constantly moving and evading the authorities.

Following a call for holocaust survivors to retain their wartime diaries for documentation in 1944, Anne rewrote her experiences. Due to the passage of time, she omitted some parts of her original version and included others that weren’t there.

The second version (B) covers events between late 1942 and 1943. Interestingly, Anne named her original diary “Kitty.”