The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank | Book Review 

Little fact: the original Dutch version isn't called 'Diary of a Young Girl' (which I always thought of as a lame Americanized title) but 'Het Achterhuis'. This is what they called the annex they were living in. The literal translation is 'The backhouse' but it's officially translated as 'the secret annex'. 'Het Achterhuis' is the title she wanted her book to have if she'd publish one about her time there, so it's fitting that they actually called it that. I guess for the English translation they changed it for marketing purposes or something? They should have gone for 'The secret annex' though.

I couldn't read it all... I was simply heartbroken.

Second Comment: What we can see from studying these original diaries, especially the first one, is that it changes dramatically when Anne has to go into hiding, and therefore the diary serves her a new and important purpose; she begins to write letters to imaginary friends based on people in her favourite books, and even writes a farewell letter to her real best friend Jacqueline. Anne became extremely lonely. Must have been crazy for a girl as outgoing and full of energy as she was! Within those 2 years, Anne had to grow up fast and reading and writing were hugely her escapes and growing interests. This is another reason that writing not only became a source of survival, but it became so intimately close to Anne's heart that she basically embodied the words on paper and executes an immortal element because of that extraordinary circumstance she was in. But ultimately all Anne wanted was to be a normal teenager again and see her friends, but war changed everything, and having adjusted to a life in hiding, Anne begins to think about things in a new way, growing not only mentally but spiritually too. We see such enlightenment take place in her last year in hiding; Anne develops a deepening understanding of human relations, God and even appreciation for nature - sights of birds and the outdoor chestnut tree fascinated Anne, as well as the stars and moon above... Mostly these things would strike those that are either near the end of their life or experienced a lot of time in solitude to appreciate these elements, but suffering taught Anne, so she learned either way to accept her fate and also appreciate what there is anyway. It was in May 1944 that Anne went back and actually rewrote a large portion of her diary; she managed in less than 3 months of writing to catch up to March 1944, on the day she heard the original broadcast about suggesting the publication... This also meant that Anne had in her possession the 1943 diaries and was able to selectively provide insight into her 1943 happenings, so therefore we're lucky that Anne rewrote her diary after all. There is a dramatic difference in Anne's original and rewritten version in the first few months of her diary. Anne describes better the changes of before and after going into hiding, and her background. She makes more comical descriptions and writes more consistently now to one diary penpal who she called Kitty, which is why a lot of readers form an attachment with Anne and feel like their getting to know her personally. It's also worth mentioning that it's very unlikely that Anne's original journals on their own would have got published (or been as successful), because it's within her rewritten version that the style is more candid and shows literary greatness. The reason there is a lot of doubt around Anne's diary is that people think what they read in the bookstore is how Anne originally wrote her diary. Technically Anne wrote 2 books, or two versions of her diary. But what Otto did was compile them both and basically inputted the best diary entries into the 1 book, and the result makes Anne's process seem flawless. Otto's work on Anne's diary was brilliant, thanks to him and his editing (as no one knew better his daughter's choice of wording and such between German and Dutch) so he was able to transform a diary into a book classic on growing up. But in terms of historical accuracy, and Anne's own intention, she was a lot more serious as a writer (as we can even see in the Definitive Edition), but it's interesting in the rewritten version that she took out her romance with Peter Van Pels (the boy she shared the hiding place with), and also didn't include a lot of funny parts that Otto could see create a more dramatic theme for readers. Anne wrote in her rewritten version with a more political and war-documented focus, whereas her originals clearly show a classic process of growing up, womanhood and the reality of teenage mood swings, and general curiosities that all young people think about. Towards Anne's end, we obviously see a more incredible transformation of wisdom, due to her situation, and an eye on people that is remarkable. This young girl could have given so much to the world, had she been given the right to live! When everyone says that this is a book for young people I always hesitate to agree fully. Because, quite honestly, a lot of people won't fully appreciate Anne's overall message until their much older and wiser from life experience. Though Anne herself was very young writing it, that special circumstance forced her to mature intellectually very rapidly, and you can tell this is a person hanging onto every ounce of life, and I doubt without the threat of death and having being treated so terribly because she was different (Jewish), knowing many were executed, would Anne have tapped into such deep awareness. So what I mean is, it takes a certain appreciation and enlightenment honestly to fully recognize what we are truly witnessing here. Yes its a diary, but its mainly a human document, we basically connect with Anne's soul when we read her work; it's amazing... Sorry, I know I ranted on quite a bit there, but I think it's important to describe Anne's growth and process as a writer, and make known that there is more to what made her the writer she was than simply just "had the writing ability". She didn't; it developed due to her situation and survival - her diary was her source to hold onto sanity and life as she wanted to see it. I highly recommend you buy Anne Frank: The Collected Works - it shows all of Anne's writings, the published definitive edition, her short stories and fantasies, as well as her surviving letters and all her original journals and the book she was working on towards the end. I feel its important to read if you want to see Anne's process more accurately, because even in content the original are a lot more raw and better to read in terms of connecting with Anne's thought process, and it makes readers a lot more impressed with Anne as a writer overall. I personally prefer to read her original works before the definitive edition (or any other version) because it also shows in terms of time-span what was actually written at the time, uncensored and true to her heart. The Definitive edition is great as a translation and for those who just want to see Anne's overall diary message, but I always say, don't be thinking Anne wrote with that "perfectionism" originally from the day she got her diary to the very end. It took Anne and her situation to reach that transformation and incredible writing talent from over 2 years, and what we read is mainly her rewritten version of Anne reflecting back on events within the published editions. Either way, it is definitely Anne's words, but in terms of historical accuracy her originals show more honestly what it was like for her as a 13 year old girl, still very articulate but definitely growing in terms of writing habit. Overall, Anne is an inspiration and people should be more impressed with her as a writer than she receives. She wasn't just a diarist, she was a true writer with much promise and a big heart with so much to give. Who knows what this wonderful person could have done for the world. She truly does go on living! Aside the legacy of this wonderful person's diary, it's heartbreaking to imagine that Anne and her sister Margot died in such a tragic way so close to the liberation of Bergan Belsen, just 1 month before the British arrived, succumbing to disease and starvation, believing all their family were dead and the Nazis won. Their bodies were dumped in mass graves. Horrible... Never again! RIP Anneliese Maree Frank. Check out these links if you want to learn more about Anne Frank; they are vids I put together in tribute to her memory and sharing her message. Thanks for reading! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hWOztpEjGDg.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eU9Lvxw6RCQ.html

i read the first few pages on google books as a sample before it gets sad and i think her writing style is very charming and the story behind “the little dipper minus two” was cute. she kinda reminds me of my grandma, the way she writes. i hope to read more in the future, more than just a little digital sample

First Comment: Hey, I'm so grateful for your review. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! It's awesome to see some other young men that appreciate the great literary qualities that Anne Frank possessed, and recognize the importance of her diary message overall. There are a few things I'd just like to mention if you didn't know already, as I basically studied everything on the topic of Anne Frank as part of my English Literature Degree research, and I've always been fascinated with her as a writer and figure of World War 2. Unfortunately we're never going to fully appreciate Anne's Diary, as what we have is a translation version of her transcribed manuscripts in Dutch, which were originally gathered and selected for publication in a time where people were very quick to want to forget the war in late 1940's, and told Otto (Anne's father) that they would only accept a certain word count for publication. So the first publication as 'Het Achterhuis' (The Secret Annex) wasn't Anne's full diary and only revealed an abridged version basically of her work. Because Otto couldn't publish a book at the time (1947) where teenagers question sex and women's place in society, puberty, he had to omit a lot, and he naturally took out Anne's vented anger at her mother and the other residents of the hiding place, as she was a moody teenager and had no friend in which to confide and forget her struggles, and also remember that Anne was no saint and not always considerate of others in the same situation, so it made sense Otto took these passages out in respect of the dead. But the first American publication kinda made Anne out to be a bit of a saint (as it wasn't revealing her teenage mood swings and growing sexuality), and the play version of Anne Frank's Diary is where a lot of people get hung up on the fact that it wasn't completely accurate. Then again, Otto didn't want Anne's message to be about their suffering, but Anne's ultimate hopeful spirit and show her as she wanted to be seen, as a writer. But in reality it took a lot for Anne to reach that point. Most general readers believe that Anne just wrote one diary all the way through and the book we now read is Anne's unedited, original manuscript of what she wrote every day. While it is true that what you read in translation of the Definitive Edition is closest to the original diary, in terms of what eventually got written, in reality there is 2 versions of Anne's diary. Her original diary (from what we have) is 3 surviving journals, from June 1942 - August 1944. She wrote in these journals mostly every day, but interestingly there is also a diary (or two) that hasn't survived of her originals, which are the ones that describe her daily events of 1943. We know this because her first original diary ends in December 1942, and the second surviving journal opens in December 1943 - therefore a year's worth of original writings from Anne is missing, and this is believed to be because these journals weren't found after the day all the Jews in the hiding place were discovered, and their Helpers kept the found diaries for safekeeping. Perhaps in all the chaos and mess, those diaries from 1943 got lost, or Anne herself decided to sneak these with her to the concentration camps, only to discover all her things would be taken on arrival. Anyway, we have Anne's 1944 diaries thankfully and these originals describe a lot more her immediate emotions and thoughts; it is basically written like letters to a friend in diary format, lot of venting and escapism for sure. It was Anne's compensation to make up for friends in a situation where she couldn't go outside or be a normal teenager, or have any social contact outside the claustrophobia of the hiding place, and immense fear of the war between the Nazis and the Jews. In March 1944, Anne listens to a radio broadcasts from London, and basically they were urging the Dutch people to hold onto any records, letters or diaries that describe the events during the Nazi occupation and that after the war a collection could be made from these materials to educate the future generations of the suffering from the Nazi regime. This really inspired Anne in a deep way, as she already dreamed of becoming a writer with her stories that she also wrote in the hiding place, and this now made a massive impression on her. But it would take her another 2 months before she had the confidence to really consider writing a book based on her diary. She questioned whether her writing was good enough, or if anybody would be interested in what a teenager had to say. Stubborn as Anne was, she also was motivated in proving the adults around her wrong, in the sense that she knew her own mind and considered herself independent enough to be taken seriously and intellectually respected, so a big reason for Anne to write so "maturely" is greatly motivated by her need to validate the girl in her that wanted to be seen as a woman in her own right. But if you read the original manuscripts, you recognize that her first diary very much needed to be improved on for publication, as Anne obviously wrote "very childishly" like any other 13 year old would, about the boys she had crushes on, gossip between classmates, trips to the ice cream parlour, - but also the restrictions on Jews. This was obviously because Anne wrote this strictly for herself and didn't consider at the time how huge and significant it would become when she was robbed of social contact and losing touch with friends, who possibly (she feared) were taken away by the Nazis and murdered while she was to be in the safety of a hiding place... Massive transformation there! Please read my second comment to understand more what I mean.

Great review man 👍👍👍

You earned a sub! Loved it 💜

I did not know Anne write the book herself. I thought it was wrote by someone else. Found you on Dawkins and Krauss, btw.

The copyright of the Dutch version of the diary, published in 1947, not 1944, she dead in 1945. Besides that, keep up the good work!

You earned a sub!

I know it's been 2 years since the video but I read her Diary it was fantastic. What did you think of of her Relationship with her mum i think its sad they didn't have a good relationship with each other

Very nice keep it up. Why don't you make a video on crime and punishment

Would this be a good book for a mature 12 year old that is in to history