Who is Anne Frank?
And why is her story so important?
Anne Frank, born in Frankfurt, Germany on June 12, 1929, was a Jewish teenager whose story transcends time and borders. Though her family’s roots in Germany dated back centuries, the rise of the Nazis forced her father, Otto Frank, to move his family to Amsterdam in 1933, seeking safety from growing threats.
Tragically, in August 1944, the Frank family’s hiding place was betrayed, and they were arrested. Anne and her sister Margot were deported to Auschwitz in Nazi-occupied Poland, and later to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where Anne died of typhus in March 1945 at age 15, weeks before the camp was liberated by British troops.
But Anne’s legacy did not end there. During her time in hiding, Anne poured her soul into her diary, which she called “Kitty.” Her words paint a raw, poignant picture of adolescence in the face of unimaginable hardship, of hope amidst despair, and of an unyielding belief in the strength of the Jewish people. As Anne herself wrote:
The last known photograph of Anne taken in May 1942, taken at a passport photo shoot.
Photo collection Anne Frank House, Amsterdam. Public Domain Work.
Be brave! Let us remain aware of our task and not grumble, a solution will come. God has never deserted our people. Through all the ages, Jews have had to suffer, but it has made them strong too; the weak fall, but the strong will remain and never go under!
Anne Frank
First published in 1947, Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl has become one of the most widely read and revered works about the Holocaust, translated into more than 70 languages and selling more than 30 million copies worldwide. Anne’s story continues to resonate deeply, especially with young people, many of whom have been exposed to the history of the Holocaust for the first time through her words.
Anne’s voice is not just a historical account; it is a call to action—a reminder that courage, hope, and humanity endure even in the darkest times. Her story is an indelible part of the human experience, one that reminds us of our shared responsibility to stand up against hate, prejudice, and injustice in all forms.
Anne’s diary on display at the Anne Frank Museum in Berlin. Credit: Heather Cowper
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license
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