The Diary of Anne Frank

During the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands,  Anne Frank received a blank diary as one of her presents on June 12, 1942, her 13th birthday. According to the Anne Frank House, the red, checkered autograph bookwhich Anne used as her diary was actually not a surprise, since she had chosen it the day before with her father when perusing a bookstore near her home. She began to write in it on June 14, 1942, two days later, On July 5, 1942, Anne′s older sister Margot received an official summons to report to a Nazi work camp in Germany, and on July 6, Anne went into hiding with her father Otto, mother Edith, and sister Margot. They were joined by the family of Hermann van Pels, Otto’s business partner, including their teenage son Peter. Their hiding place was in the sealed-off upper rooms of the annex at the back of Otto’s company building in Amsterdam. The rooms were concealed behind a movable bookcase. Mrs. van Pels’ dentist, Fritz Pfeffer, joined them four months later. In the published version, names were changed: the van Pels are known as the Van Daans and Fritz Pfeffer as Mr. Dussel. With the assistance of a group of Otto Frank’s trusted colleagues, they remained hidden for two years and one month.