The Diary of a Young Girl

Anne recalls receiving the diary as a birthday present along with other presents. At school, she and her classmates sang “Happy Birthday.” The next day, she had a birthday party and watched a movie starring Rin Tin Tin, a real dog who was featured in a series of films at the time.

After describing her birthday festivities, Anne lists her classmates. These include Jacqueline van Maarsen, whom Anne icily describes as “supposedly my best friend [… at] first I thought Jacque would be one, but I was badly mistaken,” and J.R., whom Anne calls “a detestable, sneaky, stuck-up, two-faced gossip who thinks she’s so grown-up” (11). Anne has kinder things to say about Hanneli “Lies” Goslar and Eefje de Jong. Next, Anne lists the boys of her class. These include Sallie Springer, who is very funny; Rob Cohen, an obnoxious, sniveling liar; Harry Schaap, “the most decent boy” in Anne’s class; and Apple Riem, who is “pretty Orthodox, but a brat too” (13).

Anne reflects on the process of writing a diary. She remarks that “it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl” (13). She concludes that the diary is a relief because, despite having a large and loving family, she does not have a true friend.

Anne describes the marriage of her parents, the birth of her older sister Margot in 1926, and her own birth on June 12, 1929. Her father immigrated to the Netherlands in 1933. She and Margot went to the Jewish Lyceum, a secondary education school. Then, Anne describes the situation with the Nazis and how it has affected her family. After the Nazis took power in Germany, Anne’s two uncles fled to North America, and her grandmother moved in with the family. When Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940, anti-Semitic laws, which barred Jews from theatres and public athletic fields and forced them to wear yellow stars, were imposed. Anne writes, “You couldn’t do this and you couldn’t do that, but life went on” (15).

Later, Anne talks about playing Ping-Pong and trying to start a Ping-Pong club with four other girls called “The Little Dipper Minus Two.” Also, she describes getting the attention of boys. She calls them “admirers” and remarks “this vice seems to be rampant at our school” (16).

Anne describes how her classmates are anxious because the time has come for the teachers to decide which students will be held back and which will be allowed to advance. Anne takes the opportunity to describe her teachers, including Mr. Keesing, the “old fogey” math teacher who punished her by forcing her to write an essay on being a chatterbox. In the essay Anne wrote that talking “is a female trait” and that, while she will try “to keep it under control,” she inherited the tendency from her mother. While Keesing is amused by Anne’s paper, he forces her to write another one titled “‘Quack, Quack, Quack,’ Said Mistress Chatterback” (17). With the help of a friend, Anne wrote the essay in the form of a poem.

In her next couple entries, Anne complains about walking around in the heat because Jews are not allowed to use streetcars, only bikes and the ferry. With her bike recently stolen, she must now walk everywhere, despite the sweltering weather. Now that Jews are forbidden to use streetcars, Anne realizes how pleasant they are. Also, she meets a 16-year-old boy named Helmuth “Hello” Silberberg who asks to accompany her to school.

Hello and Anne date, even though Hello’s grandparents think Anne is too young for him. However, Anne’s real feelings are for Peter Schiff. She confesses, “I love Peter as I’ve never loved anyone, and I tell myself he’s only going around with all those other girls to hide his feelings for me” (21).

Anne gets the results of her report card. Her parents are satisfied even though her grades are not high, but Anne is unhappy because she doesn’t “want to be a poor student” (22). However, more serious concerns quickly rear their head. While taking a walk around the neighborhood, Anne’s father tries to assure her but warns that the family may soon have to go into hiding.

Anne’s 16-year-old sister Margot receives a notice from the Nazi Secret Service saying she is to be deported. The Franks prepare to go into hiding, and Anne is separated from her cat Moortje. The Franks leave food for Moortje and a note asking Mr. Goldschmidt, a man renting out a room in their attic, to give Moortje to the care of neighbors.

Anne describes the house she and her family will hide in. They are to live in the Secret Annex, a group of rooms hidden in the back of the building where Otto Frank worked. The building contains a warehouse, a stockroom, office space, and a milling room where herbs like cinnamon and a pepper substitute are ground.

Everyday life becomes tense between Anne, her mother, and Margot. Also, Anne is grieved by the loss of Moortje, to the point she cannot talk with her family about the cat. Anne’s main comfort is her father, whom she feels “understands me perfectly” (32).