The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank

"Sunday, 14 June, 1942
On Friday, June 12th, I woke up at six o'clock and no wonder; it was my birthday. But of course I was not allowed to get up at that hour, so I had to control my curiosity until a quarter to seven. Then I could bear it no longer, and went to the dining room, where I received a warm welcome from Moortje (the cat)."

The Diary Of A Young Girl by Anne Frank is the 7th book that I have read for the Back To History Challenge. Again, this is a book that I would have sworn I read in school, but it must have just been pieces and parts because I know now that I have never read the full book before.

Anne's diary opens on June 14, 1942, just two days after her 13th birthday. She recieved a blank diary as one gift for this momentus birthday as well as a fun birthday party with her friends. Anne and her Jewish family live in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam during WWII and within just a few short weeks of her first diary entry find themselves in hiding with a second family, and a middle-aged dentist that joins them shortly. Anne is in many ways a typical teenager, hating her mother, jealous of her sister, with very scathing remarks about the others around her. At anytime it would be hard to live in such close proximity to 7 other people. In war time it would be almost unbearable ~ not being able to go out of doors, not having enough to eat, outgrowing your clothes and having no private space of your own, amongst many other complaints. The residents of the Secret Annexe had to spend much of their days making absolutely no sound so as to not get caught. What a hard life. Anne's wisdom and belief that all would turn out good in the end are amazing under such circumstances. Don't get me wrong, she most certainly fussed and fumed about all sorts of issues in her diary, but she was also a very remarkable writer for her age. I think anyone who reads Anne's diary eye's will be opened to the horrors that so many people faced during those horrible years. This is a book each and every one of us should read, so that we never ever forget.
Thank you, Anne...