Diary of Anne Frank Returns Home

Anne Frank’s diary, along with other writings, will be handed over to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.
Diary of Anne Frank Returns Home
Letters written by Anne Frank on display at the Amsterdam Historic Museum, April 10, 2006. (Koen van Weel/AFP/Getty Images))
Jasper Fakkert
6/13/2009
Updated:
10/1/2015
<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/AnneFrank57297153.jpg" alt="Letters written by Anne Frank on display at the Amsterdam Historic Museum, April 10, 2006. (Koen van Weel/AFP/Getty Images))" title="Letters written by Anne Frank on display at the Amsterdam Historic Museum, April 10, 2006. (Koen van Weel/AFP/Getty Images))" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1827908"/></a>
Letters written by Anne Frank on display at the Amsterdam Historic Museum, April 10, 2006. (Koen van Weel/AFP/Getty Images))
AMSTERDAM—Anne Frank’s diary, along with other writings, will be handed over to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. On June 11, the Dutch Minister of Education, Ronald Plasterk, officially approved the return of the books from the National Institute for War Documentation (NIOD) to their place of origin. Anne Frank would have turned eighty years old on that day, if she had survived the holocaust.

Anne Frank’s story has changed the world. As a young Jewish girl she was one of the millions of victims of the persecution of the Jews during the Second World War. She wrote the diary during the time she and her family were hiding in the attic of a canal house in Amsterdam. Her diary would become world famous and serve as a witness to history; it has educated, moved, and inspired millions of people around the world. The diary has been translated into multiple languages and has become one of the world’s most widely read books ever.

Without being able to see her real friends, Anne Frank addressed her writings to the imaginary “Kitty.” In the diary she wrote about life during the persecution, but also about her dreams, feelings, joys, and sorrows as a thirteen-year-old girl.

Anne Frank’s writings miraculously survived the war, and her father, Otto Frank, got hold of them in a roundabout way. He endowed all her diaries and writings to NIOD. Since 1980 the NIOD has lent some of the manuscripts to the Anne Frank House. Now, as a result of the new agreement, all diaries and writings will be permanently displayed at the Anne Frank House.

“Anne Frank would have celebrated her 80th birthday tomorrow, but she will remain a young girl forever. Because her diaries have remained intact we know what it meant for a young Jewish girl to live in hiding. Her experience is both unique and exemplary, and it therefore touches millions of people all over the world. Through this new agreement, her life story will be brought into even greater relief and thus have an even greater impact,” said NIOD director NIOD Marjan Schwegman.

Minister Plasterk talked about the new agreement: “Anne Frank is world famous, and it is wonderful that the Dutch nation and visitors from all over the globe can now, for the first time, see the original versions of her complete works, and, moreover, view them in the house where she wrote them. I hope and expect that this will further increase interest in her history and in our history.”
Jasper Fakkert is the Editor-in-chief of the U.S. editions of The Epoch Times. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication Science and a Master's degree in Journalism. Twitter: @JasperFakkert
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