Anne Frank
A teenage girl whose intimate diary, written in hiding, became the defining human document of the Holocaust for millions worldwide.
1929–1945 (age 16)·Diarist and Holocaust victim·Birthday: June 12·The Silent Generation
Biography
Annelies Marie Frank was a bright, observant child whose world contracted from the streets of Amsterdam to a hidden annex behind a bookcase. Born in Germany, her family fled to the Netherlands to escape Nazi persecution, only to be trapped again when the country was occupied. For two years, from ages 13 to 15, she chronicled her confined existence with astonishing emotional depth, wit, and growing self-awareness. Her diary entries detailed the claustrophobic tensions with seven other hidden occupants, her budding romance with Peter van Pels, and her fierce ambition to become a writer. The annex was raided in August 1944; Anne was deported to Auschwitz and later to Bergen-Belsen, where she died of typhus just weeks before the camp's liberation. Her father, Otto, the sole survivor of the family, later published her work. Translated into dozens of languages, 'The Diary of a Young Girl' transformed a statistic into a singular, unforgettable voice, making the incomprehensible scale of the Holocaust personal and immediate for generations of readers.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Anne was born in 1929, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Anne Was Born
The biggest hits of 1929
#1 Movie
The Broadway Melody
Best Picture
The Broadway Melody
Anne's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1929Born
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1934Started school
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1942Became a teenager
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1945Could drive
WWII ends; atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $4,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Sentimental Journey" — Les Brown & Doris DayBest Picture: The Lost Weekend
Key Achievements
- Wrote a personal diary during the Holocaust that has sold over 30 million copies and been translated into 70+ languages.
- Her work provides one of the most widely read first-hand accounts of Jewish life during Nazi occupation.
- The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, the site of her hiding place, is one of the world's most visited museums dedicated to the Holocaust.
- Her diary has been adapted into numerous stage plays, films, and educational curricula globally.
Did You Know?
She received the diary as a gift for her 13th birthday, just weeks before her family went into hiding.
She wrote two versions: her original diary and a revised one she started after hearing a radio call to preserve wartime documents.
She aspired to be a journalist or a famous writer, and wrote short stories and essays while in hiding.
A 1967 survey found that American students knew more about Anne Frank than about the First Lady or the U.S. Vice President at the time.
“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
