I just finished reading the book ‘The diary of a young girl – Anne Frank’.

 

How did I know about the Diary of Anne Frank?

The person who told me about Anne Frank was a stranger on the train from Brussels to Amsterdam. That woman missed the earlier train because she was late by 3 minutes. I usually sat in the 1st class (as I had Eurail global pass) but the seats were full so the staff asked me to sit in the 2nd class. Therefore, I sat beside the woman and we talked.

Our train stopped on the halfway and was delayed by a few hours (due to technical issues). The woman was very upset and kept saying “if only I was able to catch that earlier train…” I thought she was a bit disturbing, and she kept on talking.

She told me that she wanted to visit the museum of Anne Frank because she was moved by her diary. She told me about Anne Frank’s stories and taught me some important history. The museum is one of the most famous attractions in Amsterdam, yet I didn’t visit it because I hadn’t read the diary of Anne Frank.

Maybe it was lucky for me that she missed her earlier train to Amsterdam (although I know I shouldn’t say this), so I am able to know Anne Frank and read her diary. The story that the woman told me in the train was so vivid and interesting. I thought I will never read this kind of book, but in the end, I bought the book and read from the beginning till the end.

 

What is this diary about?

Anne Frank, a pity little Jewish girl, was one of the victims of Holocaust. The Holocaust was the terrible event during World War II, where 6 million Jews were killed by Nazis when Hitler was the leader of Germany. Anne Frank died in the concentration camp at that time.

Before Anne Frank was deported to the concentration camp, she wrote a diary while in hiding with her family for more than 2 years from 1942 to 1944. She wrote many things, including their life of hiding, her thoughts and feelings, some trivial matters as well as important political views.

From her diary, it is no hard to see that she has a very strong personality. She was the centre of attention, a person who made trouble and dare to challenge the status quo, and that’s what makes this diary interesting. She was different from many people.

Unfortunately, someone betrayed Anne Frank’s family so Nazis found them. Anne Frank died in 1945 when she was only 16-year-old, and she became very famous because of her diary. It was sad to see such a young, brave and passionate girl lost the chance to see this beautiful world due to ugly reasons. But her life is very meaningful because her diary has spread the message and triggers the deep thinking, so people will remember this horrible event and ensure it will not happen again.

Oh yes, there were 8 of them who went into hiding, 7 of them died. The one who has survived was Anne Frank’s father, who later dedicated the rest of his life spreading the message of Anne Frank’s diary to the world.

 

What I feel about this diary

I am inspired that Anne Frank treats her diary as a friend – and even named her diary ‘Kitty’. She always began her diary by ‘dear Kitty…’ I hope I can treat Opposite Journey as my friend too. Sometimes I have the same feeling as Anne, that I still do not have a friend who I can be totally honest to and spill out all my thought and feeling at any time. I should have treated my blog as my true friend – someone who allows me to be myself and write anything I want.

Anyway, it is a diary of a 13-year-old girl. There are a lot of personal stories, such as the quarrel with her parents and how tough her life was. Sometimes it was a bit negative and repetitive, but she did very well as a 13-year-old girl! I don’t think I am able to get over at all in that age. She was mature for her age because of the tragedies she had been through.

When I read about her love stories, it reminds me how pure the love is. She had a mind on the boy who was hiding with her at the same place. She longed for a kiss and was not afraid to admit that (on her diary). I think about my love. Perhaps the longing for love is the most beautiful feeling for any female in the world.

What we are having now is her dream

When I read about her life while in hiding, it reminds me how lucky I am. I have fresh food, fresh air and clean clothes. I can travel to so many places while she can only stay at one small part of the building. Freedom is too important.

From her diary, I can feel how much Anne loves the world. She wants to go back to school. She wants to be in love. And she wants to see the world like I am doing right now. She has the desire to live. She wants to be a famous writer and she did in the end but ironically, after her death. I had the same passion but I realised that I began to lost it when I get older (although I do not want to admit), I am trying hard to find it back. Think about Anne!

My personality is quite different from Anne. I always want to avoid to be in the centre of attention (although I enjoyed it sometimes), and I care too much about what other people think of me. I don’t think I can be a good friend with Anne if she is still alive, but I admire her personality. She always has strong opinions about everything. I am too lazy to get myself noticed.

I nearly cried when I read her sad stories. This charming girl has an unfortunate fate like millions of Jews, yet she left her faith in words that inspire future millions of people.

We should learn from the past

Actually, there are thousands/millions of people like Anne Frank. The Holocaust causes 6 million deaths but there are much more people died due to human’s selfishness. We can only learn, to get better and better, since there is no the best. Because what we are doing now may not seem good to the people in the future. Who knows?

I hope I can visit the museum of Anne Frank, as I missed it on my first visit to Amsterdam. I want to see the place where Anne Frank and her family have hidden for 2 years; now I can appreciate the museum and feel more that Anne wanted to express.