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Twenty authors share their heartfelt essays of connection with Anne Frank, the young diarist who, for many people, is their first connection with the horrors of the Jewish Holocaust. Compiled by Anne's father from her diary, Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, as it is known in English, has become a familiar classic. Anne, who aspired to be a journalist, received a diary on her thirteenth birthday on June 12, 1942, and almost immediately began to record her thoughts and the details of her family's and other residents' daily lives in "the annex," as they called the three-story apartment over her father's business where they hid during 1942-1944.
While none of the writers included in this anthology knew Anne personally, her compelling diary entries touched their hearts deeply. Some who memorialize Anne in their essays connected with her family and friends in recent decades as they sought to learn more about the enigmatic Jewish girl who lived in hiding during Amsterdam's German occupation. Others have journeyed with Anne only in their hearts and through her words that continue to resonate over seventy-five years later.
Anne Frank's life and writings have inspired an astonishing array of books, films, plays, articles, and commentary in musical scores and artwork. This anthology will be a welcome addition to the body of work about Anne's short life and her enduring legacy. The editor has taken great care in his choice of authors and has contributed a moving and comprehensive preface, addressing readers through the lens of having prepared and published the anthology during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. An extensive bibliography and index follow the anthology essays, making the volume worthy of inclusion in libraries and archives.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review