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Anne Frank's last diary entry 01 August 1944

Posted by (northern CA) on

It was on 04 August of 1944 that they were all arrested, so Anne Frank's last diary entry was on this day, 01 August, and it gives a good sense of the appeal of her perspective for young women especially but really for everyone:

"As I've told you many times, I'm split in two. One side contains my exuberant cheerfulness, my flippancy, my joy in life and, above all, my ability to appreciate the lighter side of things [...] This side of me is usually lying in wait to ambush the other one, which is much purer, deeper, and finer.

"No one knows Anne's better side, and that's why most people can't stand me. Oh, I can be an amusing clown for an afternoon, but after that everyone's had enough of me to last a month. Actually, I'm what a romantic film is to a profound thinker — a mere diversion, a comic interlude, something that is soon forgotten; not bad, but not particularly good either.

"I'm afraid that people who know me as I usually am will discover I have another side, a better and finer side. I'm afraid they'll mock me, think I'm ridiculous and sentimental and not take me seriously [...] If I force the good Anne into the spotlight for even fifteen minutes, she shuts up like a clam the moment she's called upon to speak, and let's Anne number one do the talking [...]

"I know exactly how I'd like to be, how I am...on the inside [...] I'm guided by the pure Anne on the inside, but outside I'm nothing but a frolicsome little goat tugging at its tether [...]

"If I'm being completely honest, I'll have to admit that it does matter to me, that I'm trying very hard to change myself, but that I'm always up against a more powerful enemy [...]

"[...] if I'm quiet and serious, everyone thinks I'm putting on a new act and I have to save myself with a joke [...] I get cross, then sad, and finally end up turning my heart inside out, the bad part on the outside and the good part on the inside, and keep trying to find a way to become what I'd like to be and what I could be if ... there were no other people in the world.

"Yours, Anne M. Frank."

https://www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/go-in-depth/reconstruction-arrest-people-hiding/

Posted by
2774 posts

I was going to say what Valerie said. Amazing insight from such a young girl. Visiting her hiding place in Amsterdam was the most moving travel experience I’ve ever had and the only time I ever cried at a tourist site. To think that her life was extinguished is almost unbearable.

Posted by
4 posts

I just finished reading her diary two days ago in preparation for a trip to Netherlands next week with the opportunity to visit the annex. Her final entry is so moving, relatable and certainly insightful for a young woman her age. Thank you for sharing here.

Posted by
10186 posts

Thank you for this timely reminder, Avi. It's hard to put into words all the thoughts that this brings to mind.

Posted by
5 posts

My grandfather worked for the tax office in Amsterdam and used to check the balance books of Otto Frank's company Opekta. Once in 3 months he would come to my grandfather's office with his books and they always had a little chat before processibg the balances. Then one day instead of Mr Frank hinself came his bookkeeper Kleimann. He told my grandfather the Frank's had travelled to the US. Mr Frank's company traded all those years normally.
Then beginning 1946 Mr Frank showed up again in the office, telling the real story. At one point my grandfather was given a copy of the first book. Must be 1948 maybe?

My grandfather himself hid briefly in a milk factory in 1944-1945 because the Germans decided to also sent government workers to their work camp but somewhere end 1944 stopped doing this and my grandfather returned to his old position in Amsterdam.

Posted by
76 posts

Thank you Avi, very emotional reading her words again, she continues to give us hope.

Posted by
3961 posts

Avi- Thank you for sharing this. I read her diary as a young girl and then prior to our visit to the Anne Frank House in 2019 I read “Anne Frank Remembered” by Miep Gies. I took note of several of Annes writings posted in the annex.
On April 11, 1944 Anne wrote, “I’ll make my voice heard, I’ll go out into the world and work for mankind.” How fortunate that we are able to read her beautiful philosophical views. I thought about Anne Frank & her family when I took a photo of the canal from the window. I remembered her quote, “Think of all beauty still left around you & be happy.” We were grateful to be a part of that memory.

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