The Diary of Anne Frank

Age appropriateness:

Because the protagonist is young and there is no graphic imagery, we believe this film can be watched as young as 11.

Summary:

Anne Frank, a Dutch Jewish girl, and her family are forced into hiding at the start of the war. Thanks to the help of office workers, they hide in an annex. Anne, her parents, and her sister, are joined by another couple and their son, Peter. Later, a single dentist joins the group. The majority of the movie focuses on Anne’s relationships with the other members of the group: her quarrels with her mother, her tension with her sister, and her frustration with Dr. Pfeffer over use of their shared room. The movie also focuses on Anne’s maturing by discussing her experiences with puberty and featuring her relationship with Peter. At the end of the movie, Nazis find their secret annex. As they descend the stairs, information about each of their deaths appears on the screen. Anne and her sister died at Bergen-Belsen, and her father was the only survivor.

Historical Accuracy:

Because this movie was based off Anne’s actual diary, it is very accurate. Her family actually did go into hiding with the help of their kind friends.

More information about people who went into hiding during the Holocaust:

http://www.annefrank.org/en/Anne-Frank/Not-outside-for-2-years/Also-others-went-into-hiding/

Approximately 300,000 people (28,000 of which were Jews) hid in the Netherlands for either a short or long time.
Some had to hide inside, sometimes in small spaces, and some could walk around freely (with forged paperwork).
Sometimes parents left their children in hiding with a host family.
8,000 Jews were discovered, often because of betrayal
In theory, helping a Jew would lead to harsh penalties. In reality, this was not always enforced.

https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10006125

Finding a rescuer/helper was quite difficult: many would take advantage of the family’s desperation, collect money, and sometimes even turn the Jews in for a greater reward.
Anne got to stay with her family, but many children had to go into hiding alone.
This wartime separation was often permanent.

Discussion Questions:

How does Anne feel about her family living in the annex? Fortunate? Unfortunate?
Do you think Anne believed her family would survive the war? How does that affect her disposition throughout the movie?
Why is this the most popular story of the Holocaust?
In what ways was Anne mature? Immature?
How did Anne’s family and the other residents of the annex get information about the war and how did this shape Anne’s characterization of war in her diary?
How does the quote: “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart. I simply can’t build up my hopes on a foundation consisting of confusion, misery, and death. I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness, I hear the ever approaching thunder, which will destroy us too, I can feel the sufferings of millions and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will all come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again” affect your understanding of the Holocaust?
How is Anne’s relationship with her mother different than her relationship with her father?
How does the knowledge of Anne’s death affect the way you view her life?

Our Take:

The Diary of Anne Frank is an accurate portrayal of Anne’s reality living in hiding. The lack of graphic images or difficult representations of concentration camps can be viewed as beneficial to the audience as it expands the age range and makes the movie easier to watch. Still, the audience must keep in mind that while the movie does portray a true story, it does not address some harsher narratives of the Holocaust. This is a memoir, not an autobiography: it ends when the Franks leave their annex. Anne’s death is mentioned but not shown, which does not educate viewers about conditions in the killing camps and the methods of murder. Additionally, Anne’s beginning is missing. This reduces her to the “Anne in hiding” rather than her whole self. For these reasons, The Diary of Anne Frank could be a good first-exposure Holocaust movie, but viewers should make plans to supplement that education with other Holocaust texts.