ANNE FRANK

                                                 http://www.annefrank.org/en/
                                                            1929 - 1945
Dutch Jewish Author. Anne Frank's Diary is one of the most widely read books in the world. It reveals the thoughts of a young, yet surprisingly mature 13 year old, confined to a secret hiding place.

                    "Despite everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."

Anne Frank was born Anneliese Marie Frank on 12th June, 1929, at the Maingan Red Cross Clinic in Frankfurt, Germany, to Edith and Otto Heinrich Frank. Anne had an older sister, Margot. The Franks were liberal Jews and did not observe all of the customs and traditions of Judaism. They lived in an assimilated community of Jewish  and non-Jewish citizens of various religions. Edith was the more devout parent, while Otto was interested on scholarly pursuits and had an extensive library, both parents encouraged the children to read.
(All information is from Wikipedia)

In May 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands, where the Franks had moved to, and started the persecution of the Jews. Otto tried to arrange for the family to emigrate to the United States, but this was blocked from June 1941. On the morning of Monday 6th June,1942, the family went into hiding, a three-storey space, known as the "Achterhuis" (Secret Annex). The door to this Secret Annex was later covered by a bookcase to ensure it remained undiscovered. Their home was left in a state of disarray to create the impression that they had left suddenly, and Otto left a note that hinted that they were going to Switzerland.

Before going into hiding, Anne received a book on her 13th birthday, 1942, from her father. It was an autograph book, bound with red and white checkered cloth and with a small lock on the front. Anne decided to use it as a diary and began writing in it almost immediately. In her entry dated 20th June,1942, she lists many of the restrictions placed upon the lives of the Dutch Jewish population.
The two sisters carried on their studies whilst still in hiding. As well as writing about events, Anne also put her feelings, beliefs and ambitions into her diary.

4th August,1944. The Franks and those with them were arrested, interrogated and held overnight.
No one knows who informed on them !
The group was deported to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp and history records the horrors these innocent people went through. Anne and Margot were later sent to Bergen-Belsen and both died of typhus in 1945.

Anne's diary was first published in Germany and France in 1950, and then in the United Kingdom in 1952. The first American edition was in 1952. It's most noteworthy success was in Japan, where it sold 100,000 copies of its first edition. In Japan, Anne Frank was quickly identified as an important cultural figure who represented the destruction of youth during the war.
Plays and movies have been done based on Anne's diary. Over the years the popularity of this diary grew, and in many schools it was included as part of the curriculum, introducing Anne Frank to new generations of readers.