Who was Anne Frank?

Anne Frank smiling and holding a pencil.

This is Anne Frank.

Her diary is one of the most important books in history. It tells the story of her life during World War Two.

Find out more about her, below.

In June 1942, a 15-year-old girl kept a diary about her thoughts and feelings.

Her name was Anne Frank and her diary is world famous.

But why is it special?

The Frank family was Jewish and left Germany to escape a terrible situation.

A group called the Nazis ruled. Their laws made Jewish people's lives very hard.

Life became so difficult for Anne's family, that they had no choice but to leave their home.

They were forced to start a new life in Amsterdam.

When World War Two began, the Nazis brought their laws to Amsterdam.

Once more, life became hard for Jewish people.

They weren't allowed to own bicycles, go to restaurants or even be outside after 8pm.

Anne had to go to a different school. Her dad, Otto, lost his business.

Many Jewish people were arrested.

But there were others who refused to let the Nazis treat them like this!

Otto resisted by making a secret hiding place for his family in an attic. Anne and her family hid there for 761 days, over two years.

Otto had given Anne a book as a birthday present. Here, Anne wrote her diary about life in this secret place, her fears and her dreams of freedom.

Friends helped hide the family and keep their secret. But someone told the Nazis where the Franks were.

The soldiers came and took the family away. Anne's dreams of freedom had gone and soon afterwards, she died. But her diary survived and was eventually published.

She wrote:

"I know what I want, I have a goal, I have opinions, a religion and love, if only I could be myself I’ll be satisfied."

Anne Frank’s diary still inspires today proving words can be as strong as actions and all from the pen of a teenage girl!

Key facts

Anne and her family were Jewish. During World War Two the Nazis ruled her country. Their laws made the lives of Jewish people very hard.
To escape, Anne and her family went into hiding in an attic.
Two other Jewish families joined them there.
This meant there were eight people hiding in one place.

Do you remember what happened in Anne Frank's life? Try the activity below.

Did you know?

Her full name was Annelies Marie Frank.
Anne’s house is now a museum and over one and a quarter million people visit it every year.
Every time Anne started writing in her diary she would start with the words “Dear Kitty”. Kitty was her imaginary friend.
One of Anne's hobbies was to collect photos and postcards of film stars.