Monday, September 10, 2018

How have Anne's entries in the diary changed in April 1944?

On April 11, 1944, Anne writes about how everything in her hidden annex has changed after a terrifying break-in in the building. The police were called, and the people hiding in the annex were nearly discovered. Starting at that point, they had to be more cautious and had to patrol the building at night.
At this point, Anne develops a keener sense of herself as a Jew and writes about the aftermath of the Holocaust. She writes, "if, after all this suffering, there are still Jews left, the Jewish people will be held up as an example." She has a sense that the Holocaust will come to mean something to the world and that she will not have suffered in vain. Anne has faced death, and she promises to make a difference if she lives. She knows that her life might soon end, but, if she manages to survive, she wants to speak out and achieve more than her mother has. This period marks Anne's growing independence, as she begins to embark on a more serious romance with Peter. She has grown up suddenly and has decided to be different from what her parents want and expect from her.


Three days later, she was taken by the Gestapo, imprisoned, and later sent to Auschwitz. Her father Otto Frank’s business partner had informed the Nazis of the family’s whereabouts, and they were taken by surprise when their secret annex was suddenly invaded by the Gestapo.


In April 1944, a couple of intruders break into the office. In the process, they break a plank to the door that leads to the secret hiding place where Anne lives such a precarious existence with her family. Mr. Van Daan makes the fatal mistake of shouting, "Police!" at the men in an effort to scare them away. But he forgets that this will simply draw attention to the existence of the secret annex. The plank is subsequently fixed, but the burglary is a terrifying experience for everyone, particularly Anne. The attempted break-in has brought home to Anne just how tenuous her existence is in this stifling, claustrophobic environment. She's now more terrified than ever before of being caught and the almost certain death to which it will lead.

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