The Diary of a Young Girl

Written by scholar Francine Prose, the introduction first focuses on the literary merits of The Diary of a Young Girl. Prose cites the poet John Berryman, who argues that the circumstances of Anne Frank having to hide from the Nazis forced her to mature quickly. Although the situation of living through Nazi occupation and a war was extreme, Prose argues that there is much in The Diary of a Young Girl that readers will find familiar. She argues that Anne’s diary “speaks to us about the universal experiences of first love, family entanglements, hope and despair, society and solitude, terror and even boredom” (viii).

Next, Prose discusses how The Diary of a Young Girl is one of the most widely taught books in the world, being discussed even in classrooms in the totalitarian nation of North Korea. Then, Prose summarizes the historical context of Anne Frank’s life. She discusses how the Franks fled Germany for the Netherlands to escape the Nazi government’s increasing persecution of Jews, but Germany invaded and occupied the Netherlands in May 1940. As the occupation continued, the Nazis and local police began deporting Dutch Jews to concentration camps. The Franks were among the Jews who went into hiding, protected by some Dutch citizens and members of the anti-Nazi resistance.

They remained in hiding until an unknown informant betrayed the Franks and their hiding place was uncovered by the Nazi secret police, the Gestapo. Anne died of an illness and malnutrition at age 15 in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Northern Germany. Prose notes that “some of the book’s readers (younger students, in particular) have been allowed to remain ignorant—or, as some see it, have been spared the shattering knowledge—of its author’s tragic fate” (xi).

Finally, Prose describes the history of the diary’s published editions. In editing her own diary, Anne gave it a “remarkable consistency in tone” (xi) and a constant narrative tone. In 1986 the Netherlands State Institute for War Documentation published The Critical Edition of The Diary of Anne Frank, which included all three versions of the diary: the original, unedited diary; Anne’s own revised diary; and the manuscript prepared by Otto Frank. Prose discusses how it was Anne’s idea when revising the diary to address her entries to an imaginary reader named Kitty.

Finally, Prose describes some of the changes Otto Frank made. For example, while Anne downplayed her feelings for a boy named Peter, Otto used Anne’s original description of her romantic feelings for Peter. Prose praises Otto’s editorial instincts, writing, “we cannot help but applaud his editorial skills, his instincts for what was necessary or extraneous, illuminating or confusing, and for what would keep his daughter’s narrative moving swiftly along” (xiii).