The Diary of Anne Frank: A Play

It’s New Year’s Day 1944, a year and a half after they went into hiding. Anne writes that they’re hungry and getting sick often. Mr. Dussel is trying to pull Mrs. van Daan’s tooth as she struggles and shrieks. Anne talks about her body changing and getting her first period, describing her curiosities and the desires she feels when she sees a nude woman in a painting or when Peter looks at her. Anne remembers wanting to touch her friend’s breasts and kiss her when she was younger. Miep enters with a cake for New Year’s, an immense luxury with the rationing of groceries. Everyone is excited, and Mr. van Daan mentions that they need seven pieces since Margot is sick, but Mrs. Frank asserts firmly that she can have her cake. Mrs. van Daan starts to serve the cake, but Mr. Dussel comments that Mrs. Frank ought to slice it. He notes that when Mrs. van Daan serves, Mr. van Daan tends to get the biggest piece. They argue, but Mrs. Frank cuts the cake, and they all enjoy it. Miep is going to a party with her fiancé, and she promises to tell them all about it. She also gives Anne a pair of red high-heeled shoes, and Anne is thrilled to stumble around in them. Before Miep can leave, Mr. van Daan stops her and asks her to sell Mrs. van Daan’s fur coat, despite her pleading protests. Miep takes it.

As Miep goes, Mrs. Frank follows her to the door. She admits that she doesn’t feel like there’s any hope and that sometimes she feels like giving up. Miep encourages her to hold out for her daughters, and Mrs. Frank thanks Miep for listening since she can’t say these things to her family. In the kitchen, Mr. van Daan is watching his wife, and Anne is practicing French with Mr. Dussel. Mr. and Mrs. van Daan fight, and he blames her for being so attached to her belongings that they couldn’t leave the country in time. Peter tells his mom to stop. Anne tries to interject, but Mrs. van Daan snaps at her rudely. In tears, Anne goes to her room, and Peter reproaches his mother for being so mean. Peter goes after Anne and brings her cake. Peter confides in Anne about his frustration with his parents, admitting that Anne’s cheerful nature helps him to avoid complete despair. Anne confesses that she doesn’t always feel so happy, and that she’s just as annoyed by her parents, although they both agree that they adore Mr. Frank. This is the first time they’ve had a real conversation, and Anne tells Peter that she’s never felt like she had a friend she could really be open with. Peter agrees that he hasn’t either.

Anne dances to the music on the radio, and her mood is infectious. In a voiceover, she describes the longing and happiness she feels, which she calls a “spring awakening” (50). Meanwhile, their food is dwindling. They’re living on kale and rotting potatoes, and Anne’s voiceover notes that dinner every night ends in a fight. Mr. Dussel exclaims that he’s sick of the food, which Mr. and Mrs. van Daan take as an insult to her cooking. Margot isn’t eating, even though her parents beg her to try. Then they argue about whether the British are fighting hard enough, since they still haven’t invaded. Then the buzzer sounds, and Mr. Kraler enters. Gravely, he tells them that they need to be more cautious. One of his employees downstairs had unexpectedly asked about Mr. Frank, wondering if Mr. Kraler knew anything other than the rumor that he fled to Switzerland. Today, the man had stared at the bookcase, commending that he thought there was a door there. Then, he asked Mr. Kraler for a raise. They debate whether it’s coincidence or blackmail, deciding that Mr. Kraler should give him half the amount requested to test the waters. Mrs. Frank starts to cry, and to her surprise, Anne insists on comforting her.

Lights shift. On the radio, the Dutch Minister of Education is explaining that after the war, they will look to collect personal documents, such as letters and diaries, to chronicle the history of the war. Excited, Anne imagines turning her diary into a novel. She describes how writing has helped her to cope with life in hiding, explaining, “But I want to achieve more than that. I want to be useful and bring enjoyment to all people, even those I’ve never met. I want to go on living even after my death!” (54). Lights shift again. Anne is getting dressed, and Mr. Dussel is waiting impatiently to get into the bedroom. Margot goes in and they talk about Peter, who Anne has been spending a lot of time with lately. The adults, especially Mrs. van Daan, have been making comments. Margot admits that she wishes she had someone too, but she’s genuinely happy for Anne. Anne is grateful for her sister’s kindness, confiding that Peter hasn’t even kissed her. Margot stops Anne and fixes her hair before she goes. As Anne heads up to the attic, the adults muse that she is all dressed up, and they might be having a wedding in the Annex before long. Mrs. Frank interrupts the conversation, for which Anne gives her a look of gratitude, and reminds Anne to come down by nine. In the attic, the two teens complain about their parents who are too old-fashioned to understand them. Peter compliments her high-heeled shoes.

Smiling, Peter admits that he used to find Anne irritating, and Anne replies, “My life before seems so unreal. I see myself then as an utterly superficial girl, who has nothing to do with who I am now” (57). They talk about their lives, and Anne is pleased that she can see the moon from “our attic” (57). Peter gives her his coat because it’s cold. Anne brings up the subject of kissing, which Peter has only done once while blindfolded. Peter wants her to keep coming back to the attic, and she promises that she will as long as he wants her there. Mrs. Frank calls up that Anne’s nine o’clock curfew has arrived. Anne starts to go, and Peter impulsively tries to kiss her but kisses the back of her head. Anne turns around and kisses him fully. They look happily at each other for a moment, and then Anne races downstairs. Everyone stares at her, and she smiles awkwardly before disappearing into the bathroom. In a blackout, a voiceover plays a speech by Rauter, the SS chief in the Netherlands. He declares that all Jews will be removed from German-occupied countries by July, ending with a nightmarish echo. In the darkness, Mrs. Frank wakes suddenly, exclaiming that she hears a rat. She ignores Mr. Frank’s urging her to go back to sleep, sneaking quietly into the main room. Shocked, she discovers that it is Mr. van Daan, not a rat, secretly eating their bread.

One by one, the rest of the household comes out. Mr. van Daan is embarrassed, as is Mrs. van Daan, although she stands by him. Mrs. Frank is outraged, seeing his secret theft as taking food from her children, and although Mr. Frank tries to reason with her, she demands that he be forced to leave. Mr. van Daan promises that he’ll never do it again. Anne pleads for Peter’s sake to let them stay, and Peter adds that he would feel obligated to leave with his parents. Ejection from the Annex would be a likely death sentence. Mrs. Frank insists that Miep can find them a new place to go, and in the meantime, they aren’t allowed to sleep near the food. Mr. Dussel suggests that they divide the food and absurdly starts to divvy up the potatoes. They argue, and the potatoes end up on the floor. The argument is interrupted by the buzzer ringing insistently. Miep races in, crying with excitement. She tells them that the British, the Americans, and the rest of the Allied forces has started the invasion on the coast of Normandy. It’s June 6, 1944 (known as D-Day). She pulls out a map, and they plot out the cities they’ll invade before they reach Amsterdam. They turn on the radio and listen to Eisenhower, who promises, “Although the initial assault may not have been made in your own country, the hour of your liberation is approaching” (62). They kiss and celebrate, making plans for the future and wondering at the idea that it might be over soon. Margot says that she wants to “go far, far away” (62) to become a nurse for newborns, possibly in Palestine.

Mrs. van Daan goes to find Mr. van Daan, who is lying in bed, miserable with guilt. She reminds him of when they met, and he had stood out from all the other men because of the way he made her laugh and then kissed her. They had gone out to eat, and she had laughed at how hungry he was. Mrs. van Daan promises that soon she’ll cook for him again all the foods he misses, but in the meantime, when he’s hungry, she asks him to hold onto her. He does. It’s the middle of the night, and Anne wakes up suddenly. She tells the audience that she saw her friend, Hanneli, looking thin and ravaged and asking why Anne left her. Anne questions why she has survived when so many didn’t, seeing the image of her friend as a reminder of what might have been her fate. Lights go down again, and the Annex chimney is lit, showing the smoke rising from it. There is darkness again and music on the radio. The song ends, and a broadcaster reminds audiences, “We are once more a day closer to liberation!” (63). Lights rise on a sunny morning, and Anne, Peter, and Margot are in the attic with a crate of strawberries, which they are merrily rinsing and preparing for jam. They happily tease each other while they eat almost as many berries as they prepare. Downstairs, the adults are also eating strawberries while they play a game of cards.

The three teens talk about liberation. Peter has decided that he doesn’t want anyone to know that he’s Jewish ever again, an idea that Anne finds shocking. She says, “Don’t you realize, Peter, you’ll always be Jewish… in your soul” (65). As they tease each other playfully, a Nazi officer and two Dutch Collaborators break into the Annex silently. One by one, the adults see them and drop their cards, raising their hands in fear. There is a burst of laughter in the attic, and the Nazi looks up. In a voiceover, Anne muses that it’s surprising that she still has her ideals, adding, “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are really good at heart” (65). Then, shouting, the Nazi bursts into the attic with his gun raised. The three men herd them into the main room and start searching the place for valuables. The eight Annex inhabitants start to gather what they can in bags. Anne grabs her diary, but the officer smacks it from her hand, shoving her out of the room before she can collect it. In a voiceover, Anne talks about the growing chaos of the world that threatens to destroy them, exclaiming, “I feel the suffering of millions” (66). They are forced down the stairs and pulled apart, screaming for each other. One of the men finds the jewelry box and opens it, playing the song, and abruptly closes it. The screaming melds with the noise of a train.

Everything is quiet, and the Annex is ransacked and empty. Mr. Frank explains that they were taken to a prison barracks, never knowing who turned them in. After their last month together and in their homeland, they were put on the trains. The Allies were busily liberating behind them but not quickly enough. After three days and nights on the packed transport train, they reached Auschwitz, and the men and women were separated. Mr. Frank never saw his family again. Mr. van Daan was selected from the train to be killed in the gas chambers. Peter died on the death march to Mauthausen, where the British arrived three days later. Mrs. van Daan died on an unknown date after stints in a series of camps. Mr. Dussel was killed in the Neuengamme camp. Otto Frank survived Auschwitz and was freed on January 27, 1945. After his release, he learned that his wife had died in Birkenau, and during that winter, an epidemic of typhus spread across Bergen-Belsen, where Margot and Anne had been incarcerated together. First Margot died. Then Anne’s friend Hanneli spotted Anne through the fence, naked and covered in vermin, weeping and alone. Anne died a few days later. Mr. Frank adds, “My daughters’ bodies dumped into mass graves, just before the camp is liberated” (67). Mr. Frank finds Anne’s diary on the floor, finishing, “All that remains” (67), as he opens it.