They were arrested on August 4th, 1944, their world collapsing in an instant. Just three days earlier, on August 1st, Anne Frank captured the last glimmer of her hope in her diary, a testament to the enduring spirit of a young woman that continues to inspire generations.
“As I’ve told you many times, I’m split in two. One side contains my exuberant cheerfulness, my flippancy, my joy in life and, above all, my ability to appreciate the lighter side of things […] This side of me is usually lying in wait to ambush the other one, which is much purer, deeper, and finer.
“No one knows Anne’s better side, and that’s why most people can’t stand me. Oh, I can be an amusing clown for an afternoon, but after that everyone’s had enough of me to last a month. Actually, I’m what a romantic film is to a profound thinker — a mere diversion, a comic interlude, something that is soon forgotten; not bad, but not particularly good either.
“I’m afraid that people who know me as I usually am will discover I have another side, a better and finer side. I’m afraid they’ll mock me, think I’m ridiculous and sentimental and not take me seriously […] If I force the good Anne into the spotlight for even fifteen minutes, she shuts up like a clam the moment she’s called upon to speak, and let’s Anne number one do the talking […]
“I know exactly how I’d like to be, how I am…on the inside […] I’m guided by the pure Anne on the inside, but outside I’m nothing but a frolicsome little goat tugging at its tether […]
“If I’m being completely honest, I’ll have to admit that it does matter to me, that I’m trying very hard to change myself, but that I’m always up against a more powerful enemy […]
“[…] if I’m quiet and serious, everyone thinks I’m putting on a new act and I have to save myself with a joke […] I get cross, then sad, and finally end up turning my heart inside out, the bad part on the outside and the good part on the inside, and keep trying to find a way to become what I’d like to be and what I could be if … there were no other people in the world.
“Yours, Anne M. Frank.”
