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'The Diary of a Young Girl' by Anne Frank - A Critical Analysis by Mahek Agarwal

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank serves as an accurate representation of the political climate existing during World War II. Her personal account here becomes exponentially more relevant on account of her being Jewish and the anti-Semitist propaganda prevalent  then. Stemming directly from her immediate experiences of the Holocaust, this personal account then informs its readers about the horrors of war, in general; and the Holocaust, in particular. Her account serves as the face of the tragedy of the Holocaust, becoming timeless and carrying well into this century. 

 

Kitty, Anne Frank’s diary, became her confidante. It was in the pages of this diary that she exposed the gruelling horrors of being a Jew when anti-Jewish measures were being implemented throughout. With Hitler coming to power, echoes of anti-Semitist propaganda began reverberating throughout, crossing borders. As a result, the Franks were forced to live a shrouded life in incommodious quarters.  

 

Life for Anne in this hideout was not easy. She was forced into a life rife with discrimination and hate propaganda, which hindered her life as a normal teenager. Confused about love and evolving physicality, her diary became her only source of catharsis. With the looming fear of being found and ultimately falling victim to State-sanctioned genocide, Anne was subjected to a life of isolation and seclusion, confiding about her deepest emotions in Kitty. Writing about her difficult relationship with her mother and days packed with layers of panic and terror as bombs rained down, she exposes the intensity of this tragedy and the human capability of alarming insensitivity. 

 

She was a mere teenager forced to suffer the consequences of something beyond her control and understanding. Not fully equipped with the sensibility to gauge the magnitude of the political turbulence, she often questioned as to why her community was being subjected to such cruelty. Conflicted between identifying herself as part of a discriminated community and establishing her own individuality, she indirectly gave voice to millions of people just  like her. Through the documentation of her dread and fear, she became fearless in a way.


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