‘Anne Frank: The diary of a young girl’ was published posthumously and translated in more than 50 languages. The book shows the conditions and story of Anne Frank and her family, a group of Jews who lived in a secret annexe for almost two years during the holocaust. Lori Lefkovitz, Ruderman, professor and director of the Jewish Studies Program at Northeastern University, expounded upon the impact of Frank’s diary on the global understanding of holocaust.
The diary and its content rightfully portray the tragic occurrences of World War II. The time not just witnessed the killing of numerous Jews, but also a tremendous decline in their culture. A piece written in the Dutch attic, where Anne Frank hid with seven others, has given a small entry to the world where the Jews declined in Europe. Though now a classic text, it is still capable of penetrating in the hearts of people around the world and over the generations. She remains to be an inspiration and a symbol of their past. She believed till the end that people are good at heart and this shows the noble values of Judaism inculcated among the Jews. She provides, for the Jews who faced atrocities during the holocaust, a foundation for future identity by being their representative. Lefkovitz says, “The well-known photograph of Anne’s face inspires nostalgia for a generation of people whose lives were cut short”.
Eleanor Roosevelt described the diary as “one of the wisest and most moving commentaries on war and its impact on human beings that I have ever read”. She is lovable and adorable and she values the people she lives with. She is the face of many children who faced and felt the war and were deprived to grow to their adulthood. Though there are many works about the holocaust made, this one remains close to the readers due to its young narrator and a true and innocent perspective of the devastated condition. Anne, according to Lefkovitz, is a part of the world’s childhood. We all can see in her a someone we once knew, loved, and lost.
Akshara Palshetkar
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