From the Bookshelf of Never too Late to Read Classics…

The Diary of a Young Girl

Anne Frank

Start date: October 15, 2016

Finish date: November 14, 2016

Discussion: Children's Classics Buddy Reads

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Dec 17, 2020 midnightfaerie rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics, rory-gilmore, literature, young-adult

Finally finished this for the first time - no, I was not required to read this as a child. My 12 year old, however, was recently required to read it, and since it was on my list, I decided to read it with him.

I'm really still not sure what I think about this book. Most everyone has heard about this story, and knows the basic gist of it, so I won't go into that, but I have to mention that I come at this from a different angle. My mom was born and raised in Germany, so my two grandfathers fought Finally finished this for the first time - no, I was not required to read this as a child. My 12 year old, however, was recently required to read it, and since it was on my list, I decided to read it with him.

I'm really still not sure what I think about this book. Most everyone has heard about this story, and knows the basic gist of it, so I won't go into that, but I have to mention that I come at this from a different angle. My mom was born and raised in Germany, so my two grandfathers fought on opposite sides of WWII. I still remember hearing stories of when they first met, how they came to respect one another, and eventually became friends. I grew up hearing about how awful the war was, how my grandmother had a big nose, and even though she wasn't Jewish, they often had her stay at home so no one would accuse her of being one. I also met many of my mom's German friends, and would spend hours listening to them talk, often in German, trying to learn as much as I can. One of them even met Hitler, when he was in the war, and told me his experience, and about how charismatic he was. I've been to Germany several times, and as a teen, wore my grandfather's dog tags. As I've gotten older, I've seen how easily the word "Nazi" is used for the word "German", and I've heard all the jokes. I still remember when Schindler's List came out and everyone was watching it, and I just had no desire. I've learned about the Holocaust, the war, and the Fuhrer, and how he promised more jobs and a better future for Germany, which has so many people following him, in hope of change.

I will not dispute the Holocaust was awful and that Hitler did horrible things. By the end of this book I was crying, thinking about Otto Frank, and how he must have felt, being the only one in his family to have survived. It was wrong, all of it, and it should always be taught in schools.

However.....sometimes I feel like hating the Germans is the funny and "socially acceptable" thing to do. It wasn't so long ago that our nation had slaves, who are we to judge? Hitler promised a better life during a horrible time. Many people didn't know what he was really like. By the time he was made Chancellor of Germany, it was too late. Many people followed him. He needed those people to have the power he did and to accomplish what he did. Also, many Germans did NOT want to follow him. Many did NOT vote for him, and did everything they could to help the Jews. The word "Nazi" is not the same as "German".

That being said, I really don't like reading books about Hitler, the Holocaust, and WWII. However, this book is a great introduction to the topic for young people. Because Anne Frank talks so personally about her thoughts and feelings (ie boys, love, life, friends, etc...) is makes it easy to put yourself in her shoes and relate to how she's feeling.

Halfway through the book my son mentioned that she dies. What?!? I had no idea. I guess I was holding out the hope for a happy ending. When I got upset with my son, he said he thought everyone knew that. It reminds me of the time my best friend told me Thelma and Louise commit suicide at the end of the movie. I had no idea. Still haven't seen that movie.
In any case, I'm an idiot. I should have known she died. Without a tragic ending it wouldn't have had such an impact.

So I finished the book. It's a great book, very good for the purpose of introducing these topics to young people, but I didn't enjoy it. I've read other books about the war that I felt were more creative or unusual that I enjoyed more, like The Book Thief. I know, I know, you can't compare them to this. This is a diary, a true story, a real life. Maybe I'm just tired of sad.

I digress. Maybe I'm just in a mood today. Overall, I give props to this story. It's an easy read and explains many things about the war. It's great for any school curriculum and introduces many words relating to the war such as antisemitism and gestapo. I might have liked it better had I read it as a teen. And if you don't know much about the war or the Holocaust, this is a great book to start with. ...more

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