Anne Frank
German-born Jewish diarist whose record of two years in hiding from the Nazis in an Amsterdam annex became one of the most-read first-person documents of the twentieth century and a cornerstone text on conscience, dignity, and the human spirit. Born 1929 in Frankfurt, Anne and her family fled to the Netherlands in 1934; from July 1942 to August 1944 they lived hidden above her father Otto's spice-and-pectin business at Prinsengracht 263. Discovered and arrested, Anne died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen in February 1945 at fifteen. Her diary, recovered by Miep Gies and published by Otto in 1947 as Het Achterhuis (The Diary of a Young Girl), has been translated into more than seventy languages and remains among the defining moral testimonies of the modern age. Her sentence 'in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart' is one of the most-quoted lines in any language.
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Quotes by Anne Frank
108 quotes“I'll call my friend 'Kitty.'”
“It's an odd idea for someone like me to keep a diary; not only because I have never done so before, but because it seems to me that neither I — nor for that matter anyone else — will be interested in the unbosomings of a thirteen-year-old school girl.”
“Still, what does that matter? I want to write.”
“I want to write, but more than that, I want to bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart.”
“Time, however lonely it may be, will pass.”
“I have often been downcast, but never in despair; I regard our hiding as a dangerous adventure, romantic and interesting at the same time.”
“In my diary I treat all the privations as amusing.”
“I have made up my mind now to lead a different life from other girls, and not to become an ordinary housewife later on.”
“What I am experiencing now is a good basis for an interesting life, and that is the reason — the only reason — why I have to laugh at the humorous side of the most dangerous moments.”
“It's really good for an introspective person like me to keep a diary.”
“Not only have I never put down a single word for myself; I've also got a feeling that no one will be interested in the unbosomings of a thirteen-year-old school girl later on.”
“Anyone who is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery!”
“Hopelessness brings only fear and depression.”
“He who is brave and faithful, he is the one who will not die in misery.”
“It is difficult to be honest in your judgments and not break confidence — but truthfulness, in spite of everything, is best.”
“To love another, you must first know yourself.”
“I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I've never met.”
“I want to go on living even after my death!”
“What is done cannot be undone, but at least one can keep it from happening again.”
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