How Anne Frank's diary became a universal symbol

Unveiling Anne Frank's legacy: From hidden diary entries to a global symbol of resilience.

Anne Frank's first diary (right) is showcased at Anne Frank: The Exhibition ahead of its official opening on International Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Center for Jewish History in New York on January 24, 2025. Photo by Angela Weiss/Getty Images

By Adila Ghina and Hayu Andini

The Many Lives of Anne Frank, by Ruth Franklin

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In 1942, Anne Frank received a red-checked, cloth-covered diary for her 13th birthday. A few weeks later, as her family went into hiding to escape the Nazi occupation in Amsterdam, Anne carried the diary with her into the “secret annex” at Prinsengracht 263. While Jews like the Franks sought refuge in the Netherlands after fleeing Germany, the Nazis intensified arrests and deportations, forcing the family into a life of secrecy.

Anne’s life ended tragically, a fact known to millions around the world. In August 1944, the Franks and four others in hiding—three members of the Van Pels family and Fritz Pfeffer—were discovered and arrested. To this day, the identity of their betrayer remains a mystery. Anne was deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she succumbed to typhus in early 1945, just months before liberation. She was only 15 years old.

The enduring familiarity of Anne Frank’s story owes much to her father, Otto Frank, the sole survivor of the family. In 1947, he arranged for her diary to be published in Dutch. The diary, brimming with the insights of a perceptive and intelligent young girl, gained global recognition when translated as The Diary of a Young Girl in 1952. The book continues to resonate as a cornerstone of Holocaust education and a touchstone of adolescence.

In The Many Lives of Anne Frank, author Ruth Franklin delves into how Anne’s posthumous fame has eclipsed her reality. Critics like Cynthia Ozick and Dara Horn have argued that Anne Frank has been transformed into a universal symbol, detached from her Jewish identity. Franklin’s work seeks to restore Anne’s individuality, intertwining her own analysis with excerpts from Anne’s diary to offer a fresh perspective.

Franklin divides her narrative into two parts. The first section paints a biographical portrait of Anne’s life, highlighting her transition from a lively Frankfurt schoolgirl to a young woman navigating the claustrophobia of Nazi occupation. The second section examines the cultural repurposing of Anne’s story—its editing for publication, its adaptation into plays and films, and its appropriation by various political and social movements.

By weaving Anne’s own words into the narrative, Franklin creates a vivid tapestry that humanizes the teenager behind the icon. This approach underscores the paradox of Anne’s posthumous life: her story has inspired countless people, yet her individuality has often been overshadowed by the universal symbol she has become.

Anne’s image has been co-opted in unexpected and sometimes troubling ways. Franklin discusses instances such as a mural in Norway depicting Anne in a keffiyeh, a symbol associated with Palestinian causes. The juxtaposition of Anne Frank—a Jewish victim of the Holocaust—with a cause often perceived as hostile to Jews, highlights how her story has been stretched to fit divergent agendas.

Her likeness has also been used by antiapartheid activists in South Africa and by advocates for undocumented immigrants in the United States. While these appropriations may reflect the universal appeal of Anne’s story, they often strip away the specificity of her Jewish identity and the historical context of the Holocaust.

Franklin doesn’t shy away from addressing the underlying persistence of antisemitism that Anne herself acknowledged. Anne wrote in her diary about the paradox of Jewish identity in a hostile world: “We can never become just Netherlanders or just English... We will always remain Jews.”

Franklin sheds light on the evolution of Anne’s diary. Initially, Anne wrote sporadically in the red-checked journal. Her writing gained momentum in 1942, when she began addressing entries to fictional characters inspired by her favorite Dutch novels. This practice energized her creativity and helped her navigate the emotional challenges of hiding.

Anne’s diary took on new significance in 1944 when a Dutch government official, broadcasting from exile, encouraged citizens to preserve their wartime letters and journals as historical records. Inspired by this call, Anne began rewriting her diary with a broader audience in mind. This rewritten version, known as Version B, eliminated personal content like her romantic relationship with Peter van Pels and refined her observations about life in hiding.

Tragically, Anne did not survive to complete this revised manuscript. After the war, Otto Frank edited her writings, combining elements of both versions to create the published diary. His edits reflected his vision of the book as a universal message of tolerance and peace, while also emphasizing Anne’s Jewish identity.

Franklin’s book explores the tension between Anne’s identity as an individual and her transformation into a symbol. Anne’s story resonates because it is deeply personal and profoundly universal. As Franklin notes, her diary is not a simple journal but a memoir, reworked by Anne with an awareness of its potential impact.

This duality—the personal and the universal—continues to define Anne Frank’s legacy. Her story reminds readers of the horrors of the Holocaust while offering a timeless message of resilience and humanity. Franklin’s The Many Lives of Anne Frank succeeds in bringing Anne’s individuality back into focus, ensuring that her voice remains as vivid and compelling as ever.

This exploration of Anne Frank’s life and legacy reveals not just the remarkable story of a young girl but also the enduring power of her words to inspire, educate, and provoke reflection. Franklin’s work reminds us of the importance of preserving the specificity of Anne’s experience, even as her story continues to resonate across cultures and generations.

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