StMU Research Scholars

Featuring Scholarly Research, Writing, and Media at St. Mary’s University

October 1, 2018

A Father’s Love: The Publication of the Diary of Anne Frank

Winner of the Fall 2018 StMU History Media Award for

Best Article in the Category of “World History”

Parents’ love for their children is unlike any other. It is something I think most of us often take for granted due to the fact that it is something we just cannot understand until we experience it ourselves. Our parents go to great lengths to ensure not only that we have everything we need, but that we are happy, safe, comfortable, and accomplished. The relationship between a father and his daughter, specifically, is one that in most cases is extremely strong and unlike any other. A father is the first boy in a girl’s life and he is there every step of the way. Fathers usually embody warmth and safety, and many even say that girls subconsciously look for significant others that remind them of their father. This case was no different for Otto Frank and his daughter Anne. She was always “daddy’s little girl.” Otto loved her, as well as the rest of his family, as deeply as anyone could ever ask of a father. He worked hard, always providing for them, and made every sacrifice necessary to keep his family from harm in such a terrifying time. Sometimes though, bad things happen to good people. When his family slipped through his fingers and his world shattered, Otto’s love never wavered. He took his grieving and turned it in to something beautiful. He was an outstanding father until the day he died, even if his fatherhood was slightly untraditional.

Cover of the Diary of Anne Frank. | Photograph by Anonymous. | 1942 | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Anne Frank always wanted to be a writer, and her father was, of course, her biggest supporter. So, it was no surprise that for her thirteenth birthday, he gifted Anne a brand new, red-checkered journal that she would name “Kitty.”1 Anne grew up during a difficult time in our world: Nazi Germany. In 1933, when Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, the family, being Jewish, decided to relocate to Holland.2 For a while, life in Holland carried on as normal. But, in 1940, Anne’s sister Margot got a call from a Nazi soldier that scared the entire family.3 Since the Frank family was Jewish, they had to live out the war with great caution as well as in great fear. Almost immediately after the phone call from the soldier, Otto Frank, being the caretaker that he was, found an annex in his office building for his family to hide in, in attempts to avoid Nazi capture. Even in hiding, Anne continued to use her journal. In fact, in hiding is where she got the most use out of it. She wrote about everything that happened in the annex, from random events that occurred throughout the day to her own very personal thoughts. That diary displayed Anne in her truest form. Sadly, the life in the annex that they had become accustomed to came to a screeching halt. On August 4, 1944, Otto’s worst nightmare had come true; after over two years in the annex, the entire Frank family was captured by the Nazis, split up, and sent to various concentration camps.4 Otto Frank was left feeling like he had failed. They did not know if they would ever see each other again, or even if they would make it out alive.

When the war ended, the Frank family was devastatingly reduced to one member: Otto Frank. When he heard the news that he would never see the rest of his family again, Otto was devastated. As time passed, the broken-hearted father finally found it in him to return to the annex, where he met with Miep Gies. Miep was one of the family friends who had helped ensure the Franks were well fed and surviving as best they could while in the annex. She presented Otto with his daughter’s diary, which she had carefully saved in the bottom drawer of her desk in hopes of the girl’s return.5 Before they had been captured, every night Anne had left her diary under the protection of her father and placed it by his bed in a briefcase. She asked him never to look into it, and Otto never dared go against his beloved daughter’s wishes. When the diary had come back into his possession, he was torn. Knowing Anne wanted nothing more than to be a published writer, Otto was faced with a difficult decision. Reading the diary meant going against her wishes. Leaving it untouched not only meant the loss of her legacy, but also the loss of any chance at making Anne’s dreams of becoming a writer come true.

“Otto Frank and Miep Gies in the Secret Annex in conversation with Miep, 9 May 1958.” | Photograph by Ben van Meerencok. | May 9, 1958 | Courtesy of Flickr

Otto decided to read the diary. The notion of being able to fulfill his daughter’s dreams and ensure her legacy was enough to get him to break out of his comfort zone. He believed in his daughter and her writing skills and just knew he could make something of the diary. However, it seemed that reading the diary almost put him in more of a debacle. “It took me a very long time to read it,” Otto said, “and I must say I was very much surprised of what deep thoughts Anne had.”6 Not only was he not sure what he should do next with the book, but he was now unsure if he really knew who his daughter was. “Her seriousness, especially her self-criticism; it was quite a different Anne than I had known as my daughter.”7 The diary was personal, and at times even taboo. She wrote about going through puberty, her shortcomings as a person as well as her sins. She, however, tried to keep a light within her bleak words as she insisted on wanting to be happy despite what was going on in her life.8 The Franks shared the bunker with the Van Pels family. The Van Pels had a son, Peter, who was not too far from Anne’s age. Understandably, considering her age as well as enclosed living space, Anne developed feelings for Peter, which she, of course, documented in detail within her diary.9 Otto was still at war with himself. He was worried about what people might think of his family if they read the truths Anne spoke. Could he let the world see his daughter so vulnerably? Could he withstand the responses that would surely come out in publishing the diary? Was he making the decision about him, rather than Anne?

Selflessly, Otto put any personal feelings he had aside. He loved his daughter and missed her dearly. He wanted her dreams to come true even if she would not be there to see it. Out of love, he decided to go forth and publish the diary. Otto spent long hours typing up the diary and sent the first copy to his mother, and the next few to close family friends. As word of the diary got out, publishers got hungry and offered Otto many opportunities to make it into a professionally done book. When he finally took up the offers of one publisher, the first version of the diary was published. It was titled “Het Achterhuis,” or “Secret Annex,” and excluded almost 30% of her the writings from her diary.10 This decision was meant to keep some of her privacy, as well as the family’s privacy, protected. The director of the publishing company felt that Anne spoke “too freely” about her sexuality and pushed to get rid of several passages.11 Either way, it was out in the world to be read by the masses and Anne’s dream of becoming published had finally been fulfilled. It was bittersweet for Otto, seeing the amazing success his daughter had become, but not being able to see her.

Photograph of Anne Frank in 1940, while at 6. | Unknown photographer. | 1940 | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

As years went on, the diary was published in many different versions in many different languages all over the world. It has had one of the most profound and lasting impacts of any book in our culture. In seventy years, the book has been translated into over seventy languages, making it one of the most translated books in the world.12 Otto didn’t stop there. For him, Anne’s legacy reaching to the world meant everything to him. He worked tirelessly on new versions of the book. After its publication, it became critically acclaimed by many influential people, such as Nelson Mandela. On top of that, there have been numerous film adaptions of the book since. In 1963, Otto founded the Anne Frank Fond (a foundation) in memory of his beloved daughter. The foundation’s one job is to spread Anne Frank’s word. It holds all copyrights and works to keep her life on paper safe.13 He took the great devotion he had for Anne and fathered her legacy from the ground up. He found a way to be a father to Anne in the physical world despite the fact she had left it.

Otto Frank was a man overflowing with love and support for his family. He went above and beyond to provide for them and keep them under his protection for as long as he could. No words can even begin to explain the pain of losing a child, much less two, along with a wife, and all due to the same reason at the same time. Yet, Otto pushed through all that hurt and turned it in to something beautiful. He gave back to the world even when it had taken everything from him. He constantly relived the life of his daughter, despite how undoubtedly hard it was, in assurance that she would become everything she was meant to be and more. A father’s love is indescribable, and Otto Frank was the perfect embodiment of the great lengths it will go to please its children.

  1. Anne Frank Stichting, “The History of the Diary,” Anne Frank House, April 19, 2010, http://diary.annefrank.org/the-history-of-the-diary/.
  2.  Salem Press Biographical Encyclopedia, 2013, s.v., “Anne Frank,” by Nancy D. Kersell.
  3.  Encyclopedia of Women’s Autobiography, 2005, s.v. “The Diary of a Young Girl,” by Gary Kerley.
  4. Francine Prose, Anne Frank: the book, the life, the afterlife (New York: Harper Perennial, 2010), 63.
  5. Francine Prose, Anne Frank: the book, the life, the afterlife (New York: Harper Perennial, 2010), 71.
  6. The Legacy of Anne Frank, The Eternal Light (1967, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and NBC), television program.
  7. The Legacy of Anne Frank, The Eternal Light (1967, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and NBC), television program.
  8. Encyclopedia of Women’s Autobiography, 2005, s.v., “The Diary of a Young Girl,” by Gary Kerley.
  9.  Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2017, s.v. “Frank, Anne.”
  10. Encyclopedia of Women’s Autobiography, 2005, s.v., “The Diary of a Young Girl,” by Gary Kerley.
  11. Anne Frank Stichting, “The Story of Anne Frank: Anne Frank’s Diary Is Published,” Anne Frank House, April 19, 2010, http://web.annefrank.org/en/Anne-Frank/Publication-of-the-diary/Anne-Franks-diary-is-published/.
  12. Anne Frank Stichting, “The History of the diary,” Anne Frank House, April 19, 2010, http://diary.annefrank.org/the-history-of-the-diary/.
  13.  “Work of the Anne Frank Fonds,” Anne Frank Fonds, http://www.annefrank.ch/work-and-purpose.html.

Tags from the story

Anne Frank

Holocaust

Otto Frank

The Diary of Anne Frank

Recent Comments

Christopher Vasquez

It must have been devastating for Otto Frank to realize what happened to his family. It’s hard to imagine what it would feel like to have everything taken away from someone. Despite his hardships, he was able to reconnect with his daughter through her journal. Deciding to publish her journal was one of the kindest acts any father could make: he realized her dream of becoming a writer. It was interesting to see how Otto thought he understood everything he could about his daughter, but, when he read her journal, he realized that she was a different person than he thought. Regardless of who she was, one thing is certain: Otto loved Anne Frank.

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01/10/2018

7:39 am

Brianna Ford

This was a good article and was very informative. I always heard about Anne Frank, but never took it upon myself to read up on her. I never knew it was her father that published her private diary. It is sad that she was not alive to receive the credit that she deserved, however I am glad that her father published her work to show off how good of a writer she was. Anne Frank’s legacy will live on forever all due to the amount of love her father had for her.

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01/10/2018

7:39 am

Rylie Kieny

When people think of the Holocaust many think of Anne Frank. This article tells the story of someone not many talk about. I have always been interested in this period of history and read many books and articles surrounding this time. However I have heard very little of Otto Frank and his struggle over whether to publish his beloved daughters journal. Even though Anne shared secrets of her life and personal life it was important for the world to hear here thoughts through the darkest times. I also think it was very selfless of her father to post her journal although he was worried how some people may view her and their family. Her dream finally came true and her dad was the one who made sure it happened.

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01/10/2018

7:39 am

Daniela Duran

I truly enjoyed this article! I loved how the focus was on Anne’s father and his actions, instead of the typical story about Anne and her own stories. I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for him to see his daughter grow in fame, but not having her close. I was very compelled by this reading, and I thought it gave very nice insights I had never thought about. For example, I really liked how you made me see the publication of the book as an ethical issue. I did not know that Anne did not want his father to read it, and perhaps it must have been a very hard ethical dilemma for her father to decide whether to read it or not. I think he finally made the right decision, because he touched many lives by doing so!

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01/10/2018

7:39 am

Maxx Arizmendi

What a great article. I liked how it told the story of how Anne Frank’s diary was published. It’s sad that this all occurred during the Holocaust and unfortunately she did not survive. However, the fact that Otto Frank fulfilled his daughter’s dream made this a compelling article because he truly wanted to make his daughter happy, and now her legacy lives on.

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01/10/2018

7:39 am

Karina Cardona Ruiz

This was a great, well written article and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for the Frank and Van Pels family living in constant fear in such enclosed quarters and virtually no privacy for 2 years. I admire the fact that Otto Frank was so determined to keep his family safe and tried his best to do so. I think Miep Gies deserves some credit as well since she played a big role in keeping the family hidden, making sure they had enough to eat, and preserving the diary of Anne Frank. I can see how torn Otto Frank must have felt when it came to deciding on whether or not to read his daughter’s diary and even more so to publish it. I think it’s good that they ended up excluding 30% of Anne Frank’s writings from the published product so that neither she nor her family were completely exposed. In the end, I think that publishing his daughter’s diary was a good decision and it will allow for Anne Frank to live on through her words.

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02/10/2018

7:39 am

Luis Magana

Anne Franks diary is something many have heard of as well as the tragedy’s and the devastation that many people faced during WWII. The Holocaust is something so impacting and heartbreaking. How can a big majority of people believe something so horrible like that is right and act in such a manner. From the things I knew about Anne Frank, I could infer she was a young girl with hopes of a bright future and was in a very difficult living situation. Her diaries are still read today and even preserved that how much of an impact her diary or writings had on many people.

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02/10/2018

7:39 am

Engelbert Madrid

I’ve never read Anne Frank’s diary, but her story is incredibly touching. I will never understand the emotions and feelings of her father, because I’ve never felt a great loss like his. I think what Frank’s father did to share her story was not wrong, instead, it was good for people to know and understand how people felt about the social and political issues that live in Nazi Germany.

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02/10/2018

7:39 am

Gabriela Ochoa

I have never read Anne Frank’s diary but have heard many things about it and the stories that she tells. Having not read it I assumed that the book was generally how she was affected by the war and how how time being locked in the annex was. But reading this article I learned that she went into great detail about her life and who she was as a person at a certain age and time. Her father did the right thing by reading and publishing her diary by allowing her to live her dream even if she couldn’t do it herself.

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03/10/2018

7:39 am

Adrian Cook

I’m sure majority of the world knows the story of Anne Frank and her hiding from the Nazi’s. It was a surreal part of history that shaped the world today and effected the lives of millions. Otto did what he should’ve done by getting this story out to the world and letting everybody get that experience Anne’s family had felt. Very well written article and I enjoyed reading every second of it.

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03/10/2018

7:39 am

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StMU Research Scholars

A student organization of St. Mary’s University of San Antonio, Texas, featuring scholarly research, writing, and media from students of all disciplines.