Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

I have been fascinated with the story and persona of Anne Frank since I was 15 years old, when my Mother bought me a copy of Anne Frank Diary. At the time, I wanted to believe that the book was a fictional one, because I found it incomprehensible that it was written by a girl who was 15 years old when she died -- same age as me when I first read the Diary. I found her maturity impressive and the circumstances of her death unthinkable.



Since then, I have read the Diary many times, too many to count. I wanted to know the entire story though, and I could never find it in one issue or place. I read opinions, went to Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, graveyard at Bergen-Belsen, Frankfurt. During my second visit to Amsterdam and the Museum dedicated to Anne Frank that is visited by 600,000 people annually, I picked up a tape called "Anne Frank Remembered", a documentary film made in 1996, which won the Academy Award for the Best Documentary Feature for the same year.



A few days later I returned home, and immediately sat down to watch the film, not expecting to discover anything new. However, what I saw was a film that stunned me into respectful silence, and brought me to tears. "Anne Frank Remembered" is narrated by Kenneth Branagh and Glenn Close, and encompasses the entire life of Anne Frank, supported by photos, newsreels and interviews with people who knew both her and the people that she spent her life with.



Anne Frank was born on 12 June 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany, where she spent first two years of her life. The Frank family, which consisted of father Otto, Mother Edith, Anne and her older sister Margot, moved to Amsterdam, Holland, as soon as Hitler came to power in Germany. Although some members of Otto Frank's family moved to Switzerland, Mr. Frank decided to go to Holland and start a small spice factory, believing that the Germans will leave Holland alone, as they did in WWI.



Anne Frank received a diary as a birthday gift on 12 June 1942, when she turned 13. Less than a month later, it was one of the rare possessions she brought with her to the Secret Annex, as she referred to her family's hiding place. Frank family shared the secret Annex with another family, Van Pels' (Hermann, Auguste and Peter, in the Diary referred to as the Van Daans). The two families were joined by Dr Fritz Pfeffer, a Dutch dentist (in the Diary referred to as Albert Dussel).



The eight inhabitants of the Secret Annex lived in hiding for over two years, in cramped surroundings, with very little food, helped by (primarily) Victor Kugler and Miep Gies, employees of Otto Frank. Suddenly torn from her friends, 13 year old Anne turned to her Diary, confiding everything that she saw, heard and felt.



As one reads the Diary, the sudden transformation of Anne Frank from a spoiled girl to a girl much too mature for her age is painfully evident. Written with clarity, the reader can feel Anne's feelings, and almost hear the laughs and cries of the inhabitants.



Watching the interviews with some of Anne Frank's childhood friends and neighbors, I finally started to feel that I was getting all the answers I was looking for. Well incorporated into the film was the history of WWII. The documentary footage of concentration camps, as well as current footage of the same, together with the interviews brought Anne Frank back to life.



The inhabitants of the Secret Annex spent just over two years in their hiding place. Acting on an anonymous tip, the SS arrested both families and Dr Pfeffer on 4 August 1944, and transferred them to concentration camps, scattering them across Europe.



The first of the inhabitants to die was Hermann van Pels (Mr van Daan), who was gassed in Auschwitz (Oswietz, Poland) in November 1944. His wife Auguste (Mrs van Daan) was transported to several different concentration camps, starting with Auschwitz. Her last recorded transfer was on 9 April 1945, to Theresienstadt, although it is believed that she was transferred to yet another camp after that. The date and place of her death and grave have never been discovered. Van Pels' son, Peter, died on 5 May 1945 in Mauthausen, Austria, 3 days before that camp's liberation by the allies. Dr Pfeffer (Mr Dussel) died in Neuengamme concentration camp on 20 December 1944.



As for the Frank family, Edith Frank died in Auschwitz-Birkenau from starvation on 6 January 1945. Margot and Anne Frank were transported to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they both contracted typhus. Margot was the first to die, in February 1945. A few days later, probably in early March 1945, Anne Frank died of typhus. Bergen-Belsen was liberated on 12 April 1945. Otto Frank was the sole survivor.



After Mr Frank returned to Amsterdam, he found out that both his daughters were dead. Only then did Miep Gies, one of the original helpers, give Anne's diary to Mr Frank. Mrs Gies found the diary in a heap of papers on the floor of the Secret Annex, immediately after the arrest of the Annex's inhabitants, and held on to it, hoping to return the diary to its owner.



Since its first publication in 1947, The Anne Frank Diary has been translated to over 60 languages, and has been read by millions of people worldwide. In one of her last entries, Anne stated that her greatest desire was to become a writer and to somehow be able to touch the lives of people, to leave something behind. As I look at the poster that I still have on my wall, a poster reflecting Anne Frank's smiling face, I can't help but smile back, happy that her wish came true. If only she knew just how true it had become.



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older