高一英语 Book1 Background of Anne‘s diary

Unit11.Background of the textPersonsAnne: a young girl of about 15 years old and the author of the diaryMr. Frank: Anne’s father who once owned a business in GermanyMrs. Frank: Anne’s mother who stayed at home to look after the familyMargot: Anne’s older sister who was very intelligent, studious, and quiet.Peter: son of another family who lived with the Frank family in the attic.Anne’s StoryAnne Frank was born on June 12, 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany. At that time the Jewish community formed an important part of the city’s economic and cultural success. Her father, Otto Frank, was a respected businessman whose family had lived in the city for many generations. They lived in a comfortable five-room flat and Anne was raised with love and great care. In the spring of 1934, a year after Hitler and the Nazi Party (纳粹党) rose to power, the family moved to Holland whose people welcomed them.The Nazi Party ruled Germany from 1933 to 1945. One of the key policies was to kill all the Jews in Europe. When Jews were found, they were sent to concentration camps(集中营) farther east to be killed, mostly in Poland. Families were separated and transported in trains. For many days, they went without food, water, sanitation or fresh air. To avoid this terrible fate, some Jewish families went into hiding, often with the help of non-Jewish friends. After the German invasion of 1940, Anne was forced to leave her school, as were all known Jews. At first, the Gestapo(盖世太保) sent thousands of Dutch people who opposed the Nazis to slave labor camps in Germany.Then in February 1941 the Gestapo began to arrest Jews. It was in July 1942 that Otto Frank made plans to hide his family. Many older houses in Amsterdam have more than one floor. The topmost floor is called the “attic” and is usually a place to store seldom-used things.The Frank and other family, the Van Daans, hid there for just over two years before they were discovered. It was very crowded there. Only three young people were there: Margot, Peter and, of course, Anne. Her diary shows that Anne felt she was the naughty one of the group since she was always being scolded.She felt she could not confide in Margot because her sister was always good. Andshe felt she could not confide in Peter because he was a boy. So she made a friend of her diary. Later, however, she did become closer to Peter and they took a liking to one another. Anne talks about her growing friendship in her diary.The building in Amsterdam where Anne Frank’s family hid was not a set of apartment but a small business office with storage rooms. Therefore, people were not expected to come and go from it except during regular business hours. This made it all the more difficult for the Franks to receive visitors. During the day the lower floors continued to serve as a place of business. After working hours, the Frank family’s Dutch friends brought them food, clothing, news from the outside world, and comfort. Sadly, a Dutch employee in the office told the Gestapo of their hiding place. So they were arrested. They were in one of the last groups of Jews to be taken to the camps. Anne’s mother got very ill at Auschwitz in Poland and stayed behind when Anne, her sister, and Mrs. Van Daan were moved to Belsen, a smaller camp in Germany. Peter, who in better health than the others, was forced into a long march from the camp where he disappeared. When Margot died in March, 1945, Anne probably lost her desire to live. She died just before her 16th birthday and less than a month before the surviving Jews were freed by American, British, Canadian and Russian soldiers. The primary school she attend in Amsterdam is now named after her. Every year she is remembered in a travelling exhibition that explains her life and her experience.2.Further readingA diary of AnnaSaturday, 15 July, 1944“For in its innermost depths, childhood is lonelier than old age.”I read this saying in some book and I’ve always remembered it, and found it to be true. It is true then that grownups have a more difficult time here than we do? No. I know it isn’t. Older people have formed their opinions about everything, and don’t waver before they act. It’s twice as hard for us young ones to hold our ground, and maintain our opinions…Anyone who claims that the older ones have a more difficult time here certainly doesn’t realize to what extent our problems weight down on us, problems for which we are probably too young, but which are continuous, until, after a long time, we think we’ve found a solution, but the solution doesn’t seem fit with the facts. That’s the difficulty: ideals, dreams, and cherished hopes rise with us, only to meet the terrible truth and be destroyed.It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so unrealistic and impossible to carry on. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart…。