On the Coffee Table: Anne Frank

Title: Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography
Authors: Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón

via Junior Library Guild

For her 13th birthday, Annelies Marie Frank was given a diary.  Just a few weeks later, she and her family went into hiding in Amsterdam to evade Nazi persecution.  The thoughts she recorded in the journal would eventually be published in over 70 languages worldwide as one of the most important books of the 20th century, by far the most widely-read first person account of the Holocaust.  Beyond its undeniable historical importance, it is a work of depth and wisdom far beyond what one would expect from such a young author.

When I was eleven years old, we took a family trip to Europe.  We spent most of our time in Germany and France.  However, there was one quick detour to the Netherlands.  My older sister wanted to see the Anne Frank House.  It was not my first exposure to the horrors of the Holocaust.  That came with the film The Chosen a couple years before.  But the personal connection the House presented was powerful.  I shall never forget my day in the annex.

My parents gave our daughter this book, a biography in graphic novel form, for Christmas.  We hadn't really talked to her about the Holocaust before.  Her reaction after reading it was predictable: it was good, but very sad.  As such, she was surprised I wanted to read it myself.  The biography offers a broader view than the diary does - a more extensive history of the family and full disclosure on concurrent world events.  The depiction of the concentration camps is quite graphic.  As an introduction to the subject, it's good.  I hope Our Girl will read the diary herself one day, though she doesn't seem too interested at the moment.  When she does, I hope she'll appreciate knowing the context ahead of time.  The warmth and humor of Anne's writing are all the more astonishing when one fully understands the darkness around her.