Anne Frank - Success and Wisdom
Anne Frank (1929-1945)
Jewish victim of the Holocaust (pictured right)
For more detail see...
Anne Frank and the
Holocaust in the History Highlights section.
What happened to her?
1933
Driven by the Nazis with her family (pictured right) into the Netherlands from her native Germany.
July 1942
The Frank family are forced into hiding in an attic behind a bookcase in her father’s office building in
Amsterdam.
They are later joined by the van Pels family
There she wrote her famous diary.
August 4, 1944
They were betrayed, captured and sent to Auschwitz.
March, 1945
Anne died at another concentration camp, Bergen-Belsen (pictured right).
Why was she so successful and wise?
1. Fun and humour
Anne:
- laughed at the funny side of dangerous moments (particularly when the warehouse below them was
burgled)
- enjoyed her romance with Peter van Pels, pictured right (April 15, 1944, was the day of
their first kiss!)
2. Self-discipline
Despite being an energetic and exuberant child, she had to have the self-control to sit
still for hours for fear of being heard by people working in the warehouse below.
3. Purpose
Anne:
- wanted to be a great writer (giving people enjoyment even after her death).
- stuck to her principles, particularly her faith in love and a loving God (because
suffering had made the Jews strong and good).
- was always kind (she fairly distributed food to everyone in her hut at Auschwitz,
pictured right).
“You can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness”, she wrote
4. Hope and optimism
Despite the constant terror of capture, she:
- remained optimistic and positive.
- believed that good (and love) would eventually triumph over evil.
- was inspired by the beauty of nature (particularly the chestnut tree she could see
from the attic window).
“I don’t think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains”, she wrote,
5. Responsibility and assertiveness
Anne:
a) worked very hard
(to improve her character and ability).
“Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction”, she wrote.
b) learned from others
(particularly her family including her mother, Edith ,pictured right above with Anne, and father, Otto, pictured
right below in 1961)
c) took responsibility for her life
So she fiercely defended her right to think for herself and lead a worthwhile life.
6. Priorities
She realized that life and people are much more important than
possessions.
When she went into hiding, she only took a few things in her satchel: a diary, curlers, a handkerchief, some
schoolbooks, a comb and a few letters.
“Memories mean more to me than dresses”, she wrote.
7. Spirit
She had great determination and at Bergen-Belsen only gave in to her typhus after the
death of her sister, Margot (pictured right).
They died only a few weeks before British troops liberated the concentration camp.
8. Wisdom
She had an extraordinary understanding of the good and bad of human nature for someone so
young.
Most of all, she understood the power of love and forgiveness to
rescue people from the depths of evil.
“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart”, she wrote.
Key quotes on
love
You can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness.
No one has ever become poor by giving.
Key quotes on positive
thinking
Everyone has inside of him a piece of good news. The
good news is that you don’t know how great you can be!
I don’t think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains.
In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart
I have often been downcast but never in despair.
Key quote on work
Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction.
Key quote on the past, present and
future
Memories mean more to me than dresses.
Key quote on
communication
The only way to truly know a person is to argue with them...then they reveal their true character.
Key quote on
happiness
Whoever is happy will make others happy too.
Key quote on
success
Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person’s character
lies in their own hands.
Key quote on
change
How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before beginning to improve the world.
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