Anne Frank Exhibits

The Anne Frank Center has models showing the location of Anne Frank's home as well as a replica of her room.  Susan Schnitzer provided these photos of the exhibits:

How Susan Met Marisa Killgallen of the Anne Frank Center

Susan Schnitzer sent a note on how she and Marisa Kilgallen of the Anne Frank Center:


Marissa and I met while helping out backstage, in the summer of '11, in a NJ production of ANNIE. Marissa was dressed in a 1930s newsie boy type of outfit as she was responsible for moving the sets on and off and fixing up the bedding of the stage orphans' beds. She was extremely serious, hardworking and diligent in her duties. During downtime, we hung out in the property shop, with the other helpers. I asked her about her college studies and she told me about her interest in theater as well as the Holocaust. I told her that THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK was something that I had read time and time again over the years. Her eyes lit up and we shared Anne Frank books and and other Holocaust related information. Through email, we have kept in contact during the year which led to me visiting her at the Anne Frank Center, NYC this summer.

ANNE FRANK Q & A with Marisa Kilgallen Part Four

Guest Article

SS: Currently, does the AF Center outreach to Prisoners of war in other countries?

MK: What we have here at the AF Center is a prison diary program in which we provide prisoners with a journal and a copy of Anne Frank’s book. A lot of prisoners read her diary and gain not only emotional support, but some skills and knowledge about writing. Then, the prisoners are asked to record their thoughts and send their journals back to the Anne Frank Center. Once we have received the journals, we try, and I even have done this, to see if we can detect a character arch-a change in thought process leading to a development in perspective-like Anne’s change in maturity (depicted in her diary). The prison diary program at the Anne Frank Center, however, does not reach out to prisoners of war in other countries. The program mainly reaches out to prisoners in American and Canadian prisons.

SS: Are there any special awards offered through the AF Center?

MK: We have the “Spirit of Anne Frank Awards” which is given to students, citizens, and educators who have done work to combat discrimination.

SS: What kind of books does the bookstore sell?

MK: We have plays written about Anne Frank and books about her and her family. We also have accounts from Holocaust survivors, such as Alicia’s Story, Eva’s Story (written by Anne Frank’s stepsister), and Steal a Pencil for Me-the story of the meeting of Jack Polak (the chairman emeritus of The Anne Frank Center) and his wife during their imprisonment in concentration camps.

SS: How is the AF Center supported?

MK: We have a lot of sponsors: “The AFC is a nonprofit organization that relies on a variety of funding sources for its activities.” There are many ways to give to the AF Center such as making a donation, applying for membership, volunteering, and doing an internship. “Contributions to the organization are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law”: Random House, Maxim, and Merrill Lynch (“Support The Anne Frank Center” and “Sponsors”).

SS: What do the proceeds go towards – does it get filtered back here?

MK: Yes, pretty much. Parts of the proceeds go towards maintaining the exhibition, educational programs, and making sure that Anne Frank’s legacy is upheld here at all times.

SS: What would Anne Frank have done with her life if she had lived?

MK: I think that she would have continued to write. She did want to be a journalist. She did say that she wanted to travel the world and visit many places – preferably London and Paris. She wanted to learn several languages and art history. She also wanted to have the opportunity to see beautiful gowns and meet interesting people.

SS: Didn’t she have movie star pictures on her wall?

MK: She did and she also had art pictures on her wall as well (A replica of her bedroom wall, with her pictures, is on display in The Anne Frank Center’s media exhibit).

SS: Last year you loaned me some of Anne’s stories that she wrote, in separate notebooks, other than the diary.

MK: She wrote fictional stories, reminisces, and theories. Her father included some of those works in the diary, but not all of them. They’re nice to read, too. When you read her storybook, Tales from the Secret Annex, it’s kind of a nice, light read because, for a while, she forgets the chaos and horror of the world in which she lived. She writes about taking walks in the woods, fictional places, her life before going into hiding, giving to others, and other things.

SS: So, was it Anne’s wish that she would go on to the university and become a writer?

MK: Her wish was to become a writer and to live on after her death. All those dreams came true for her. Her book has kept her alive– spiritually.

SS: So you think that she learned more by being in the annex than she would have in her local schools if she was not in hiding?

MK: In this situation, I think that she learned more about herself and who she was while she was in hiding.

SS: Who would tutor her, Margot and Peter?

MK: Otto Frank would tutor them. A lot of times Anne would have a lesson and do what she had to do. Sometimes her books came from the library so she had to read them before they had to be returned. She loved getting books from the library. Everyone in the annex did because it was kind of a way to escape their difficult situation and obtain an essence of the outside world they missed. In terms of her writing ability, she taught that to herself. Her extensive reading enabled her to perfect her writing. When she heard the announcement on the radio that they would be collecting diaries after the war, she began to rewrite her diary because she knew that she would have an audience. She edited it. She changed some of the names of the people she talked about in the diary. I believe Anne was going to give her and her family the last name, Robin. Her sister was going to have the name, Betty. Betty was Margot’s middle name. Edith was going to be Nora. Otto, I believe, was intended to be called Frederik. The van Pelses were going to be the van Daans. Hans was going to be Herman’s (van Pels) fake name. Auguste van Pels was going to be Petronella van Daan and Peter van Pels was going to be Alfred van Daan. (Frederick) Fritz Pfeffer’s fake name was Albert Dussel. Not every person’s name was changed entirely. The Franks’ names were kept the same, only the last names of Herman and Peter van Pels were changed, Fritz Pfeffer and Mrs. Auguste van Pels were the only people whose names were changed. Now being that people know who the secret annex members really were, editions of Anne’s diary are printed with the secret annex members’ actual names.

SS: So she (Anne) kind of “Hollywoodized” her diary with the names?

MK: Well, she didn’t want so many controversies or hurt feelings because a lot of her entries about some of the secret annex members were not flattering. But I do know that some controversies arose over Fritz Pfeffer because his fiancée, who survived the war, didn’t like how he was portrayed in the book.

SS: Think of it this way – they were all in hiding and were scared and wouldn’t have been on their best behavior.

MK: I think that explains some of the behavior of the secret annex members. Sometimes the stress and strain of hiding, along with a new life, caused most of them to be short-tempered with one another.

SS: How did they know about these bits and pieces of what happened in the concentration camps?

MK: People who were friends with the Franks in the camps often retold stories of their experiences. I forget who the woman (one of the Brilleslijper sisters) was who told Otto Frank what happened to Anne and Margot. She gave him a testimony of what happened so he would know the fate of his daughters. Otto, as you know from Eva’s Story, found out about Edith’s death from a woman who had been with her (Edith) at Auschwitz. Edith had died in that woman’s arms. He knew Herman van Pels was dead because he had seen him being taken to the gas chambers. I don’t know how he found out about everyone else.

SS: Did he go investigating through towns?

MK: I’m not sure. Basically what I know about the others’ deaths is based on what I’ve read. I don’t know where that information is from. Since Peter’s death is known, it must have been recorded. Anne and Margot’s deaths weren’t recorded as systemized as the Nazis were. The dates of death were probably recorded, then lost. Pfeiffer’s date of death is known, so it must have been recorded. Auguste van Pels is believed to have died while on a transport to Theresienstadt--a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. So, that’s pretty much all I know.

SS: Thank you very much Marisa.

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Works Cited

Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl. New York: Bantam Books, 1993. 262. Print.

The Anne Frank Center USA. “About The Anne Frank Center.” Mission Statement. Beak. n.d. Web. 5 Jul. 2012.

The Anne Frank Center USA. “Sponsors.” Support The Anne Frank Center. Beak. n.d. Web. 5 Jul. 2012.

The Anne Frank Center USA. Support The Anne Frank Center. Beak. n.d. Web. 5 Jul. 2012.

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ANNE FRANK Q & A with Marisa Kilgallen Part Three

Guest Article

SS: What did you think of the portrayal of Otto Frank?

MK: Ben Kingsley did a really great job. He looked just like Otto Frank. I think he played a truthful portrayal of Otto Frank: A man with patience, strength, perseverance, a lot of optimism, and a caring nature.

SS: It’s up to the director to cast the right people.

MK: Yes, I thought the casting in that mini-series was terrific. The woman who played Mrs. Van Pels was a very good actress (Brenda Blethyn). Blethyn played the dramatic essence of that character, but also depicted Mrs. van Pels as a sincere person. In my opinion, putting those two traits together for that role requires a lot of work. The girl who played Margot (Jessica Manley) was not only a spitting image of her, but she played the role of Margot truthfully: a quiet, modest young woman. The boy who played Peter (Nicholas Audsley) was a very good actor. One thing that I enjoyed about Audsley’s performance was that he didn’t overplay the attraction. I’ve seen some actors, who have played Peter, get caught up in the romance aspect of the role. As a result, this character becomes this smooth kind of guy while he’s supposed to be a bit awkward. Yes, there’s supposed to be an essence of attraction associated with the character of Peter, but, mainly, he is a shy person who is learning who he is. Aside from casting, the mini-series was accurate. The movie showed Anne reciting lines from her diary. As a result, audiences could learn some of the admirable characteristics of Anne Frank. Therefore, the mini-series is my favorite movie version of Anne Frank’s diary.

SS: Is learning about Anne Frank and visiting this Center advisable for young children – say age 9?

MK: Yes. We’re trying to encourage people to learn about this event because it really should not be forgotten. The Holocaust not only teaches us about how we should never let the brutality of mankind get out of hand, but how to respect and accept other’s differences, whether those differences be religion, race, sex, etc.

SS: What age group is the center geared towards?

MK: I’d say from ages 9 to 99.

SS: When did the AF Center open its doors and what programs does it promote?

MK: The Anne Frank Center moved here in March of this year (44 Park Place, NYC). Before the center moved here, it was in Soho. Originally, The Anne Frank Center was mainly offices which provided an American base for the promotion of Anne Frank’s legacy. Just recently, The Anne Frank Center was turned into a museum. We have a lot of interesting programs. For example, the center hosts an educational program in which students come from schools and learn about Anne Frank’s life, her diary, and her diary’s significance in history through a movie, a tour of the exhibit, and presentations on the characters and content of her book. Sometimes, students get to meet a Holocaust survivor, or the children of survivors, and hear the stories of those Holocaust victims. I think students gain a more thorough idea of the Holocaust by not only hearing Anne’s story, but those of other people who have experienced the same event as well.

SS: How did you get your internship at the Anne Frank Center?

MK: I found out about it by my mom. My mom was watching television one day and she saw a newsreel that stated that the Anne Frank Center had moved to a new location near the World Trade Center. At that time, I was looking for work related to my studies as a Holocaust minor and I thought an internship here would be a great way for me to share my interest in Anne Frank’s story with others. So, I wrote a cover letter, sent in my resume, and I also sent in my personal statement on Anne Frank that I wrote for my application to Drew University. Two days after I had sent it in, Ms. Maureen McNeil, the center’s Director of Education and my boss, emailed me to invite me in for an interview. I actually went on Passover, believe it or not. There was also another strange sign because one of the street signs that I passed on the way to my interview was named Pfeiffer (dentist Mr. Friedrich “Fritz” Pfeiffer hid along with Anne Frank in the Secret Annex). So Mrs. McNeil and I had the interview and I got the internship on that day. So far, it’s been great. I love coming here and I love being here.

SS: What are your activities and duties at the AF Center?

MK: I’ve been able to help out with “Conversations with Anne”. This is a program in which an actress who plays Anne and a narrator present a short skit--based off material from Anne Frank’s diary. Afterwards, the audience can ask “Anne” questions. As a part of my job, I research the material within Anne’s diary that my boss can use in the skits. We also talk about what activities Anne can do in the show and where certain material should be put in the skit’s script. Even the actresses have their ideas as well. We have 3 actresses who play her. There’s Christina Rosse, Sabina Friedman-Seitz and Robyn Frank. My boss and I are actually talking about adding more characters to this skit, such as Peter and Margot. Right now, I’m researching information on both of them.

SS: What is the Mission statement or message of the AF Center?

MK: “The AF Center uses the diary and spirit of Anne Frank as unique tools to advance her legacy, to educate young people and communities about the consequences of intolerance, racism and discrimination, and to inspire the next generation to build a world based on mutual respect” (“About The Anne Frank Center”). Most of the center’s staff talk with students in the educational program. They help students to make a connection with Anne. They’ll read passages from the diary and say “Which one can you relate the most to?” The students really seem to like the program. One of the interns, who I work with, Myriam, has helped out with the educational programs. She told me how this one girl showed her a picture of Anne and this girl said “She’s beautiful and she’s human just like me and you.” It was one of those moments when I knew that I loved working here. In the video project (in the lobby of the AF Center) one girl was saying that Anne could have been her best friend. A lot of people say that they can relate to Anne and I know I can as well. Sometimes when I can’t handle a certain situation, I think: “Let’s try it her (Anne’s) way. Let’s play the role of Anne Frank. Let’s do what she’d do.”

SS: What will you do after your internship is over this summer?

MK: When I finish my studies at Drew, I want to do a lot of things that involve all of my areas of study (theater, writing and Holocaust studies). Some topics I’m going to explore in my theater activities, such as playwriting and directing, are issues relevant to the Holocaust. I would also like to continue helping out in places like The Anne Frank Center USA, such as the Jewish Heritage Museum in Manhattan.

SS: Though he died in 1980, did Otto Frank play any part in this Center or in other AF Centers?

MK: From what I know, he founded this place in 1977. He also set up a charitable organization in Dusseldorf, Switzerland in 1963. Additionally, he founded The Anne Frank Foundation in 1957 in Amsterdam.

SS: What kind of interactive games and exhibits does the AF Center have?

MK: Upstairs is a traveling timeline which is going to be on the wall eventually. There is also a media exhibit which has IPADS with information, such as personal interviews, about Anne Frank and her family’s life before and during their time in hiding. If you sit in the center of the media exhibit, you can hear quotes from Anne (read by an actress) and sounds she may have heard during her time in hiding. A replica of the hiding place which was created by prisoners who were inspired by the diary is located upstairs as well. The center also features a video on Anne’s life and, in the main exhibit; there are facsimiles of certain documents such as Anne’s diary and Margot’s baby book, to name a few. There is also a video exhibit in which people can be heard reciting their favorite quotes from the diary. Also, the center is going to be exhibiting 3 of the puppets from the play Compulsion. This play, which highlights Meyer Levin’s obsession with Anne Frank, used puppetry to symbolize his obsession. These puppets include: Anne, Peter and Otto. They will be on display sometime in the future. They are beautiful works of art. The marionette of Anne is created from copies of pages from a published version of her diary. She also has a necklace that has a piece of the bark from her tree in the Netherlands. They had a big ceremony when they put it on her. All and all, the marionettes are beautiful. They look very much like the people did.

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ANNE FRANK Q & A with Marisa Kilgallen Part Two

Guest Article

SS: How is it different?

MK: Not only story wise, but also how she is portrayed. The play and the movie were both created in the 1950s. At that time, America was glad that the war was over and it was time to start healing. The late writer, Meyer Levin, had played a big role in promoting Anne’s book. He wrote a wonderful review in the New York Times and that article got the book a lot of attention. He wanted to dramatize Anne’s novel. He wasn’t that well known of a writer. Broadway producers were looking for a famous playwright. Meyer Levin, who was working with Otto Frank at the time, was saying, “Oh, we can’t have this person because they are this and that.” He would just come up with so many excuses why somebody else, other than him, could not adapt the diary for the stage. He did write an adaptation of the play -- it’s close to the diary, but it’s very, very dark. “We have to keep the audience in their seats” –that was the main thing on producers’ minds. They didn’t want a show that the audience was going to have difficulty sitting through. They needed somebody who was going to balance the terror and lightheartedness of the book. Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett were those people. In addition to The Diary of Anne Frank, Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett wrote It's A Wonderful Life . Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett wrote 8 drafts of The Diary of Anne Frank before one was picked. In my opinion, the playwrights recreated Anne as a character who is very simple to play with. I’m actually reading this book right now for the second time called Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife written by Francine Prose. Within her work, Prose examines Anne Frank as a writer in order to direct attention to her [Anne] as an artist. She talks about the play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. After I first read Prose’s work, I felt myself agreeing with Prose that the Goodrich and Hackett play provides no trace of the development of Anne Frank’s intelligence and how her writing supports that type of growth. You don’t see the power of reflection that you see in her diary. The reflective component of the diary is important because it’s only when she looks back at an important event that she can learn from that experience. As she reflects on a situation through the writing of her diary, she develops her character. Take, for example, her romance with Peter – that’s in the play – that’s great, but what does she learn from it? What is its relevance to her? In her diary, it is apparent that she learned a lot about herself from this relationship. At one point, she wrote about one thing she learned from this experience: “I committed one error in my desire to make a real friendship: I switched over and tried to get at him [Peter] by developing it into a more intimate relation, whereas I should have explored all other possibilities” (Frank, 262). That statement shows me how Anne’s relationship with Peter was relevant to her developing maturity. You don’t see that kind of reflection in the Goodrich &Hackett play. Therefore, I don’t like Anne’s portrayal in the play as I want to see the girl on the page of the book that I read.

SS: How many productions of Anne Frank have you seen? Which is your favorite and why?

MK: I saw Francis Goodrich and Albert Hackett’s play, The Diary of Anne Frank, performed at Mason Gross’ Performing Arts School in New Brunswick in the fall of 2007. I liked the production. I thought that it was very well done. I did like how it was performed by the actors and actresses who played the roles. I don’t see too many productions of the play. Sometimes I’ll catch a snippet of different play versions on YOUTUBE as I browse through the web. The movie that is based on the Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett play, I really did not like. I thought that casting could have been a lot better. Francine Prose actually talks about that subject in her book as well.

SS: In the movie Anne was portrayed as frivolous and childish and that there was a jealousy between her and her mother (Edith Frank).

MK: In terms of jealousy, there is a bit of jealousy in the book, but you can infer that for yourself. If there was any resentment, it was, most likely, forgotten during their imprisonment in Auschwitz. In the concentration camp, Anne, her mother, and Anne’s sister (Margot) were an inseparable unit. They were together until, unfortunately, they were separated. Anne had gotten sick at Auschwitz (a concentration camp). She got scabies. Margot, I don’t think, was infected, but she went to the hospital with Anne to watch over her. In October, Anne and Margot were transported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Their mother was left behind at Auschwitz.

SS: What do you remember from the 1959 movie starring Millie Perkins as Anne Frank?

MK: I can’t remember too much of it because the last time I saw it I was 13. I kind of liked the movie but once I read and studied Anne Frank’s diary more, my favor toward the movie decreased. I did not think Millie Perkins was a good choice for the role because she was 21 at the time. She did not look like a 13 year old or a 15 year old. I would say she looked 18. I think that, at times, she was too sweet. I think that Anne had more spunk. I think whatever actress plays Anne needs to provide a balance between sweetness and toughness. Anne Frank thought of herself as “torn in two.” She had an outer self and an inner self whom, she thought, were two very different people. She was afraid to show that inner self because she thought people would mock her because she had developed this reputation of being an outgoing, superficial person. Although Anne didn’t want people to see her solely as that person, her “established” reputation made the task of bringing out her inner self a challenge for her. An actress has to give the role of Anne Frank the essence that there is another person beneath the exterior persona. It’s not just the spunk or the sweetness. There is this one girl who is trying to come out against a personality that consists of no cares, cleverness, and superficiality.

SS: So there was a lot of miscasting?

MK: Quite a bit. The young man who played Peter, Richard Beymer (later in West Side Story as Tony), was 21. He looked seventeen, at the youngest, when he was supposed to be playing a boy who ages between 15 ½ -17 years of age. Additionally, Francine Prose described the movie’s cast as many people who appeared to be coming in from different areas. Richard Beymer was a Brooklyn native and that accent came out. Therefore, I really did not like the film because it was miscast. I also did not like how Anne was portrayed because it did not show how she developed her maturity during her time in hiding-which is a core idea in her book. You see her change throughout the book. She wants to change. I didn’t see how she matured in the movie. There is one movie that I have seen and I would recommend it to you: Anne Frank: The Whole Story (TV mini-series 2001). It’s a 3 hour film. It does get dark, but one of the reasons why I like it is because I think that it had absolutely perfect casting.

SS: Who was in it?

MK: Hannah Taylor Gordon was in it. She played Anne Frank.

SS: She was close to Anne’s age, wasn’t she?

MK: She was 14 when she portrayed Anne. She played Anne from ages 9 to 15. But at that time, technology had developed. She could look 9 and I could believe that.

SS: Was she Anne’s body type?

MK: She was. She was very skinny and rather tall.

SS: I didn’t think that Anne was tall.

MK: I tend to think that she was – she had very tall parents. But based on what I read about her, she had that body type. What I liked about Gordon’s performance was that I could see there was this spunky girl on the surface, but a deeper, truer person inside. I liked Gordon’s performance a lot because it was the person who I was reading about. It was Anne Frank off the page.

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ANNE FRANK Q & A with Marisa Kilgallen Part One

Here, is Part One of four of an interview with Marisa Kilgallen of the Anne Frank Center in New York by Susan Schnitzer.  If you are interested in the Anne Frank story made famous by the publication of "The Diary of Anne Frank," you will enjoy reading this interview.  Thanks to Susan for allowing me to post her interview article here. - Armand.

Guest Article

“People who give will never be poor” – Anne Frank

ANNE FRANK Q & A with Marisa Kilgallen

Interview conducted at the Anne Frank Center, 44 Park Place, NYC,

212 431 7993,

info(at)annefrank.com

As told to Susan Schnitzer

SS: How did you get interested in the story and life of Anne Frank?

MK: I first got interested in the story and life of Anne Frank when I was 9. My class was doing reports on famous women. I remember my classmates and I had to choose a famous woman’s name from a hat. I did not get Anne Frank, but JK Rowling. Once the projects, which consisted of a one paragraph biography on a famous woman and that woman’s picture besides it, were done, they were displayed outside my classroom. One day, while I was on my way out of school, I came across one of those projects that had been done on Anne Frank and that’s how I met her. This is the first picture I ever saw of her.

SS: What was your impression when you saw her for the first time?

MK: I thought she was really young compared to the other pictures on the wall of women who were middle aged, elderly or in their late 30s. When I read the short biography on Anne Frank, which was next to her picture, I was very fascinated, but confused. I remember that aside from learning, from the biography’s information, the date of her birthday and where she was born, she was famous for writing a published diary which recounted the experience of Jews in hiding. The biography also informed me that she had died at the age of 15 in a concentration camp. I didn’t know that Jews were in hiding, I didn’t know what a concentration camp was, and I really didn’t have any experience with death at that time. By the time I was nine, I already had that experience about 2 times. The first experience was when my dad’s dad died. Even though I had been close to him, it really didn’t have such an effect on me. He was rather old at the time – he was in his 70s. Then my great grandmother passed away 4 years later. She was also very old – she was in her 90s. In my mind only elderly people died, not children-that’s the reason why Anne Frank’s young death confused me.

SS: So when you met Anne Frank, were you around the same ages?

MK: The first picture I saw of Anne Frank was taken in 1941- when she was about eleven. I was nine going on ten when I viewed that photograph.

SS: – That’s not much difference. That could have been your best friend – it could have been you. So you automatically felt a connection between yourself and Anne?

MK: I’m not sure if it was an immediate connection. What struck me was not only her death at the age of 15, but the fact that her diary was published. When I first learned of her death, I remember thinking “that’s not much older than me.” I was turning 10 that year and that was a difference of only 5 years. In terms of her diary, I was surprised someone’s diary was actually published. As a young girl who kept a diary herself, I could’ve never imagined anyone reading my personal thoughts. So, due to my curiosity, I wanted to read the diary, but my mother didn’t want me to read it right away. So I read it at the age of 13. It’s kind of strange. She (Anne Frank) kind of kept on coming back to me in a way because I remember seeing signs of her book on school walls when I went to middle school. My first introduction to the Holocaust, however, was the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry-a historical fiction book I read in 5^th grade. This novel depicts the story of a Christian family trying to rescue Jews and get them to Sweden from occupied Denmark. Still, as I read the book, I was very confused about what was happening –“Why are they [the Nazis] after these people [the Jews]?” I wondered. I eventually learned about the Holocaust in 7^th grade. I remember watching a film on a concentration camp and being very dumbfounded that such a place could exist. Anne kind of came back to my mind then and I remember thinking “Oh my God – was she here?” (I found out at a later point in time that she was) and I also wondered, “Was she gassed?” At that time, I didn’t know how she died. As I said, when I was 13, I read the book. I loved her work and admired her character right away. Yes, I did read the play first, but the play encouraged me to read the book and I thought the book was better than the drama. As I read the book, I discovered that Anne and I were rather similar to one another. She kind of had views that I had and still hold because I tend to think, like Anne, that people are innately good. I think that they come into the world as a clean slate and whatever happens to them happens to them. What a person experiences in her/his lifetime makes her/him who she/he is. On another note, while I was reading the novel, I also began to admire Anne’s character. I found her ability to withstand the strain of hiding and her acceptance to be grateful for what she had to be admirable signs of strength. Anne’s choice to be grateful for the beautiful things in the world, such as nature (which she could view from an attic window), rather than to wallow in her misery has left an impression on me. Like you, when I find myself complaining, I think “What am I going through compared to the situation Anne and her family were forced to experience?” So, when I’m in a difficult situation, I compare my difficulty with Anne’s experience. Then, like Anne, I look on the bright side of things and I refuse to let a minor difficulty stand in my way. Therefore, the depiction of her strong character is one of the reasons why I’m a fan of her book, but I’m not really fond of the way the play portrays the story and Anne’s character.