The Diary of Anne Frank

Monday 

April 2, 2012

Dear Diary,

       The Diary of Anne Frank has taught me quite a few lessons. Looking at Anne's reactions to all that occurred around her, Mr Frank's genuine kindness and Miep's selflessness I can't help but feel compelled to change for the better too. 
        The actions of Miep Geis toward the annex members makes me remember one of my grandmother's sayings "Doing work with a grudging heart will only get you so far." I'm still amazed that Miep risked her life to help them. Many other people would have stayed as far from that situation as possible. Miep complied with almost all of their, sometimes selfish, requests and tried to make them feel comfortable. Miep's actions say to me that you should only do something for someone if you absolutely want to. I admire Miep's strong conviction for what is right. .
         Mr. Frank was the man of the annex. He kept everything in order, made sure everyone was fully aware of the rules, he wasn't exactly strict but he wasn't too lax either. Mr. Frank taught me that a leader must keep his composure otherwise the people he leads will become uneasy, and doubtful.
         Anne Frank showed me good virtue. It is hard to believe that, in the diary, she and I are only one year apart. She spoke words of wisdom. Anne was well beyond her years. The way she reasoned with the world as being in a pattern that will one day break sounded similar to something the Arch priest would tell me. 
         The Diary of Anne Frank taught me to be grateful for life, wheresoever it leads me. It teaches me to make the best of every situation and experience because as Anne said in her actual diary "the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands." Reading the Diary of Anne Frank has allowed me to see the brighter sides of living so closely to my family. Although the limited amount of space gets to our heads and we quarrel occasionally, we're still together and we don't have to live in fear of a loved one being taken away. I've come to realize the importance of maintaining a close relationship with all of my family members. Life is short, so we shouldn't spend it arguing, we should make the best of it.
       
                                  Love,
                                      Aaleah

Miep Geis

Monday,

April 2, 2012

Dear Diary,

       Miep Geis was the woman who helped the Franks and the Van Pels survive in the annex. She provided them food, news and other supplies. Miep Geis put her life in danger for the sake of all the members of the annex, she too was an extraordinary woman.

Interview of Miep Geis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jybUICycSKY

Anne Frank: The Animation

Monday,

April 2, 2012

Dear Diary,

I found this video on you tube. Its a description of Anne Frank in graphic novel style art. The video does not go into much detail, but its still entertaining =)

Love,

         Aaleah

The Victim: Reaction

Tuesday 

 March 27, 2012

Dear Diary, 

       Francis Duggan's "The Victim" tells the story of a grayed Jewish man who has survived the Holocaust. The old man doesn't want to hear one word uttered about the Holocaust. He shows people the tattoo of numbers on his arm, but he says nothing. The tattoo was supposed to say it all. I though of the times where I was eager to know the reason "why" of a situation, but a symbol was supposed to say it all. I recall not being able to comprehend the "symbol" and thus never knowing reasons "why". Duggan, in this poem, wishes to know the sufferings of this old man. He knows that a "Holocaust" occurred, but he had no idea of what people suffered through. The only connection Duggan had to that time was, I believe, was either his father or grandfather. 

Ink Number Tattoo

      The grayed Jewish man, however, wouldn't share his memories. Or rather he wasn't ready to share his memories. He was stuck in the mind set of trying to forget rather than growing from it. The old man needed time. He needed time to settle his memories and find solace in the past.

       "But i could picture living soul whose thoughts were with the dead."

    The grayed Jewish man might have felt guilty that he survived while others did not. He seems to dwell on those that died, which is part of the reason why he saw blocking out these memories as an easier route that accepting the reality.

        The author repeats the first stanza twice in the poem. Once in the beginning and another time in the end. Aside from added emphasis, I'd like to believe that at the end the Jewish man decides to share with the unknowing generation his painful memories, that they too might know.

   I enjoyed the poem, I felt that I could relate to Francis Duggan's feeling of wanting to understand but not being allowed to ask.

                

          Love,

              Aaleah *.*

The Victim

Tuesday 

March 27, 2012

The Victim

Some one mentioned the 'Holocaust' the old Jewish man said 'no'
Such word i do not wish to hear that happened years ago
Then he slowly folded up his sleeve and numbers etched in blue
Told of the sufferings he'd known and all he had been through.

A silence fell o'er one and all across the club room floor
And in his presence 'Holocaust' not mentioned any more
We had amongst us in the flesh one who had lived through hell
But i wish that he could have spoke of sufferings he could tell.

Don't mention 'Holocaust' to me with one wave of his hand
A silence fell o'er one and all how could we understand?
The agony he had been through, the torture and the pain
We did not mention 'Holocaust' no not to him again.

My heart went to that Jewish man who sought no sympathy
He wanted to block out his past as a bad memory
Don't mention 'Holocaust' to me and little else he said
But i could picture living soul whose thoughts were with the dead.

That night i did not sleep too well i had recurring dream
I watched the hungry slowly die, i heard the tortured scream
I saw a gray haired jewish man the sorrow on his face
And i was in another time a dark and a sadder place.

I woke and when i went to sleep the dream returned to me
Of Jewish man with tragic past who sought no sympathy
I see a young man in his prime with a hunger wasted frame
With numbers branded on his hand 'they'd robbed him of his name'.

Some one mentioned the 'Holocaust' the old jewish man said 'no'
Such word i do not wish to hear that happened years ago
Then he slowly folded up his sleeve and numbers etched in blue
Told of the sufferings he'd known and all he had been through. 

Francis Duggan

After Reading The Diary of Anne Frank Play.......

Wednesday

March 28, 2012

Dear Diary,

Today we finished reading The Diary of Anne Frank play in class. Upon finishing it, I felt a  "hunger for more" Anne's diary ended right before they had to leave as captives of the Nazis. Thinking about it now, Anne  Frank was very noble in handling her emotions when she and her family were caught . She only had five minutes, but she didn't cry, she wrote in her diary. I wished she could have  somehow continued writing while imprisoned . I wonder how she handled being at a concentration camp?

The Japanese adaption
of The Diary of Anne Frank

I think that part of the reason  why the Diary of Anne Frank  attracted so much attention was that a person of Anne's persona had written it. It's the diary of an outgoing, energetic girl forced into a life in hiding in which she grows in maturity. Her diary is a personal peek into society of that time.A time that historians  of the 1950's only had facts and statistics about.

I recall watching a  video clip, and in that video clip  the speaker said that other countries heard what was occurring in Europe, but didn't believe it.Even today, some people believe that the Holocaust was a farce that, despite the evidence, none of it happened. Anne's anecdotes proved that the Holocaust did in fact occur and that, because of it, millions of Jews fought for their lives.

Scene from The Diary of Anne
Frank play

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Frank was a father that cared so much for his children. Seeing his "Anneke" having to live a life in solitude must have made his heart break for her. Mr. Frank probably thought that Anne would be happy at the concentration camp because she'd be able to see the blue sky and walk in the sunlight. She would no longer have to hide. no longer  would she have to live in fear and hold onto who she is. She could be free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

The last line in Anne's diary is "In spite of everything i still believe that people are good at heart." That was the last thing that Anne wrote in her diary. In those five minutes before  she'd be on her way to a concentration camp she wrote those words. This says to me that Anne had to be the most forgiving person you could ever meet. She could put Mother Teresa  to shame, that after all the Nazi's had done she could still hang onto hope in humanity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Love, 

Aaleah     

Tis' a Gift to be Simple

Wednesday 

March 21, 2012

Dear Diary,

       Gifts that cost nothing at all are hard to come by, but have significant meaning to the person that receives it.
If one year I decided to create cost less gifts for each of my family members it would probably be as follows:

For Mommy-

     My mom hates it how her touch screen cellphone presses against everything in her pocketbook. For my mom, using the leftover yarn in my room, I'd knit her a cellphone cover and embroiderer it with her name on the inside. My mom is very fond of knitting and embroidery, she'd appreciate it very much.

For Daddy-

Paper Jet

     My dad loves to fly airplanes. He was in the Air force and still carried a lingering affection for airplanes afterward. He still says that one day he'll buy a plane and take my mom, siblings, aunts, and me flying. For my dad, I'd make him a U.S air force jet. Of course it wouldn't be big enough that he could actually fly in, it would be much smaller, a model size. Using cardboard from shoe boxes and aluminum foil I'd make this jet for him.

For Tiju-

Sudoku 

      My only brother, Tiju, is a difficult person to think of gifts for. First off, he's a guy, I never know what to get for guys and I would need to get him a gift he'd actually use. Tiju is a computer science guy. He likes technology and science. I usually go to him for help with either math or science questions. Sometimes he annoys me and asks me seemingly impossible logic questions or philosophical questions, (what is truth?). For my dear brother, I'd create a compilation of the world's most difficult logic questions and puzzles. He'd be very intrigued  by my gift.

For Ariel-

Depend

      Ariel is my eldest sister. She and I have very much in common. We both hold a strange affinity to Asian things. She likes Chinese fans and dresses and I like Japanese anime and Kimonos. Ariel tries to learn the Japanese alphabet, but meanwhile she admires complex looking kanji. For my eldest sister, Ariel, I would give her a Kanji poster with characters for "can" and "depend" because they roughly sound like her name when put together.

For Denee-

Knit  Headband

      For my second eldest sister, Denee, I'd give her a uniquely sewn  hair accessory. My sister recently decided to "go natural" with her hair, but she complains that she hasn"t anything exciting to do with it. My gift to her would put a burst of fun into her everyday hairstyle.
     

After Months of Hiding...........

Monday

March 19, 2012

Dear Diary,

           "  The days are long and seem to drone on without end. I can hardly differentiate between the days and nights. I scarcely write, because whenever I pick up a pen I write about the same thing: how bored I am. lately however I've been thinking, wrapping myself around different thoughts. What would I do when all this is over?

                 I thought about it long and hard. First off I think I might be reluctant to leave this hiding place, it been my abode for some time now. I've come to like the sound of the birds signaling the morning and the shadows the fire makes on its own without my interference. I'd cry, of joy, because I'm the kind of person that would cry when their extremely dejected, or overwhelmed with happiness. Maybe I'd get more education and go for a job in the government. If I were to get a government position I'd be able to stop anything like this from ever happening again. No one would have to suffer like this ever again. I laughed to myself. Maybe i should become chancellor of Germany, so that I would never be able to hide ever again.

             After all these days I spent hiding, I'd do everything i put off doing. I'll travel the world and meet new people, try to experience all the goodness life has to offer. I've come to realize how fragile life is. I must set out to enjoy all i can of it."

Written in the point of view of my imaginary character Aloisia who was a Jewish woman in hiding during the Holocaust.

               


  --- (>Love
             Aaleah <)

FREEDOM

Anne and Peter

Thursday

March 15, 2012

Diary Dear,
   
      Peter and Anne seem to be complete and total opposites. Peter is shy, awkward and the only person in the annex he truly seems interested in talking to is his cat, Mouschi. Anne is outgoing, and energetic like a container whose lid has to be forced on. Due to their opposing personalities Peter and Anne don't get along well at all. He continues calling her Mrs. Quack Quack because she talks so much.
       Peter is used to being a loner. When Peter and Anne talk for the first time in Act1 Scene 1, Peter tells Anne that he was never the type to go on dates with others, that he kept to himself. if you takes a person whose used to not having many people to talk to and introduce them to Anne they may get a bit annoyed, because she's so "out of the box."
      As far as similarities go, I wasn't surprised Anne and Peter actually had something in common. They both have regular conflicts with one of their parents. Anne is annoyed with her mom because she always compares her to her older sister Margot and her mom is always criticizing what she does.Anne never accepts any care from her mother. She's more like a "daddy's girl she feels more comfortable conversing with "Pim" , as she so lovingly calls her father, than anyone else in the annex.       
      Peter, on the other hand conflicts with his father because Peter isn't good at his school work, and that frustrates his father. Peter's father calls him dumb and stupid. Peter is ashamed of his father because he complains about the amount of food available to eat. The relationship between Peter and his mother seems to be much better. It looks like Peter has some sort of protective instinct toward his mother.
      Anne is an optimist, while Peter leans more toward pessimism.
      Anne is forgiving while Peter holds a grudge.
      Peter and Anne both can't agree with the grown-ups of the Annex.
      Peter admires Anne for her courage.
     Anne is beginning to like Peter and likewise Peter toward Anne. I hope they get together somehow, in the end.
                             Love,
                           Aaleah =D

"There are no walls, there are no bolts, no locks that anyone can put on your mind."

Sunday

March 11, 2012

Dear Diary,
                                                                                                                          
            When Anne's dad tells her to remember "There are no walls, there are no bolts, no locks that anyone could put on your mind" it reminds me of something my mom or dad would say. Something like "The mind is a powerful tool."In times where I'd be so bored, like during a black-out, my siblings and I would make up stories to pass the time. Some of them were so ridiculous, yet so creative, imaginative. Some stories were so funny my sides would hurt from laughing so hard, and others were so frightening I thought a monster would drag me by my feet into the darkness. Remembering those times makes me agree with the statement Mr.Frank made to his daughter, Anne.Looking at the Frank's situation, the Nazis had taken their freedom, and their rights and "locked them in a room bolted shut". Their imagination was the only thing the Nazis couldnt take from them.                                                                  
             Within the mind are countless doors of possibilities. Its just up to the person to unlock it.                     Structures like the Ancient Pyramids and the Great Wall, even Disney World boggle the minds of countless people all over the world. "How could they imagine such magnificence of this great size!" The idea for literary works like Alice in Wonderland and The Chronicles of Narnia, and Harry Potter were conceived in the mind of just one person. Just one person made those plots so thick and intriguing to readers worldwide. I very much do agree with Mr. Frank's statement. Nothing can bind something as languid as the mind.                                                                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                                                               
                                                         Love,                                                                                                     
                                                                       Aaleah                                                                                     

Daily Schedule in Hiding (pt 1)

Sunday
March 11, 2012


Daily Schedule

9am - 10am: Thinking

10am- 11am: Drawing

11pm- 12pm:Writing Stories

12pm-  1pm: Writing in a journal

1pm- 2pm: Reading

2pm- 3pm: Dreaming 

3pm- 4pm: Drawing

4pm-5pm: Thinking

5pm-6pm: Praying

     There really isn't much to do in hiding. If I didn't have a day like this I'd probably sleep between the hours of 9am and 6pm. Then I thought,if my family's Christian faith had to go into hiding, we'd probably be praying from 12pm- 1pm and from 5pm-6pm, and reading the bible and meditating all the hours in between. If it were just me in hiding, my schedule would be the one above, with variation from day to day of course.  

My Reactions to: Concentration Camp photos, The Holocaust, and Anne Frank

Wednesday

March 7, 2012

Dear Diary,

    

       After seeing pictures of concentration camps and learning a little about the Holocaust and Anne Frank, I feel greatly disturbed, yet inspired. The pictures I saw in class didn't compare to the pictures I looked up on my own. Stacks, mass piles of dead bodies laying in pits. I saw some people so skinny that you could see all of the indents of their ribs and their hip bones. Many of them looked like they were only barely clinging to life. What scared me most was seeing small children so skinny and their expression so solemn, like all hope had left them. ( I wonder why it affects me more to see children starving than adults..)

   I feel disgusted how humans could treat other humans in such a vile inhuman way. Its alright to have beliefs, but to take part in killing people  because they don't conform to your beliefs is so wrong. I'm feeling disgusted. What strikes me more is that what I visualize what they went through, it was probably 100 times as brutal.

   I really can begin to see the true reasons why that Nazi soldier died and no one really cared. I bet they thought that, that man dying of the illness he had, was an easy punishment. 

   I feel like I can never use the word starving again. I mean, I've seen some really really skinny people before, most suffering from severe famine, but I've never seen a person so skinny that all they basically were was a skeleton with skin wrapped around it. Then seeing skeleton people multiplied by most of Europe's jewish population of children and adults alike is kind of creepy

   On the flip side, however, learning about Anne Frank inspired me because she enjoyed life, particularly her situation then, when she had to go into hiding. Not that she was belittleing seriousness of the situation, she just made herself more adept to being in hiding by being lax whenever she was allowed to. I think she was the type of person to not let others crush her spirit.

   I also admire Anne for being able to keep herself busy for 9 hours straight without making a sound, I acknowledge that takes extreme skill. Anne will still be herself even if they are in hiding. I wonder if I could manage to be myself in that type of situation. Hopefully I will never get the opportunity to find out.

                                             Love,

                                            Aaleah

How I Feel About Diaries....

Tuesday

March 6, 2012

Dear Diary,

    I originally thought that diaries were a waste of time. I've always wanted to have a diary despite that feeling. Whenever I start a diary i follow a pattern:
First-I'm overly excited, I can't wait until the next day just so that I can write something new.
Next- I gradually begin to forget to write in it everyday.
Then- I'll misplace my diary and will reunite with it in the trash can.
Finally- I say "I'm giving up on diaries"
    Its not like I have trouble recalling the events that happen each day, not very much usually happens. Sorting out feelings, or thoughts can be done in my head, where no one else can invade my privacy. At one angle i see diaries as dangerous. If I, per say, wrote something about a person in my diary, and then ended up losing it and that diary ended up in the hands of the person I was talking about, that would spell "trouble", in uppercase letters ("TROUBLE")
 

 In a different light, I kind of like diaries. Quite hypocritical, I know , but the idea of documenting history in diaries, like Anne had, I think, is very interesting.

                     Maybe I'll try writing a diary for real, this time.

                                                   Love,

                                                        Aaleah >.<

Going Into Hiding

Sunday 

March 4, 2012

Dear Diary,
         "The events of today still flash over, and over again in my head. The panic, the lonesomeness, and fear still attack me even as i try to sleep. Today was the day I decided to go into hiding. I'd received a call-up earlier on. That moment I felt my blood run cold, and my body numb. I lived with no one other than myself. They would be able to capture me easily, but only if I let them. As difficult as it was, I willed myself to move and prepare to leave.   Other than what I had on then, I took five changes of clothes, all of which I also wore and disguised underneath an insulated jacket. I figured the bulkiness of other jackets would arouse suspicion. I wore my over-sized fishing boots and wool socks and stuffed them with preserved fruits, fish, oats and with bread. When that food ran out, I'd used the fishing line and hook I brought with me, to catch fish and matches to cook it. In times where making fires weren't an option, I brought a knife, and hid it in my undergarments, so i could slice the fish and eat it raw.       Water, I'd distill by heating it up then putting it in a foldable leather sac to cool. I wear a blonde wig If I ever I have to go outside.I think the blonde wig would make me look less suspicious and immune to random searches. I haven't gotten caught so far, and I don't plan to either.      I didn't bring a flashlight. I solely rely on sunlight, starlight and a fire's light. I brought a journal with me and tied it to my stomach. Its a pretty big journal, but I write extremely tiny inside of it so it will last.  Maybe praying and fasting will help ration the food, and pass the time.      I can't sleep because at every snap or creak I hear my eyes shoot open, and I'm instantly on alert. I hope I can calm down tomorrow."


Written in the point of view of my imaginary character Aloisia who was a Jewish woman in hiding during the Holocaust.

Blonde Wig

                                               Love,
                                                     Aaleah

Insulated Jacket

Fishing Line

What I Know and Want to Know About the Holocaust

Thursday,

March 1, 2012

Dear Diary,

Star of David - All Jews were forced to wear
 it on their clothes

  
       The depth of my knowledge about the Holocaust is pretty rooted. I know that the cause of the Holocaust was a German man by the name of Adlof Hitler. Adolf Hitler believed that all Jews were inferior and that Aryans were the superior. Due to his "extremist", maybe even beyond extremist, beliefs, when he gained power as the chancellor of Germany he ordered both the imprisonment and killing of Jews in Germany. Eventually his perverse ideals and his influence spread to other countries in Eastern Europe, and that part of the world become a nightmare zone.

Adolph Hitler

   Imagine living in an environment where, no matter where you turned you'd be in danger. An environment where trusting anyone could be a mistake. Where you'd have to hide a part of you that you held in a high respect? Many, if not all Jews during the Holocaust went into hiding to escape danger,death. There were few people they could trust, beacuse at any moment that very person could turn you in to avoid trouble for themselves.

   Jews, or people, that were caught assisting Jews were arrested and taken to concentration camps, which were camps where they would be forced to do hard labor. They condition in these camps were absolutely terrifying. Disease spread like wild fire from one person to the next because they all lived in such close quarters. They all suffered from malnutrition because of the scarcity of food. Dead bodies wouldn't be discovered until, maybe days later when the body was already decomposing.

   Death camps were even more horrifying. each day there's be thousands of deaths. Each one more cruel than the last.

   

German Nazi Soldiers marching through Germany.

   I want to know so much more of the Holocaust. I think I want to know mainly from the point of view of a Nazi soldier. How did he feel when he had to kill a four month old baby. Or kill a young kid's parent right in front of his eyes. What did they all feel like seeing these horribly wronged people stripped of all their right as a human being and suffering from lack of food and water or even  clothes. I also want to know how the Nazi men were treated after the Holocaust. Was it really anyone's fault besides Hitler's? I want to know where Nazi men stood in society's view at that time. If they were seen as scum I'd like to know why also, and not the obvious reason, I want to know why they couldn't be forgiven if they were treated like trash. I'd also like to know more about the Nazi soldier they found in America that had Cancer. I heard they let him die. I want to know why. As doctors I thought they'd see past his past affiliation and help the sick patient suffering from cancer. Can hatred of a group extend to a generation that never felt the past's pain? Where does that hatred come from? Why couldn't they forgive him after seeing him in that state? Did they think he deserved it? Is that how humans are?

   I also want to know how many survivors there were of the concentration camps and if they wrote books. I want to read them. The Holocaust reminds me very much of Slavery. They relate quite similarly. Learning about the Holocaust brought up more emotion than I thought it would. How can history learned in a class move a person so much? What's learned in a classroom of those Horrors the jews faced can't compare to what they actually faced and dealt with and, some, survived through. Even so, I'm unsettled, for the Jews and the ex-Nazi's and I's like to know more.

                        

                  Love,

                             Aaleah ^.^