Few books of the 20th century had as big
an impact as The Diary of Anne Frank. The bestselling, acclaimed and much taught
autobiography is a true life chronicle of the two years young Anne and her family spent hiding from the Nazis
during World War Two. However, the diary has seen
its share of controversies over the years from copyright law intrigue to hidden passages never meant to make it
past the editing stage. So today, we're uncovering the complicated
history of Anne Frank’s Diary. But before we get started, why don't you subscribe to the Weird History Channel,
then head down to the comments and let us know what other famous books
you want to know about. For now, Dear Diary... During the Holocaust, Otto Frank survived imprisonment
in a concentration camp, but tragically,
his wife Edith, perished at Auschwitz, and his two daughters, Anne and Margot,
passed away from typhus in Bergen-Belsen. Otto was able to reconnect
with Miep Gies, A friend who secured food and clothing
while the family was in hiding. She presented Otto with Anne's diary,
which she rescued from the annex just after the Franks were arrested. Otto was initially conflicted about
making Anne's private writing public. However, others encouraged him
to move forward, since the entries were a powerful and important recollection
of life during world War Two. With that in mind,
Otto decided to edit the diary. In 1942, Anne Frank was only 13 years old
when her Jewish family was forced into hiding during the German occupation of the
Netherlands. In a cramped attic space, She began writing in her diary,
a red and green checkered journal given for her birthday
as a coping mechanism. Anne continued filling additional books
as she reached the last pages. Around this time, a radio broadcast
urged citizens to keep written accounts of what was happening during the war. Inspired by this ,Anne decided
to turn her diaries into a novel called The Secret Annex. Anne managed
to write 324 pages of the new book before the family was discovered by Nazis
and captured. When Anne's father, Otto, obtained the diaries after the war,
he decided to fulfill Anne's wish of publishing her account,
cutting out some of the mentions of sex, puberty and anything else that he felt
could hurt the family's reputation. This version was released in limited numbers in 1947,
with several other editions following, bringing the total number
of versions up to three. Anne's original diaries, Anne's attempt
at writing a novel, and Otto's published book. Cornelis Suijk, director of the Anne Frank
Foundation, was given five loose diary pages he claimed were
given to him for safekeeping by Otto Frank before he died. Likely omitted for entries
voicing anger at her parents, Otto never intended for these pages
to see the light of day. Suijk handed the papers over to Austrian
author Melissa Müller to assist with a biography
she was writing about Anne Frank. These pages opened up a veritable
Pandora's Box of legal woes related to the diary. First, due to copyright laws, Müller would not be allowed
to directly quote the diary. But even so, these additional pages
caused an uproar between the Switzerland based Anne Frank Fonds and the Netherlands
State Institute for War Documentation. The former owns
the copyright of the published book. While the latter was given
custody of the diary by Otto Frank himself. Suijk wanted to release
a newly unabridged version of the diary, But the Fonds argued
that would be illegal. So he in turn
accused the Fonds of profiting off Anne while not sharing the money
with other important Anne Frank adjacent organizations.
That included his own organization, But apparently it was about the principle. Now, as we learned in 2024
with Steamboat Willie, copyright laws open up an artist's
work to the public domain After so many years. In Europe,
works enter the public domain 70 years after the creator's death. That would have made Anne Frank's diary
eligible for public domain in 2016. However, some loopholes postponed that date
significantly. Because Otto had made significant
edits to the manuscript, He essentially created a new book
and could be considered a coauthor. Otto passed away in 1980,
which extended the copyright in Europe until 2050, when you can read
the whole thing inside your flying car. The foundation's reasons for extending the copyright is to ensure
the book won't be commercially exploited by, say, making a bunch of merchandise
with tacky quotes. But some critics believe the foundation
is mainly interested in money, and the limited availability of the book
under copyright means Some readers may never get to see it. The renewed hold on the copyright
also allows the foundation to regulate how others are allowed to use Anne's words
if they're allowed to. This raises concerns from historians
and workers at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, claiming
visitors honoring Anne's memory are doing so in restricted ways so they don't
get sued for copyright infringement. In fact,
two stage plays about Anne Frank's life don't contain any direct quotes
because of these restrictions. While Otto Frank was
in the editing process of Anne's diary. He left out multiple references
to sex and female anatomy. He presumably deemed these passages
to be too private, but these omitted entries gave a more humanized depiction
of Anne as a teenage girl experiencing the familiar angst of adolescence
in an unthinkable situation. Then, after more than 60 years, the diary
was published with all missing entries. But some weren't happy with the changes. In 2010, a Virginia school district
banned this new edition for, quote,
“complaints about its sexual content”. Otto also omitted Anne's editorializing
about his marriage to Edith. According to Anne's entries, Otto's family
prevented him from marrying his true love for financial reasons. Edith was never Otto's first choice,
and apparently young Anne took notice that her mother could never fill
his father's heart, even as she admits
to not knowing the whole story. Anne also admitted her own
strained relationship with Edith, likening her to a stranger
rather than her mother. The often distant Edith
would never really talk about herself so Anne never got to know her
in any great sense. As the days went on Anne continued
to note the waning kindness and tenderness of her mother and her own
uncertainty that she could love such a person. To save his reputation
as well as that of his wife, Otto purposely
left these sentiments out of the diary. To keep Anne's original notebooks
in pristine condition, They're kept in storage
and only allowed out every ten years.
During a 2016 examination of the pages, Researchers found two sections of Anne's original diary
with brown paper pasted over them. Removing the Brown paper would
destroy the pages, so they had to wait until technological advances to read under
the paper was made widely available. That day finally came in 2018. Once examined,
these pages were revealed to contain Anne's thoughts on sexual matters
and prostitution, demonstrating Anne's experimentation
with language and development as a writer. While we now know what the pages
said, the reasons for Anne covering it may always remain a mystery,
but we can guess. She probably didn't want anyone snooping. A book as prominent and controversial
as Anne Frank's diary is bound to come under attack over the decades.
Since it was first published in 1947, Critics have claimed
that the book was forged as it seemed far too mature for a teenager
to have written, or because some portions were written in ballpoint pen
while others were in pencil. They've even accused Otto Frank of
creating the diary himself to make money, causing the patriarch to file Many lawsuits during his lifetime,
including some against Holocaust deniers. In the 1960s, tests proved
Anne's handwriting was genuine. The handwriting was reexamined
20 years later, using forensic technology with the same outcome. All signs point to the handwriting
being authentic, right up to the period appropriate paper
and ink used for the pages. As for the mature voice
the book seemed to be written in, hey that's just how growing up works. You can find wisdom and self-awareness
near the end of the book not present in earlier pages, showing how Anne's
writing style improved over the years. Back in 1952, you could find Anne Frank's diary
published in German, French and Dutch. But if you spoke English,
you were out of luck. Several American publishers
received the book, but for whatever reason,
it was a hard pass from all of them. Publishing house Alfred A. Knopf, inc. called it, quote,
“a dreary record of typical family bickering,
petty annoyances and adolescent emotions.” To put it another way, they thought
it was the Vanderpump Rules of their time. After getting turned down by a whopping
15 publishers. Anne's diary
finally found a willing partner in Doubleday,
thanks to employee Judith Jones. Jones had been moved to tears reading
the diary and was unable to put it down. As a result,
the published edition of the diary now comes in 56 languages,
boasting over 30 million copies printed. Take that, Alfred A. Knopf. For a long time, Anne's diary remained simply a book,
but not for lack of trying. In the 1950s, American writer
Meyer Levin reached out to Otto Frank and asked if he could turn Anne’s Story
into a stage play. Otto said sure, and a draft was written up
shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, Levin's enthusiasm to adapt
the book was not shared, as pretty much all the big Broadway
producers rejected it. One failed lawsuit Later, Levin called it quits on the play. Otto gave the go ahead again in 1955, this time to American non-Jewish writers
Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. Their stage play of Anne's diary ended up
winning a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony, and the subsequent film adaptations
received seven Oscar noms and three wins. But Goodrich and Hackett's version
was criticized for being a not so true story
that the Guardian said “delivers the and that everyone wants to see,
if not the girl who actually lived.” For that
you have to go to the source material. So what do you think? Which fact about Anne Frank's
diary surprised you the most? Let us know in the comments below. And while you're there, check out some of these
other videos from our weird history.
