Anne Frank Essay Research Paper Jennifer Horner — страница 2

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Amsterdam, the anti-air cannon fired by the Nazis and the aerial dogfights between Nazi and allied aircraft in the sky also constituted a source of alarm for the group in hiding. The building was old and could easily catch fire. For this reason, they had each prepared a small bag of basic necessities to grab in case they had to leave the building in a hurry. Of course, their greatest danger, as it involved their worst fear of all, was discovery by the Nazis. ? We had a short circuit last evening, and on top of that the guns kept banging away all the time. I still haven?t got over my fear of everything connected with shooting and planes, and I creep into Daddy?s bed nearly every night for comfort.? That is how Anne?s entry for March 10, 1943, begins. This kind of remark recurs at

intervals through the diary, but it would seem that eventually the inmates of the ?Secret Annexe? did become accustomed to the situation. After all, two years in hiding, they knew that the Allies were advancing and the situation of the Nazis was deteriorating. By the time the diary ends, Anne had every reason to be optimistic, and she was even thinking about going back to school. The occupants of the ?Secret Annexe? no longer seriously thought that they would be discovered. Although they were frightened in the beginning, they had become used to their situation and hoped to continue in that way until the war ended. However on August 4, 1944, the Gestapo apparently acting on information provided by an informer, arrived at the building where the Franks were hiding, entered the

office and began to search the building. Behind the bookcase at the end of the corridor, the Nazis pulled it away, and thus revealing the secret door to the Franks? hiding place was exposed. No one acted hysterically or violently when they realized what had happened. In numbered silence they simply put together a few basic possessions, which they thought they might need and left with their captors. The news from various war fronts was very good, and it was obvious that the Nazis would be defeated. If the discovery had only come a little later, if the group had not been included in the last shipment of people to leave Westerbork, if Anne had not been sent to Auschwitz first, then onto Belsen, she might have survived.