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Philosophy of life, Anne Frank

Anne did not often attend synagogue, but she did go to Jewish classes. In her diary, she gives her own take on the faith.

Subject

It is difficult to describe Anne's religious thoughts. However, much can be distilled from statements made by others and from Anne's own diary entries.

Statements by others

  • Otto Frank: Anne always participates in the Kinderfreundenfest, already in Aachen.[1]
  • Otto Frank: Anne did not show her religious feelings, she did so in her diary only. There you can see, that she really had it, but formalities did not seem to impress her, though she wrote about the light of the candles reminding her of the grandmother and giving her a sort of peace.[2]
  • Otto Frank: I personally am not educated in a religious sphere, but after my marriage and all the experiences of the Hitler regime, got more conscious as a Jew. With Anne one could not make much out of her feelings. The forms or ceremonies did not seem to impress her very much. She stood next to me when the candles where lighted and joined in singing the "mo-aus su..." the well known Hanukkah song." [3]
  • Otto Frank: Ich erinnere mich, dass Anne nie besonderes Interesse gezeigt hatte, wenn wir jüdische Feiertage begingen oder Herr Dussel Freitag Abendgebete sprach. [...] Ich glaube, die religiösen Formen des Judentums bedeuteten ihr wenig, wohl aber dessen ethischen Lehren.[4]
  • From an interview with Hanneli Goslar: No, Anne almost never went to a synagogue.[5]
  • According to various testimonies, Anne attended Hebrew lessons with Rabbi Mehler, with Mirjam Blumenthal and Dorothea Zucker, among others,[6] and attended the liberal synagogue on Tolstraat with her family.[7]

Diary notes

  • Encouraged by Father's good example, Mother pressed her prayer book into my hands. I read a few prayers in German, just to be polite. They certainly sound beautiful, but they mean very little to me. Why is she making me act so religious and devout?[8]
  • Why do I always think and dream the most awful things and want to scream in terror? Because, in spite of everything, I still don't have enough faith in God. He's given me so much, which I don't deserve, and yet each day I make so many mistakes![9]
  • Last night I went downstairs in the dark, all by myself, after having been there with Father a few nights before. I stood at the top of the stairs while German planes flew back and forth, and I knew I was on my own, that I couldn't count on others for support. My fear vanished. I looked up at the sky and trusted in God.[10]
  • The best remedy for those who are frightened, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere they can be alone, alone with the sky, nature and God. For then and only then can you feel that everything is as it should be and that God wants people to be happy amid nature's beauty and simplicity. [...] This morning, when I was sitting in front of the window and taking a long, deep look outside at God and nature, I was happy, just plain happy. [...] Whenever you're feeling lonely or sad, try going to the loft on a beautiful day and looking outside. Not at the houses and the rooftops, but at the sky. As long as you can look fearlessly at the sky, you'll know that you're pure within and will find happiness once more.[11]
  • The second half of the year was slightly better. I became a teenager, and was treated more like a grownup.I got to know God! [...] I lie in bed at night, after ending my prayers with the words: "Ich danke dir für all das Gute und Liebe und Schöne",and I'm filled with joy. I think of going into hiding, my health and my whole being as das Gute; Peter's love (which is still so new and fragile and which neither of us dares to say aloud), the future, happiness and love as das Liebe; the world, nature and the tremendous beauty of everything, all that splendor, as das Schöne. [...] My advice is: "Go outside, to the country, enjoy the sun and all nature has to offer. Go outside and try to recapture the happiness within yourself; think of all the beauty in yourself and in everything around you and be happy." [...] But to Nature, to the sunshine to freedom and to yourself, there you have something. There and there alone you will find yourself and God.[12]
  • I know that I have God, God and Granny and so much more and that's what keeps me going. Without the voice that keeps holding out comfort and goodness to me I should have lost all hope long ago, without God I should long ago have collapsed.[13]
  • It's difficult in times like these: ideals, dreams and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.[14]

Clear political thoughts were not yet present with Anne. In her own words, she was a royalist: "I sometimes listen to the Dutch broadcasts from London. Prince Bernhard recently announced that Princess Juliana is expecting a baby in January, which I think is wonderful. No one here understands why I take such an interest in the Royal Family.​​​​​​"​[15]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Anne Frank Stichting (AFS), Anne Frank Collectie (AFC), Otto Frank Archief (OFA), reg. code OFA_072: Otto Frank aan Alice Frank-Stern, 30 september 1945.
  2. ^ Wisconsin Historical Society (WHS), Madison, WI, Goodrich/Hackett papers 1927-1961, Box no 2, correspondence 1952-1956: brief Otto Frank aan Frances Goodrich en Albert Hackett, 22 februari 1954  (kopie bij: AFS, afd. Collecties, Collectie in handen van derden, Instellingen Buitenland, Madison).
  3. ^ Anne Frank-Fonds (AFF), Bazel, Hacketts Korrespondenz 1954-1960, Doos 51, Meyer Levin Div. (S. Mermin), Play: Otto Frank aan de Hacketts, 6 februari 1954.
  4. ^ AFS, AFC, Otto Frank Archief (OFA), reg. code OFA_070: Bitte schreiben Sie mir etwas über Anne Frank, p. 7.
  5. ^ Hanneli Goslar in: Het Klokhuis: Anne Frank (uitgezonden door de NOS op 30 en 31 oktober 2005).
  6. ^ AFS, Getuigenarchief, Zucker-Franklin: Dorothea Zucker-Franklin aan Hans Westra, 3 mei 2009.
  7. ^ AFS, Getuigenarchief: Collem, Martha van, Wiener, Ruth, e.a.
  8. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version B, 29 October 1942, in: The Collected Works, transl. from the Dutch by Susan Massotty, London [etc.]: Bloomsbury Contiunuum, 2019; AFS, Getuigenarchief, Blumenthal: Uittreksel uit brief Mirjam Blumenthal aan Otto Frank, september 1947.
  9. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 29 December 1943, in: The Collected Works.
  10. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 30 January 1944, in: The Collected Works.
  11. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 23 February 1944, in: The Collected Works.
  12. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 7 March 1944, in: The Collected Works. Deze passage suggereert dat Anne haar moeders exemplaar van Spinoza's Ethica las.
  13. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 12 March 1944, in: The Collected Works.
  14. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version A, 15 July 1944, in: The Collected Works.
  15. ^ Anne Frank, Diary Version B, 21 September 1942, in: The Collected Works.