There was a lot of talk about 'politics' in the Secret Annex. In concrete terms, this mainly concerned military operations and their course. And of course the very specific anti-Jewish measures, as part of the war conditions in general, that made going into hiding necessary. These measures are discussed in the topic Anti-Jewish measures. Here we are concerned with the perception of the more general wartime developments in the Netherlands and abroad. Since the Allied victory was obviously vital for the people in hiding, they followed the progress closely. Their information came from the radio, was related by the helpers or came from the mainstream or underground newspapers and magazines they brought with them.

In the Netherlands

Anne occasionally wrote in her diary, which she started in June 1942, about the invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940. She did not include any concrete memories of those battles, despite the fact that there had been a lot of air activity over Amsterdam-Zuid because of its proximity to Schiphol Airport. Three days before her thirteenth birthday, on 9 June 1942, a transmitting device from an English plane came down on the roof of Merwedeplein 8,^[1] but Anne did not talk about this. A few days after her birthday, she remembered that she couldn't celebrate her birthday in 1940 because of the invasion that had just taken place.^[2] In July 1942, Anne wrote retrospectively about the war in Europe, the invasion of the Netherlands and the increasingly far-reaching measures against the Jews.^[3]

The diary does contain several references to resistance activities and German reactions to them. For example, in October 1942, newspapers carried the news that 15 hostages had been shot, which Anne recorded in her diary.^[4] She also mentions arson at the Labour Exchange and the Register of Population. She places these events, when she writes the note in 1944, "a few days" apart.^[5] In reality, the incidents took place on 10 February^[6] and 27 March 1943.^[7] The discrepancies between the A and B versions of Anne's diary play a confusing role in this respect.

Due to the frequent air activity, the air raid alarm often went off in Amsterdam. This frightened Anne, especially when anti-aircraft guns were in action. 'Shooting' is a theme that often recurs.^[8] Anne mentions in her diary the heavy attacks on the Fokker factories in Noord and on the port of IJmuiden.^[9] Her notes on Fokker, in which she mentions the many alerts from the Air Protection Service, correspond well with the 'air hazard' reports recorded by the police.^[10] This seems to indicate that she based this note in the B-version, in which 1943 is only discussed retrospectively, on her earlier notes - which have been lost.

In addition to a plane crashing into the Carlton Hotel in late April 1943,^[11] two more planes crashed close to the Secret Annex. On 22 March 1944, an American bomber crashed into a school on Spaarndammerstraat.^[12] In an air battle on 3 May, several Allied aircraft exploded in the sky over Amsterdam, and others crashed in and around the city.^[13] One plane came down in Van Bossestraat.^[11] All three of these locations were less than a kilometre and a half away. Anne also notes these incidents.^[14]

In early 1944, fears grew that the Netherlands could become a warzone. German authorities warned of the far-reaching consequences of this, such as the inundation of parts of the country. The Haagsche Post published a map showing what consequences inundation of the western Netherlands would have.^[15] Seyss-Inquart refuted the rumours about evacuation of the cities in the west, and had proclamations posted urging the population to continue their daily lives.^[16] In the Secret Annex, these proclamations and notices led to fear. Anne refers to the inundation map, and describes making plans to stockpile water in basket bottles. The possible consequences of an evacuation were discussed with Jan Gies, among others.^[17]

In June 1944, it came to Anne's attention that Anton Mussert announced he would serve in the German army in the event of an Allied invasion of the Netherlands. That announcement, made at a meeting in the Concertgebouw, made its way into the daily newspapers on Anne's birthday.^[18] Some two weeks later, she put it in her diary.^[19]

The Eastern Front

In late 1942, Anne wrote that Stalingrad had still not been captured by the Germans.^[20] She kept pretty good track of subsequent developments on the Eastern Front. She notes when Soviet troops are at the Gouvernement-Generale, near Romania, in front of Odessa and around Ternopil.^[21] Further notes follow in June and July 1944, including on the fall of Zhlobin and Orsja.^[22] Her notes match the information available through legal and illegal channels at the time.^[23]

North Africa and southern Europe

The British offensive in North Africa in autumn 1942 fuelled hopes that Germany would soon be defeated. Anne, however, showed a fear of "new blunders".^[24] By the latter, she was most likely referring to Operation Jubilee, the so-called 'trial landing' at Dieppe that was widely seen as a fiasco.^[25] Anne continued to report in her diary on the course of the battle in North Africa.^[26] By the end of 1942, 'the gentlemen' were upbeat about the course of the battle.^[27]

After the Allies landed in Italy, their progress was discussed. Or the lack of it, when the offensive at Monte Cassino stalled.^[28] However, days before D-Day, she noted the Fifth Army's capture of Rome.^[29]

In March '43, Turkey's position in the international arena shifted. Confusing reports of this emerge in the Secret Annex and in Anne's diary.^[30]

The invasion and the Western Front

Like countless others in the Netherlands and worldwide, the people in the Secret Annex were eagerly awaiting the opening of the 'third front' in Western Europe. In early 1944, everyone seemed to think that it was almost there. Churchill predicted that within weeks the world was about to witness the biggest military operation in history.^[31] This increased the 'invasion mood' in the Secret Annex.^[32] In the following months, this kept the people in hiding busy. In early May, Anne wrote that the Allies could not just leave everything to the Soviets after all.^[33] She lost a bet with Mrs Van Pels about it.^[34] When the invasion did start on 6 June 1944, the people in hiding still thought at breakfast that it was another 'trial landing'.^[35] Anne described the course of the battle after D-Day, also mentioning the capture of five German generals and the deployment of the German 'miracle weapons'.^[36] They kept track of Allied progress on a map cut from De Telegraaf .^[37] Optimism among them was high again. Otto Frank and Hermann van Pels claimed they would be free by 10 October at the latest.^[38] Following the failed assassination attempt on Hitler, Anne last noted anything to do with the war developments on 21 July 1944.^[39]

The outcome is well known: on 4 August 1944, the Sicherheitsdienst arrested the people in the Secret Annex, as well as the helpers Kugler and Kleiman. All cherished hopes of timely liberation were thus dashed.