SUMMARY WITH NOTES

PART III : NOVEMBER 9, 1942 - AUGUST 3, 1943

Summary (continued)

Anne complains about her roommate, Mr. Dussel, a constant source of irritation to her. There is a worktable in their room that she is allowed to used for an hour and a half each day, as Mr. Dussel sleeps. Wanting more time to work on her studies in the room, she politely approaches the bossy old man and asks for an extra three hours a week. Without an explanation, he refuses to grant Anne her request. Although she is furious, she holds her temper and asks him to reconsider. Dussel melodramatically answers with a lengthy criticism of her and her request. As a result, Anne goes to her father to beg for help, and Mr. Frank convinces Dussel to give the girl another three hours on the table. Dussel, however, refuses to speak to Anne for two full days. She calls him "pedantic and small-minded." She also complains that Mr. Dussel and Mrs. Van Daan continue to criticize her constantly, saying her behavior indicates a poor upbringing. Anne writes, "I suppose it's their idea of a good upbringing to always try to set me against my parents, because that is what they often do." She goes on to say that Mrs. Daan is "selfish, cunning, and calculating."

The entry, dated Wednesday, January 13, 1943, reveals that Anne is upset and depressed. She is tired of the war and the cramped quarters. The bossy Dussel is driving her crazy; she is sick of hearing the planes flying over the Holland skies and dropping bombs; and she is miserable about the fate of the Jews. She lives in constant fear of being discovered by the Nazis or burned to death if the office building, with its secret annex, is hit during one of the bombings. Most of all she worries about what is happening at the hands of Hitler.

She writes, "It is terrible outside. Day and night more of those miserable people are being dragged off . . . Children coming home from school find that their parents have disappeared. Women return from shopping to find their homes shut up and their families gone . . . It has even got so bad in Holland that countless children stop the passer-by and beg for a piece of bread. I could go on for hours about all the suffering war has brought, but then I would only make myself more dejected. There is nothing we can do but wait as calmly as we can till the misery comes to an end. Jews and Christians wait, the whole earth waits, and there are many who wait for death."

Anne admits that she cries a great deal when she is alone. The strange surroundings and circumstances have made her touchy, even though she tries to cope with her daily existence. Her negative emotions increase as the war draws closer to the annex. She constantly hears the bombardment just beyond the walls of the building and grows anxious. As she becomes more tense, Anne finds herself fighting more with her mother. After one heated argument, she writes, "The love between us was gone . . . They expected me to apologize; but this is something I can't do . . . I spoke the truth."

Anne writes that the emotions of the group improve when they hear of the fall of Mussolini, the Fascist dictator of Italy. Once again they have a ray of hope for survival.

Notes

These entries reveal Anne's vacillating emotions. She tries to stay cheerful and hopeful, but it is very difficult for many reasons. First, Dussel arrives to stay in the annex and complicates the teenager's life. She must share her room with him, losing even more of her privacy. She also finds him to be an irritating and bossy old man who makes her life more miserable. In addition, the Nazis invade and capture Holland; therefore, there is constant gunfire and bombardment, sometimes just outside the office building where the annex is located. Also, they hear that more and more Jews are being captured and killed. The close proximity of the fighting and the loss of so many Jews make everyone in the annex more tense, including Anne. As a result, she finds that she and her mother are fighting even more. She even states that she feels there is no love left between the two of them. Feeling lonely, scared, and miserable, Anne still cries frequently; but she tries not to complain excessively about her misery.

In spite of the misery, the Jewish families make some attempt at normalcy. They celebrate birthdays, Chanukah, and Saint Nicolas' Day. They also listen to the radio regularly, always hoping to hear some bit of good news. When they learn that the English are making advances against the Germans, they all dare to hope there is a chance for the end of the war and freedom; however, their spirits are always dashed by additional negative news.

It is also amazing that the Van Daans and the Franks can still find things to laugh about. Anne tells about the time that a bag of beans broke upon and spilled down the steps. Anne, at the bottom of the stairs, was caught in the onslaught, and everyone in the annex had a good laugh. They also found humor in the way that the cranky Mrs. Van Daan reacted to Dussel's dental examination. These moments of humor and entertainment did much to relief some of the tension in the cramped annex.

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