Re: Anne Frank's Diary - A Hoax
FOOD GALORE
Although the affluent little Jewish society at Prinsengracht may not have
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had the best French Cuisine, they certainly had little to complain about as regards the necessities and EXTRAS of life which may explain the group's constant bickerings and why Anne has so little to write about, except her love affairs and the families' continuous quarreling over trivialities. While Anne seems to have had some compassion over dirty children with running noses she wouldn't "want to touch them with a barge pole." Anne gives Margot the suggestion that they should clean the children, to which Margot interrupted: "By tomorrow they would look just as filthy and ragged as before" (13 Dec.-43:54). A rather interesting moral nicety coming from the "oppressed" whose rooms were filled to the brim with goods.
Food and other things had been taken to other people "for more than a year" (5 July-42:11). Evidently they had also been taken to their "hiding place" for a lengthy time suggesting to us the whole thing had been planned long before 6 July 1942.
The popular myth which has been spun around Anne Frank that the group lived under starvation and utterly destitute circumstances finds interestingly little support in the "diary" itself. It is quite evident that at the time the group lived better than most people in Germany and elsewhere and as we have seen this is also admitted by Anne herself. For instance, they had, apart from other food, 150 cans of vegetables and 270 pounds of dried peas and beans besides potatoes (9 Nov.-42:42). After one furious quarrel Dussel left the room: "his COAT STUFFED WITH FOOD" (13 July43:78). Exactly where he was heading for we are not told. They ordered "some extra corn in addition to" their "Sixty pounds." Anne writes in 3 Feb.-44:132): "Our stock's not too bad" (132). Notwithstanding the fact that baking causes a racket, they baked biscuits, cakes (22 Dec.-42:55), and dumplings (3 April-44:174). "A LOT OF MEAT" was bought under the counter whereby sausages were made (10 Dec.-42:52 2). Later Mrs. Van Daan worries that burglars "have taken the sausages and all our peas and beans" from the attic (10 March-43:61). How exactly they could have done so without passing their "secret door" we are not told. Coffee was still available, so was butter, eggs, tea and tobacco (6 May-44:200). Even up to 8 July-44 strawberries were available to them which they ate and made jam out of (227-8). Of course even our affluent group could be troubled with rotten food (Compare 3 April-44:173, 3 May-44:197, 23 June-44:223). We notice however that even under these circumstances the meals were certainly sufficient. The rationing of potatoes (23 June-44:223) seems a good choice in view of that Mr. Van Daan "takes a lot" (9 Aug.-43:89). The son, after having eaten "the heartiest meal" declared calmly that "he could have eaten double" (90). Peter we are told enjoyed talking "about food" (14 June-44:221). As late as July 8-44:229 she talks about an enamel pan "filled to the brim" with peas. Tobacco as we have noticed was available. So was coffee and tea. Cognac was served (17 Nov:42:45), also beer (13 May-44:207) and wine (2 May-44:196). The main problem and trouble again, seems to have been themselves and how to get enough room in their stomachs so they could stuff down all their food.
ANNE'S CHARACTER NOT EVEN A NICE GIRL
From what we can gather from her own diary it is quite obvious the parents seem to have neglected giving the child a proper parental love and direction. In
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spite of her young age, Anne's main ambition was to make money and ALL her "hopes are pinned on after the war" (8 May-44:202) to make lots of it. She was a spoiled child, a bore and a brat, hotheaded, nervous, rude and filled with egomania (Compare Schnabel 1:15). She was rude and even at the coffee table she could tell a visitor he had cat eyes (Ibid 17). Although Anne wants to shift the blame onto her parents, she no doubt was herself responsible in stirring up trouble over trivialities. She is an incredibly spoiled child. Anne writes:
"Daddy wishes that I would sometimes volunteer to help Mummy, when she doesn't feel well or has a headache; BUT I SHAN'T" (3 Oct.-42:34).
She admits being "spoiled from top to toe by Mummy and Daddy" and that she gets "lots of sweets, enough pocket money." Anne asks: "what more could one want?" Only very wealthy parents would in those days have given their children pocket money not to speak about ENOUGH pocket money. That apparently was Anne's problem she got all she wanted. Anne tells us further she was "a terrible flirt" (7 March-44:149). She consumed Valerian pills making one wonder if she suffered under periodic psychosis, which may either have been a functional or organic type, or both (16 Sept.-43:97).
Anne's family and immediate surrounding may therefore have contributed severely to her problems; at least, they hardly seem fitting company for a healthy child let alone someone sick. Their constant disputes would be destructive to any child. Perhaps the father knew about his daughter's troubles which he had contributed to and so he tried to paint up his own image by concocting a diary. Anne's great hope to get wealthy was probably the hope her father shared. Apparently the money he had was not enough. Mr. Frank does not seem overly disturbed, that in spite of his wealth; the baker to whom they owed money paid Mr. Frank's bills out of his own pocket (Schnabel 6:85).
Anne also seems to suffer from lavatory, excremental and sex neuroses. We will deal more with this further on. She feels pretty high about herself:
"I'm not going to take all these insults lying down, I'll show them that Anne Frank wasn't born yesterday. Then they'll be surprised and perhaps they'll keep their MOUTHS SHUT when I let them see that I am going to start EDUCATING THEM. Shall I take up that attitude? Plain barbarism! I'm simply amazed again and again over THEIR AWFUL MANNERS and especially. . . stupidity, (Mrs. Van Daan's), but as soon as I get used to this and it won't be long then I'll give them some of their own back, and no half measures. Then they'll change their tune!" (28 Sept.-42:29).
On 7 May-4 she writes:
"It's right that for once I've been taken down from my inaccessible pedestal, that my pride has been shaken a bit, for I was becoming much too taken up with myself again" (201).
Anne's rudeness knows no bounds for she feels:
"Even if people are still very young, they shouldn't be prevented from saying what they think" (2 March-44:144).
We notice here the lack of parental love and direction. Little wonder she hurts her mother bitterly bringing "tears in her eyes" (2 Apri143:69).
The mother had merely invited her
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daughter to pray with her. Anne's rude Anne says: letter to her father can be explained in the same spirit (5 May-44:199-200, 6 & 7 May-44:200-1). Even if we take into consideration the unhealthy and destructive surroundings which Anne lived under we still have our doubts if Anne ever uttered many of the things which allegedly are placed in her mouth and pen. They may not have been in the original and may be interpolations. They give the tinge of Jewish Americanism as if some journalistic hands have given them a work over. It would be interesting indeed to find out if they are in Anne's original diary. Let us give here some examples. She writes she was furious with "Master Dussel" and thought "In a minute I'LL GIVE HIM SUCH A SMACK IN THE FACE THAT HE'LL FLY UP THE CEILING TOGETHER WITH HIS LIES" (13 July-43:78). She is furious over the Van Daans (and perhaps with good reasons) who had claimed on the matter of sex that she was
"already proficient in the theory, IT'S ONLY THE PRACTICE THAT YOU STILL LACK." Anne wished she "COULD HAVE SLAPPED BOTH THEIR FACES AT THAT MOMENT as they stood there making a fool of me. I was beside myself with rage and I'm just counting the days until I'm rid of 'those' people" (29 July-43:83).
Further on she writes:
"I used to have a bad habit; I wish I still had it now. If I was angry with anyone, rather than argue it out I WOULD GO TO WORK ON HIM WITHMYFISTS" (14 Feb.-44:135).
Of her Algebra book she writes: "If I'm ever in a really VERYWICKED MOOD, I'LL TEAR THEBLASTED THING TO PIECES!" (20 May44:210).
The unfortunate Mrs. Van Daan gets continuously blasted. In one place Anne says:
"Everyone knows that Mrs. Van Daart, one of my chief accusers, is unintelligent. I might as well put it plainly and say `stupid' Stupid people usually can't take it if others do better than they do" (14 June-44:220).
However, she reminds us she is not prejudiced (29 July-43:84, 17 March-44:159). When we are aware that the father claims "some passages which he felt to be too intimate or which might hurt other peoples feelings" (AFFA:6) were OMITTED, we wonder what other things Anne could have written, seeing the above rude passages WERE INCLUDED. We feel however that the above quotations raise strong doubts as to their having ever existed in the original or they may have been altered. They may be interpolations. They do not sound like coming from a young girl. We are entirely sympathetic to those Orthodox Jews who have raised their voices and said that the diary is an obnoxious story. An examination of the original records would indicate whether they are genuine utterings made by Anne herself. If so, her parents must be blamed for neglecting to give the child proper love and affection.
QUARRELS, QUARRELS, QUARRELS
What makes the Anne Frank Diary so boring to healthy minds is without a doubt its repetitious grinding over trivialities - its constant sordid telling of family quarrels. Indeed we wonder how Mr. Frank could have picked such an unharmonious crowd to live with him in hiding seeing his own family would have given him troubles enough. The diary seems to have contained even more examples of quarrels for Mr. Frank, as noted, has said parts were
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omitted which "might hurt other peoples feelings." If we would elide all the family rows and quarrels along with Anne's sex adventures and dreams the diary would become a mere skeleton.
She feels downhearted over her monotonous clutterings "and silently wishes that Anne would occasionally dig up something new"(28 Jan.-44:128) which we on our part heartily agree with. However, even though she tries hard she finds "it is impossible for anything in the conversation here to be fresh and new" (129). Being unable to do so we are forced to read about all their rows over money, clothing, food, lavatory and excremental intricacies and her own self importance. The biggest problem the group seems to have had was their own existence. Their continuous quarrels put the German problem completely on the sideline. After having moved to their new home in 1942 she was unable to understand "the quarrels, the bickerings." The way she "could keep up some bearing was by being impertinent" (7 March-44:150). Already in her second entry after the Van Daans had arrived she writes:
"It is not all honey between Mummy and Mrs. Van Daan; there is plenty of cause for unpleasantness. To give a small example, l will tell you that Mrs. Van Daan has taken all three of her sheets out of the common linen cupboard. She takes it for granted that mummy's sheets will do for all of us" (2 Sept.-42:22 3).
The Van Daans were gluttonous:
"In my opinion the Van Daans don't divide it at all fairly. However, my parents are much too afraid of a row to say anything about it" (27 Feb.-43:60). She calls the Van Daans: "some real greedy PIGS on the top floor" (9 Nov.-42:42,compare 9 Aug.-43:89). Again: "Mrs. Van Daan had another tantrum. She is terribly moody" (27 Sept.-42:27). Previous to that she writes: "Mrs. Van Daan is unbearable. I get nothing but `blowups' from her for my continuous chatter. She is always pestering us in some way or other." About the leftovers she continues: "This is the latest: she doesn't want to washup the pans if there is a fragment left; instead of putting it into a glass dish, as we've always done until now, she leaves it in the pan to go bad" (21 Sept.-42:25).
On 27 April, 1943, she writes:
"SUCH QUARRELS THAT THE WHOLE HOUSE THUNDERS! Mummy and I, the Van Daans and Daddy, Mummy and Mrs. Van Daan, everyone is angry with everyone else" (69). 26 July, 1943: "Nothing but tumult and uproar yesterday, we are still very het up about it all. You might really ask, does a day go by without some excitment?" (81). On 3 August, 1943, Mr. Van Daan had "just made it up after a week's squabbling" (84). Even in her dreams she thinks about a "quarrel upstairs" (4 Aug.-43:87) and says of `Madame' Van Daan: "one could perhaps call her the `kindler.' Stirring up trouble, that's fun. Mrs. Frank against Anne; Margot against Daddy doesn't go quite so easily" (9 Aug.-43:89).
Plenty of problems exist also between Anne and her mother. "Just had a big bust up with Mummy for the umpteenth time" (27 Sept.-42:27, compare 3 Oct.-42:34). The reason why Anne makes so few entries in her diary may perhaps also be explained by the following. "Every time I write to you something special seems to have happened, but they are more often unpleasant than pleasant things" (10 Sept.-43:96-7) and the
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only "wonderful thing going on" she can think of is the war (97). But not for long. In her next entry, conditions are back to NORMAL:
"Relations between us here ARE GETTING WORSE ALL THE TIME. At mealtimes, NO ONE DARES TO OPEN THEIR MOUTHS (EXCEPT TO ALLOW A MOUTHFUL OF FOOD TO SLIP IN) because whatever is said you either annoy someone or it is misunderstood."
To help her in her cause she swallows Valerian pills "every day" (16 Sept.-43:97). The entry after situation still the same:
"If only I wasn't mixed up so much with all these rows! If I could only get away! They'll drive us crazy before long!" (29 Sept.-43:99). So is the next entry: "They've had A TERRIFICROW UPSTAIRS... lam dazed by all the abusive exchanges that have taken place in this virtuous house during the past month" (17 Oct.-43:99).
Next entry no difference:
"There have been RESOUNDING ROWSAGAIN… THE YELLSAND SCREAMS, STAMPING AND ABUSE YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY IMAGINE IT! It was frightening. My family stood at the bottom of the stairs, holding their breath, ready if necessary to drag them apart! All this shouting and weeping and nervous tension are so unsettling and such a strain, that in the evening I drop into my bed crying, thanking heaven that I sometimes have half an hour to myself" (29 Oct.-43:100).
This may explain Anne's few entries. It was upsetting to experience it, let alone, write about it. If Albert Dussel is not in trouble he is causing trouble (17 Nov.-43:105). Finally on 22 Dec., 1943, just before Christmas she can report:
"There is not much news to tell you. We are all getting on well together FOR A CHANGE! There's no quarreling we haven't had such peace in the home FOR AT LEAST HALF A YEAR" (109). However, gathering from her entry, the peace seems to have been the result of her having a "bad attack of flu" (108). Then follows her entries about sex and family troubles until 15 Jan., 1944, when we again hear her telling: "There is no point in telling you every time the exact details of our rows and arguments.... unkind words, and angry out-bursts. . . whether or not we choose to quarrel" (122-3). She feels it is hard for her and she writes: "you can never really confide in people even in those who are nearest you" (22 Jan.-44:123). She admits Mrs. Van Daan isn't to blame for all the quarrels her mother and family is also (124-5). Mr. Dussel enjoys talking about "his wife's extensive wardrobe" and "beautiful race horses" (28 Jan.-44:128). On 2 March-4, a new crisis point is reached:
"Only great love and devotion can help Elli, Margot, Peter and me, AND NONE OF US GETS IT. And no one, especially the stupid 'know-alls' here, can understand us, because we are much more sensitive and much more advanced in our thoughts than anyone here would ever imagine in their wildest dreams."
She says Peter often tells her "his parents quarrel over politics" (145). She confides in Peter about "the quarrels" (19 March-44:160) and tries to help "him over his parent's quarrels" (22 March-44:163). However the group continues to "egg each other on until the arguments lead to discord and quarrels." They get
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so impatient they are "stamping their feet" (27 March-44:168) and there is "no one here that sets a good example" (14 April-44:185). Little wonder she feels "so miserable" (26 May-44:213).
"Dr." Dussel enters again into the picture; "Fresh `Secret Annexe' troubles, a quarrel between Dussel and the Franks over something very trivial: the sharing of the butter" (5 June-44:216). Mrs. Van Daan is "offended that Dussel doesn't enter INTO HER FLIRTATIONS. . . she quarrels, uses ABUSIVE LANGUAGE, cries, pities herself, laughs, and then starts a fresh quarrel again" (16 June-44:223).
In one of her last entries she says something we must surely agree with after having gone through the group's dramatic and chaotic quarrelings:
"People can't see in from outside because of the net curtains, (about the net curtains, compare 11 July-42:19, 15 June-44:222) but, even so, the LOUD VOICES and BANGING DOORS positively gave me the jitters. ARE WE REALLY SUPPOSED TO BE INHIDING?" (8 July-44:227).
We have wondered about the same thing for the whole time. Anne's reports about all the rows, fights, quarrels, arguments and chaotic conditions is precisely the atmosphere we should expect exist amongst such a lot. One is surely astounded that such a sordid story could be pandered to world wide, making out of it not only a diary, a movie, a play but also a Foundation. To us the whole business, for business it indeed is, appears sickening the product of warped minds who can stoop so low to use a daughter and a young gir1's personal problems for commercial gains and propagandistic purposes.
Only "wonderful going on" she can think of is the war (97). But not for long. In her next entry, conditions are back to NORMAL:
"Relations between us here ARE GETTING WORSE ALL THE TIME. At mealtimes, NO ONE DARES TO OPEN THEIR MOUTHS (EXCEPT TO ALLOW A MOUTHFUL OF FOOD TO SLIP IN) because whatever is said you either annoy someone or it is misunderstood."
To help her in her cause she swallows Valerian pills "every day" (16 Sept.-43:97). The entry after - situation still the same:
"If only I wasn't mixed up so much with all these rows! If I could only get away! They'll drive us crazy before long." (27 Sept.-43:99). So is the next entry: "They've had A TERIFIC ROW UPSTAIRS. . . I am dazed by all the abusive exchanges that have taken place in this virtuous house during the past month" (17 Oct.-43:99).
THE ANAL COMPLE X
We feel that another forceful reason why the Anne Frank Diary cannot be entirely dismissed as a fictitious story is its preoccupation with the anus and excrements, a trait typical of many Jews. Pornography and excretal fantasies have always fascinated many of them and they have therefore also been the greatest exploiters of these things. There is something real about it when Anne tells of her dear pottie, their lavatory and excremental problems, the passing of intestinal gases and her love affairs with Peter. Of course, it may be argued that Jews write about it even in fiction; so the diary could still be fictitious and therefore this point proves nothing. He is simply jotting down what he fancies. However, we feel, that in part, the story is telling us about things which ACTUALLY TRANSPIRED. There appears something
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genuine behind all the excremental chitter chatters. Jewish writings have been infused with stories about the reproductive and excremental functions.
Two persons in sharp contrast, yet strikingly identical, have made eminent contributions to the world in this field. The comedian Charlie Chaplin became famous by wagging his rear end at the audience, scratching frantically at his buttocks, and exhibiting the usual run of the mill, age old preoccupations with the reproductive and excretory organs. For this, and other things, he has been hailed in the mass media as one of our greatest comedians ever to appear. So much respect was lavished upon him, that one saw fit he should play the part of Hitler in one film. He has been warmly loved ever since.
In his own right, Sigmund Feud is an even greater comedian than Charlie Chaplin. His outstanding contribution to the world is the "anal complex," the theory that an obsession with the anus is the principal influence in our emotional development. Feud is today the patron saint of the "science" of psychiatry. Many millions of words have been written on the subject of the reproductive and excretory habits and learned speeches about the anal compulsion are delivered by scholars before the world's learned bodies of distinguished men. "Anal eroticism," the stage in pregenital libido in which pleasurable sensations are supposed to be experienced in the anal regions continue to intrigue our most learned professors. It is indeed odd that no Nobel Prize has until now been instituted in this field.
The above information will explain a lot of things in Anne's diary which to the uninitiated otherwise may be hard to understand. Anne and her family were greatly amused over that Mrs. Van Daan brought a large pottie in her hat box (14 Aug.-42:20).
"During the plumber's visit, nature's offerings were deposited in these jars in the sitting room during the day." Anne feels: "1'm not such a prude that I can't talk about these things" (29 Sept.-42:32).
There was much discussion over, when one was "allowed to use the lavatory?" (19 Nov.-42:47). For doctor Dussel in particular this must have been quite a problem or he caused plenty of problems for others as "his favorite spot" was the lavatory:
"Three, four, five times a day someone stands impatiently in front of the door and wriggles, hopping from one foot to the other, hardly able to contain himself: Does it disturb him? Not a bit! From quarter past seven till half past, from half past twelve till one o'clock, from two till quarter past, from four till quarter past, from six till quarter past, and from half past eleven until twelve. One can make a note of it these are the regular `sitting times.' He won't come off or pay any heed to an imploring voice at the door, giving warning of approaching disaster!" (9 Aug.-43:90-1).
Whether the distinguished "doctor" was learning Feud in the lavatory we do not know nor do we know how the lavatory could be used so frequently without making noises and in view of the fact that Anne reports the lavatory was not used after "half past eight." Perhaps "nature's offerings" were deposited in these "glass jars" after this time limit.
Anne was much thrilled when she could report:
"One afternoon we couldn't go to the lavatory because there were visitors in the office; however, Peter had to pay an urgent call. So
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he didn't pull the plug. He put a notice up on the lavatory door to warn us, with 'S.V.P. gas' on it. Of course he meant to put `Beware of gas'; but he thought the other looked more genteel" (5 Feb.-43:59). At another instance she reports that: "We aranged that we would not draw any water or pull the plug in the lavatory. But as the excitement had affected most of our tummies, you can imagine what the atmosphere was like when we had each paid a visit in succession" (25 March43:65).
Now and then the lavatory could give out "suspicious noises" (4 Aug.-43:86) and when the lavatory could not be used there was of course great excitment. She claims that after "half past eight" there was "no lavatory" but this seems odd in view of "Dr." Dussel's constant visits as we already have noted (23 Aug.-43:95; compare 14 April-44:185, 26 May44:214). At times the odors must have been repulsive even for this brave lot of people. How the excremental odors can square with the spices is another question which captivates us. Indeed, on 11 April-4, Anne tells us how five of them took turns excreting into a waste paper can, and that "the tin smelled ghastly. . . the smell wasn't so bad when one was on the floor. . . stink, flatulation, and always someone on the pot." Along with the odors of expelled gases was the noise factor: the flatus being expelled, for Anne writes: "the food lies heavily on everybody's tummy, CAUSING THUNDEROUS NOISES ON ALL SIDES." Apparently little was done to prevent the noises. It wasn't Anne's job to clean the potties. Her dad and Peter did it (11 April-44:182). To cure a troublesome "Mrs. B." it was suggested that they put "a good laxative in her coffee" (9 May-44:204). Although we cannot dismiss the argument that these excremental preoccupations are mere fancies on the part of the author or authors there are good reasons to believe the stories are genuine and are in part reflecting some of the foremost intellectual thoughts of the occupants. Even if they were invented they nevertheless splendidly depict the anal complex, of an ancient, cultural people.
FLIRTATIONS AND JEALOUSY
As can be expected with any miserable, unhappy crowd, especially one that is grounded on such shaky morals as our group was, there erupted plenty of ill feelings and jealousy. Although Anne seems a little disturbed over flirtations falling in the wrong direction they can likely be viewed as survival hatches for an otherwise boring life. Anne was particularly annoyed over Mrs. Van Daan's flirtations with her father:
"I must tell you that her attempts to flirt with Daddy are a source of continual irritation for me. SHE STROKES HIS FACE AND HAIR, PULLS HER SKIRT RIGHT UP, and makes so called witty remarks, trying in this way to attract Pim's attention."
Anne told Mrs. Van Daan off, right in her "face" (1 Oct.-42:33). However as we have seen, Anne was quite a flirt herself. It seems Mrs. Van Daan WAS quite a flirt for she boasts about being one (5 Feb.-43:59). As time went on, her son Peter also learned the art (19 March44:160). Dussel who was so thrilled over fur coats and race horses soon got the tune and fell in line. He was beginning to get longings for women." Flirtations started between him and Mrs. Van Daan (5 June-44:216). Mrs. Van Daan is later offended "that Dussel doesn't
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enter into her flirtations" (16 June-44:223). Perhaps at this time he was thinking again about his fur coats and race horses. Also we wonder how he could, seeing he spent most of his time in the lavatory or on the "glass jar." Jealousy enters also into the picture. Anne's mother is jealous over her taking too much to Mrs. Van Daan (2 March-44:145) while Mrs. Van Daan in turn is jealous at Anne for liking her son (28 March-44:169).
SEXUAL ENTRAVAGANZA
Anne's "love affair" (so indeed does Henri F. Pommer call it in the AFFA brochure, pp.9, 12, 14) with Peter Van Daan occupies lengthy portions in the diary, giving the impression someone is trying to fill in on the story which otherwise would bore people to death. In some respects the diary can be claimed to be the first paedophile pornographic work to come out after World War II and sold on the open market In fact, the descriptions by a teenage girl over her sex affairs may likely be the first child porno ever to come out. At least we do not know of any other work which can claim this "distinguished" honor. It no doubt paved the way for future works of this kind and played a powerful role in our present moral decadence. A few Orthodox Jews were amongst the first to voice their opinions against the diary claiming it to be immoral and presenting Jews in a bad light. The sex portions may of course be fictitious, included merely to "sell" the book but without them the diary would likely have remained amongst Otto Frank's private memorabilia. It is a frightening thought however to think that a father would use his daughter in such a filthy manner but we are reminded of parents prostituting their children, so why could literary prostitution not be possible? If numerous interpolations were made, which we believe is the case, how and where were these adulterations made? We are certain that were we allowed to examine the original diary or diaries we would find numerous portions that have both been inserted and elided. This brings up the question: Who was the guilty person or persons doing the falsifications? Who really are behind this obvious swindle? Obviously the father would be the MAIN culprit but it is only reasonable to expect he had the assistance of others. Likely it was not a one man's job. It may have been a job of two, three or even a team work. If we are to believe the story, little Anne became infatuated early with boys. She brags about her amorous cortege and being the center of attraction. She writes:
"WHAT A SILL Y ASS I AM! l am quite forgetting that I have never told you the history of myself and ALL MY BOYFRIENDS. When I WAS QUITE SMALL - I WAS STILL AT A KINDERGARTEN - I became attached to Karel Samson. . .One of Karel's cousins, Robby, was a slender, good looking dark boy, who aroused more admiration than the little, humorous fellow, Karel. But looks did not count with me. . . Then Peter crossed my path, and in my CHILDISH WA Y I REALL Y FELL IN LOVE… we were inseparable for one whole summer. I can still remember us walking hand in hand through the streets together… I was mad about his laugh. . . he looked so mischievous and naughty... if I kept on running after him I should soon get the name of being boy mad.. . I went to the Jewish Secondary School. Lots of boys in our class were keen on
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me I thought it was fun, felt honored . . Harry was mad about me. . .I am completely upset by the dream. When Daddy kissed me this morning, I could have cried out: `Oh Petel, darling Petel . . ..!' Who can help me now. . . Old Petel, Petel, how will I ever free myself of your image?... I lone you, and with such a great love that it can't grow in my heart any more but has to leap out into the open and suddenly manifest itself in such a devastating way!" (7 Jan.-44:118 20).
Already in her second entry she tells about Peter Wessel whom she wants to marry (15 June-42:2). Again in her third entry she writes: "I have strings of boy friends anxious to catch a glimpse of me and who, failing that, peep at me through mirrors in class" (20 June-42:2). In her fourth entry she herself asks the question to which we ourselves would like an answer when she says: "I expect you will be rather surprised at the fact that I should talk of boy friends at my age. Alas, one simply can't seem to avoid it at our school." A boy, you can be sure, Anne writes "fall head over heels in love immediately and simply won't allow me out of sight" (20 June42:5). These entries sound queer indeed to us, to say the least. In her very last entry she exclaims: "As I've already said. . . I've acquired the name of chaser of boys, flirt, know all, reader of love stories" (1 Aug.-44:236). Having read Nico van Suchtelen's book Eva's Youth, Anne hopes that she will never sell herself "to unknown men in back streets" and wishes: "Also it says Eva has a monthly period Oh, I'm so longing to have it too; it seems so important" (29 Oct.-42:38).
As Henri F. Pommer stated before making the previous quotation: "Anne was thirteen when she started her diary. Six months later she regretted not having had her first menstruation" (AFFA:9). About twelve months after, her wish was fulfilled:
"I think what is happening to me is so wonderful, and not only what can be soon on my body, but all that is taking place inside. I never discuss myself or any of these things with anybody; that is why I have to talk to myself about them.. Each time I have a period - and that has only been three times I have the feeling that in spite of all the pain, unpleasantness, and nastiness, I have a sweet secret, and that is why, although it is nothing but a nuisance to me in a way, I always long for the time that I shall feel that secret within me again." We are also told that "Margot who is much more shy than I am, isn't at all embarrassed" (5 Jan.-44:115 16).
Later, in spite of wanting to keep the secret for herself, she discussed it with Peter only: "We were talking, for instance, about blood via the subject we began talking about menstruation. He thinks women are pretty tough" (31 March-44:172). On 13 June-4 she writes: "I hadn't had a period for over two months, but it finally started again on Saturday. Still, in spite of all unpleasantness and bother, I'm glad it hasn't failed me any longer" (220). As the portions about Anne's love affairs with Peter are quite lengthy we shall only cull some excerpts which have a bearing on our doubts that these portions are genuine and may in fact have been altered, or even worse, be completely fictitious. How anyone can carry on in this manner with noise, quarrels, light, food troubles, toilet problems and sex seems indeed strange, especially
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when we remember what The Reader's Encyclopedia so pointedly observed about the group: "Against the background of the mass murder of European Jewry, the book presents a VIVID PICTURE OF A GROUP OF HUNTED PEOPLE FORCED TO LIVE AND SURVIVE TOGETHER IN ALMOST INTOLERABLE PROXIMITY" (Thomas Y. Crowell Company, USA, 1965, Vol. 1:365). There are, and have been hundreds of thousands of families living under REAL "intolerable proximity" but they certainly didn't carry on in the manner that this lot did. This may further indicate to us that the diary is not a true diary, much less a "document," but a hodgepodge of a variety of sources. It seems indeed difficult to accept that a teenage girl in those days would write such things, let alone a girl that is supposed to be in hiding, knowing that at any given moment their secret may be discovered and the whole group carried away to certain death.
Likely no girl in the whole of Amsterdam carried on in the way Anne did. We wonder how anyone under the threat of death could think of writing her first love story! If so, this may be the first attempt ever. Anne gets confronted reading about prostitution (29 Oct.-42:38). Mr. Dussel "thought he'd play doctor, and came and lay on my NAKED CHEST with his greasy head" (22 Dec.-43:108). A rather peculiar bit of information about Anne's lesbian attraction:
"Sometimes when I lie in bed at night, I have a terrible desire to feel my breast and to listen to the quiet rhythmic beat of my heart. I already had these kinds of feelings subconsciously before I came here, because I remember that once when I slept with a girl friend I had a strong desire to kiss her, and that I did do so. I COULD NOT HELP BEING TERRIBLE INQUISITIVE OVER HER BODY, for she had always kept it hidden from me. I ASKED HER WHETHER, AS A PROOF OF OUR FRIENDSHIP, WE SHOULD FEEL ONE AN OTHER'S BREASTS, but she refused. I GO INTO ECSTASIES EVERY TIME I SEE THE NAKED FIGURE OF A WOMAN, such as Venus, for example. It strikes me… that I have difficulty in stopping the tears rolling down my cheeks If only I had a girlfriend" (5 Jan.-44:116).
The Encyclop. Judaica mentions about Meyer Levin, that: "In 1958 he settled in Israel, which was the setting for his erotic extravaganza, Gore and Igor (1968)" (1971, Vol. 11:109). The above quotations, supposedly coming from a young girl, sound to us to come from some other source. Likely they were included to sell the book and they may never have been in the original diary.
In her next entry she tells about having a dream where Peter Wessel touched her: "And after that I felt a soft, and oh, such a cool kind cheek against mine and it felt so good, so good" (6 Jan.-44:117). When her father spoke to her about sex, stating she "possibly" could not "understand the longing yet" she exclaims: "I always knew that I did understand it and now I understand it fully. Nothing is so beloved to me now as he, my Peter" (7 Jan.-44:120). This by the way was her next entry. On 24 January, 1944, she writes: "Whenever anyone used to speak of sexual problems… it was something either mysterious or revolting. Words which had any bearing on the subject were whispered."
However the matter soon got
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straightened out for she says next in the same entry that Peter showed her Boche, the cat's sex organs:
"Boche stood on the packing table playing with Peter, who had just put him on the scales to weigh him. `Hello, do you want to see him?' He didn't make any lengthy preparations, but picked up the animal, turned him over on to his back, deftly held his head and paws together, and the lessons began. `There are the male organs, these are just a few stray hairs, and that is his bottom' " (24 Jan.-44:125 6).
Evidently Mrs. Van Daan's statement about Anne that she was "already proficient in the theory" of sex and it was "only the practice" she lacked was an understatement (29 July-43:83). Having learned a cat's sex anatomy she had now acquired the necessary skills. Joyfully she noticed Peter "kept looking" at her (13 Feb.-44:134). We wonder what otherwise he could have done seeing they were living in "intolerable proximity." Anne now sensed "a real feeling of fellowship, such as" she could "only remember having with" her "girl friends" (14 Feb.-44:136). "Whenever" she goes "upstairs" she keeps "on hoping that" she "shall see `him.' Because my life now has an object, and I have something to look forward to" (18 Feb.-44:138). Nearly every morning" she goes to the attic to meet Peter (23 Feb.-44:140). But even Peter can be disinterested, preferring carpentry rather than love (28 Feb.-44:142). Mrs. Van Daan gets a little anxious and asks: "Can I really trust you two up there together?" (4 March-44:147). According to Anne, her mother feels that Mrs. Van Daan is getting jealous at Anne (28 March44:169). Anne admits that it "is all I was - a terrible flirt, coquettish and amusing" (7 March44:149). Anne's flirtations with Peter continue (19 March114:160) but feels her "style is not up to standard" that day (161). Things however improve. She feels she yet may have "a real great lone in the `Secret Annexe,'" and adds: "Don't worry, I'm not thinking of marrying him" (22 March44:163). Her sister Margot whom we for some odd reason hear so precious little about is not jealous. The attic gets called "Anne's second home" (23 March-44:165). Anne is "longing for a kiss" (1 April-44:172).
On April 11, 1944, matters improve further. She tells us that they were "so close together that we could feel each other's bodies quivering" (181). Further progress is made. Peter asks: " `Do you still dare to go to the front attic?'. . . I nodded, fetched my pillow, and we went up to the attic. . . Peterput his arm around my shoulder, and I put mine around his and so we remained, our arms around each other, quietly waiting until Margot came to fetch us" (183). How more serenely could they have lived? Progress is still made: "Peter and I are sitting. . . together... our arms around each other's shoulders, and very close, he with one of my curls in his hand" (14 April-44:185). Whether she includes herself in stating "There's no one here that sets a good example" (185) we do not know. Finally she could report about a very important day in her life the first kiss she had been waiting for so long. She writes about the happenings that transpired during this eventful occasion (16 April-44:186-7). The day after she can not "see the use of
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only just cuddling each other" (17 April-44:188). The CUDDLING however continues on the next day: "Yesterday Peter and I finally got down to our talk, which had already been put off for at least ten days. I explained everything about girls to him and DIDN'T HESITATE TO DISCUSS THE MOST INTIMATE THINGS. The evening ended by each giving the other a kiss, just about beside my mouth, it's really a lovely feeling" (18 April-44:189). They continue to talk "about the most private things" (15 July44:232). The drama gets more involved: "He came towards me, I flung my arms around his neck and gave him a kiss on his left cheek, and was about to kiss the other cheek, when my lips met his and we pressed them together. In a whirl we were clasped in each other's arms, again and again, never to leave off" (28 April-44:193). We presume that by this time she must have "advanced" quite a lot. It surely must have been something different from her looking at Rin TinTin films (15 June-42:1). Quite understandable in view of all the foregoing she takes no "offense at a flirtation, a kiss, an embrace, a dirty joke" (1 Aug.-44:235). Whether anyone believes the foregoing was in fact written by a girl experiencing indescribable persecutions or whether they are interpolations; whatever may be said, we feel quite sure, those responsible knew how to SELL a story. Likely they also knew that the story would be boring without these portions. Seeing we are told portions of advanced sex were elided we can only visualize what they may have contained. At any rate: How many families had the time, strength and health during the war to carry on with such amorous activities and speculations? Yet she, along with her group, has become the symbol of the most terrible of persecutions that anyone experienced under the Nazis. This is. a disgrace for all those people who were unjustly persecuted and who did experience REAL hardships. The whole Anne Frank story is sickening!
NO STRICT CONFINEMENT
The nature of this colossal swindle may be further ascertained by recognizing that the people in reality were NOT confined to their so called "hiding place." The impression that sales gimmicks of various types have given is however to the contrary. They claim that the group was strictly confined, hardly even able to either move or breathe. Absolutely never do we hear of anyone leaving the attic for fear of being immediately discovered. The back cover of the 1963 Cardinal edition states: "Her diary reveals the life of this group of Jews waiting in fear of being discovered by the Nazis." EJ states: "Its GREAT IMPORTANCE LIES IN THE OPPRESSING DESCRIPTION OF THE ALL PERVADING FEAR AND THE DESOLATE LIFE OFTHE INCARCERATED JEWS" (Vo1.7:54). The EJ claims Anne "unsuccessfully attempted to elude the Nazis during occupation of her native Holland" (Vo1.5:581). Storm Jameson in the "Pan" edition of the diary says:
"Her father had been preparing for months a place to hide in the two upper back floors of an old building. . . Here Anne, her sixteen year old sister Margot, and her parents now took refuge, HUNTED ANIMALS BURROWING OUT OF SIGHT… THEY HAD TO TAKE ENDLESS CARE, ALL DAY,
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NOT TO BE SEEN OR HEARD, and for an energetic spirited little girl the life must often have been as maddening as the punishment of being sent to bed on a fine afternoon" (5,6).
Eleanor Roosevelt tells us: "Anne Frank's account of the changes wrought upon eight people HIDING OUT FROM THE NAZIS FOR TWO YEARS... LIVING IN CONSTANT FEAR AND ISOLATION, IM PRISONED... a young girl LIVING UNDER EXTRAORDINARY CONDITIONS" (Cardinal ed., "introduction."). We have already had plenty of examples what these "extraordinary conditions" were. The back cover of the Swedish Anne Frank Diary (1953) clearly advertises: "Her description about her outer life also grips us, how eight people lived in a pair of attics obviously wrong] for two years, WITHOUT EVER DARING TO GO OUTSIDE, not daring to talk loudly, under constant fear of being discovered:" Again we get disappointed when we start to investigate. We have already mentioned about "Dr." Dussel putting on his coat stuffed with food. Where was he heading for? At least one person, Peter, actually went around the building TWICE DAILY! Obviously those people writing about the diary have never bothered to READ it. They have just glanced through it and so they have made their opinions without bothering to rally read it. The fact that Peter went AROUND the building further confirms our opinion that the family moved to the warehouse, not primarily for hiding, for if so they would have chosen another more suitable place, BUT TO PROTECT THEIR PROPERTY AGAINST DUTCH THIEVES and likely because they wanted to keep watchful eyes on those who were now running the business (Compare 29 March-44:170). Once this is kept in mind the entire riddle of the Anne Frank confusion starts to make sense. Let us give some examples of the fact it was thieves they actually were concerned about. When their premises were broken into we are told: "They were in the act of breaking into the warehouse. Daddy, Van Daan, Dussel, an d Peter WERE DOWNSTAIRS IN A FLASH" (11 Apr.-44:177). Were they truly in fear of being discovered they would not have acted in this way. How, for instance, could they know it was not the police or the Gestapo who were entering? Mr. Van Daan "beat on the ground with a chopper." (178) hardly a wise thing to do were they truly in fear of being discovered. To discourage future thievery arrangements were made whereby "PETER GOES ROUND THE HOUSE FOR A CHECKUP at half past eight and half past nine" (183). We are also reminded about Peter "roaring with laughter" (9 Nov.-42:43), about him doing carpentry work and chopping wood and his "doing acrobatics round the room with his cat" (10 Dec.-42:52). In spite of all this we have been told by such Jewish writers as Margit Vinberg, who has had personal interviews with the Franks and who states her information is absolutely correct, that the roller curtains never went up and that the windows were never opened on the top floors. Somebody must be lying. Clearly then, no strict confinement was necessary or wanted for the PRIME MOTIVE in moving into the warehouse seems to have been to protect their belongings and to keep an eye on the workers in the warehouse. The story loses all its credibility when these facts are known and when it is scrutinized under the searchlight. One portion is the
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sales gimmicks by which the public have been brainwashed, the other portion is the real portion which none but those who read the story carefully will understand. Most people never read their books carefully, much less literary critics who often get their "reviews" from paid public relations firms. The Frank family had probably less of a dramatic life (except of course their constant quarrels, if we ought to call this "dramatic") than many a Dutch family in Amsterdam at the time but who never ventured to make money out of their and other people's miseries like Mr. Frank and his lot did.
VISITORS OVERNIGHT
The so called "Secret Annexe" was frequently visited by various people during the day. They even shared meals together. A startling observation the investigator makes is the knowledge that people went to the "Secret Annexe" to OVERNIGHT. For instance in one place Anne reports:
"Well! Well! Luckily everything was okay this time. Meanwhile WE HAD GREAT FUN ON MONDAY. Miep and Henk SPENT THE NIGHT HERE. Margot and I went in Mom my and Daddy's room for the night, [but where did "Dr." Dussel go?] so that the Van Santens could have our room. The meal tasted divine. . . I got up early this morning. Henk had to leave at half past eight. After a cozy breakfast Miep went downstairs... Next week Elli is coming to stay for a night" (20 Oct.-42:37,38).
Schnabel reports that Elli overnighted there also (6:101). Now we ask: What sane people would under the threat of death consider inviting guests for dinner and even letting them overnight? The hazards of people entering the premises at odd hours and never leaving a warehouse for a whole night would certainly invite suspicion, to say the least. Instead of blaming themselves, a certain Mr. "M" is blamed for exposing them! (Schnabel, Introduction: 10, 6:84, 7:117, 8:135, 9:143, 146, 12:189). With some people impudence knows no bounds. The entire Anne Frank story is one nightmare of contradiction and hypocrisy. How rubbish of this sort can be foisted on people is hardly any credit to mankind's intelligence.
ONE DIARY ONLY
There obviously is a difference between one cookbook, two cookbooks or several cookbooks. They all may be called cookbooks showing the culinary art from various perspectives yet there is as much difference from one cookbook to another cookbook to more than one cookbook as there is in the fact that one plus one makes two - not one. The original impression we have been given by Mr. Frank is that it was ONE diary, a gift he had bought for Anne's birthday at a bookstore. Schnabel informs us about him seeing the bookstore: "the same store where Otto Frank fifteen years ago bought the diary with a red checkered cover" (2:32). The information that it concerns only ONE diary is so prevalent, not only in written articles but also amongst the general public, that we may consider it to be the official STANDARD VERSION. Anyone can make his own test by asking someone about the diary. Invariably he will find that people think of one diary - not many. We shall cull extracts from written sources which verify this fact further. It is important to do so as it has a heavy bearing on the truthfulness of the story. From it we notice an evolution of the product. It indicates to us how it became a myth; how it was exploited for
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sales purposes, used as a tool to present distorted impressions about the German people and as a tool to peddle Zionism. Gyldendals store Opslagsbog, Copenhagen, 1967, Vol. 2:252: "Frank left ONE diary." Focus, Stockholm, Vol. 2:959: "Anne's DIARY." Aschehougs Konversasjonsleksikon, Oslo, 1969, Vol. 7:94: "who left ONE diary." Bra Böckers Lexikon, Sweden, Vol. 8:203: "world famous by her surviving DIARY." Katalog Över Böcker För Folk - Och Skolbibliotek, Grundkatalog 2, Tillägg 30, Stockholm, 1955:23, an authoritative work used by Swedish librarians and in school libraries says: "Anne's diary was found." The back cover of the 1953 Swedish edition of the diary says: "A DIARY was given to her as a birthday gift when she became thirteen." Das Tagebuch Der Anne Frank, Svenska Bokforlaget Norstedts, Stockholm, 1964: "The DIARY by Anne Frank was written in Dutch" (Forord). The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, Micropaedia, 1975, Vol.-44:279: "On the hiding place floor [contradicted by other sources but supported by Simon Wiesenthal: 176; by the play and The Christian Science Monitor, etc.] he found STORIES Anne had written about elves, bears, and old dwarf and the diary. [observe here that when it was later told that Anne was supposed to have written other stories it came as a complete surprise to many people] He had it published in 1947 as Het Achterhuis." Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1971, Vol. 7:52: "teen age author of A DIARY. . . Her name became famous.. . as a result of the DIARY." Cecil Roth & Geoffrey Wigoder, The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia, 1975:697: "While in hiding during the Nazi occupation of Holland, she wrote... A remarkable `Journal' displaying great literary ability and psychological insight. This was discovered after her death." Meyers Enzyklopadisches Lexikon, Mannheim, 1973, Vol. 9:231 says she kept "ONE DIARY." Wiesenthal and Margit Vinberg make the same claim that it concerns one diary. Encyclopedic works and other information material all create the impression it was one diary. Not one hint is given that more than one diary was involved. No less did the famous drama, a play in two acts by Albert Hackett and his wife Frances Goodrich; which play by the way is claimed by some to have been purloined from Meyer Levin, create the impression it concerned only one diary. One source says the authors "spent years of research and writing" the drama. The same source explains how the play begins: "Ready to leave Amsterdam after the war, Mr. Frank reveals his daughter's diary" (MWD: 207). Thousands have seen this play where they are left with the impression that it was one diary, besides of course being left with the thought the Germans were brutes. What about the printed diary itself? Our Cardinal edition does not give us one hint there was more than one diary. George Stevens clearly seems to have been under the impression there was only one diary. He speaks of "A small red checkered cloth covered book," of the "little diary seen only by herself." He asks the father: "how was it they did not find and destroy the diary?" He tells how the diary was thrown on the floor and how it was discovered. In the same edition, Eleanor Roosevelt likewise speaks of only one diary. The back cover speaks also of one diary. The "Epilogue" mentions that "Anne's diary ends here... Among a pile of old books, magazines, and newspapers which were left lying on the floor, Miep and Elli found Anne's diary." In Anne's third last entry she speaks of:
"These things have made me never mention my views on life nor my
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well considered theories to anyone but my diary and, occasionally, to Margot, I concealed from Daddy everything" (15 July-44:231).
To "conceal" one diary under "intolerable proximity" would be a master job in itself but to conceal several diaries under such condition seems to us to be more than a miracle. Obviously it was the same "my diary" and "a diary" Anne had spoken to on 20 June-42:2,3. In moving to her new home Anne writes:
"The first thing I put in was this diary." She put it into her "school satchel" (8 July42:13).
On 2 Jan.-44:113 she makes the following entry:
"This morning when I had nothing to do I turned over some of the pages of my diary... This diary is of great value to me, because IT has become A BOOK of memoirs in many places, but on a good many pages I could certainly put past and done with.
Our later, English Pan Books (1975) edition continues to maintain the myth there was one diary in spite of what others, like Schnabel had previously written. "Storm Jameson" (an obvious pseudonym; more on this later) writes in his foreword: "Among the presents Anne Frank received on her thirteenth birthday, the one that pleased her most was A BOOK with stiff covers in which she began to keep a journal: she had never tried to write before" (5). It seems that he also is confused over what kind of book it really was. He continues: "the first thing Anne packs to take with her is her journal... she kept her journal, telling it everything she might have told an intimate friend... Found later in the disorder left by the Gestapo, Anne's dear journal was given to her Dutch friends... She was not counting on her journal to lend" (5,6). He proceeds: "And as the last entry in the journal shows plainly"(9). It is obvious he is under the impression that this little diary contained in full the complete printed edition!
The "Epilogue" in the Pan Books edition gives the readers the same impression as does its back cover. How ingrained this notion has become in people's minds that it concerns ONE DIARY may be shown by the experiences we had after people had seen the recent TV show about the diary which we shall talk more about further on. Although many felt the TV show was very confusing they still maintained it concerned ONE DIARY even though they had seen several books, etc., on that show.
The official AFFA brochure continues to promulgate the impression of ONE DIARY. There not even a hint is given to us it may be otherwise. It speaks of the "diary of Anne Frank, WRITTEN IN PRIVACY of an annexe" (4) making us wonder how "private" that could have been seeing they were supposed to have lived in such "intolerable proximity." A picture is shown of a diary on page 5 purporting to be the one she wrote in. We are told that the advantage of Anne over Antigone to St Therese is "that she left a diary" and that her "legend lacks the support of patriotic and ecclesiastical power, but it has the STRENGTH of her AUTHENTIC, self drawn portrait" (5). How "authentic" this work really may be we have already touched on. We are further told that "It took" the father "many weeks to finish reading the diary" (6).
The celebrities like Pope John XXIII, President John F. Kennedy (16) and Father Dominique Pire (17) were apparently all under the impression it concerned one diary. As can be expected the BG:2 claims the same thing: "It was
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in this room that Anne's Diary was found" and on page 3 it says: "When Miep and Elly… were cleaning up they found the exercise books in which Anne had kept her diary… It was then that he was handed the diary of his youngest daughter." What happened to Margot's diary? We do not know. We shall go into this question further but before we do so let us begin our next heading by asking the question: Could there have been more than one diary? Or should we turn the question around: Could there possibly have been only ONE diary?
