One of the most inspirational books I have ever read is ANNE FRANK: THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL...
I also believe it's an important book because, not only does it portray the strength of the human spirit, but I think there is a deeper prophetic message that can be found within its pages.
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Yet when Ann Frank penned her diary while hiding from the Nazis, she had no idea of the impact her writings would have upon future generations.
Besides, concerning the prophetic aspect of her diary, history tends to repeat itself. In addition, both the Old and New Testaments reveal a future time of persecution of the Jewish people unlike no other in the past. Thus, her book, which is still in print and has been widely circulated, may provide hope for my fellow Jews. For these Jews will be seeking escape from the one whom the Bible calls the Man of Sin, The Beast, and the Son of Perdition. Titles of the coming world ruler, known to Christians as the Antichrist, who will seek to exterminate every God-fearing person of the planet. |
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Anne Frank was a fourteen-year-old girl living in Holland when World War II began. And as Adolf Hitler and his forces began to overrun many of the nations of Europe, his soldiers tried to round up and arrest as many Jews as possible and ship them to various concentration camps, where many of the Jews would die.
Some Jews, however, tried to hide themselves from the Nazis, hoping that the war would be over before they were found. Anne and her family were among these. With the help of a few Gentile friends, the Frank's were permitted to hide in a warehouse, where there was a maze of small rooms that were in the rear of the building. While their friends who arranged all this kept the Frank family fed and supplied with whatever items they needed, even in war torn Holland, where it was hard to obtain even the most basic necessities.
But as things would go, as the war was nearing its end the Frank's were discovered. The "secret annexe" as Anne nicknamed it was a secret no more. Because on or about August 4, 1944, on information provided by an unnamed informant, the police raided the building where the Franks were living. They were quickly dispatched to concentration camps.
Then, in March 1945, in the infamous Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Anne's older sister Margot was the first to become ill and die. While Anne died a short time later. Their remains buried somewhere on or near the grounds of the camp along with tens of thousands of their fellow Jews, while their mother died at another camp. Only Anne's father, Otto, survived. When, after the war, Otto Frank would make the painful journey back to the hiding place he and his family stayed in for about 25 months. Here, in a pile of rubble on the floor of his daughter's former room, sat her diary, untouched. Later he would publish it and Anne Frank would shake the literary world.
So with the possibility of a future holocaust in mind, I would like to quote a portion of Anne's diary for Friday, April 14, 1944, which she penned inside her stuffy little room while hiding from her enemies:
"... We have been pointedly reminded that we are in hiding, that we are Jews in
chains, chained to one spot, without any rights, but with a thousand duties. We
Jews mustn't show our feelings, must be brave and strong, must accept all
inconveniences and not grumble, must do what is within our power and trust in
God...
"Who has inflicted this upon us? Who has made us Jews different from all the other
people? Who has allowed us to suffer so terribly up till now? It is God that has made
us as we are, but it will be God, too, who will raise us up again. If we bear all this
suffering and if there are still Jews left, when it is over, then Jews, instead of being
doomed, will be held up as an example. Who knows, it might even be our religion
from which the world and all peoples learn good, and for that reason, and that
reason only, do we have to suffer now. We can never become just Netherlanders,
or just English, or representatives of any country for that matter...
"Be brave! Let us remain aware of our task and not grumble, a solution will come.
God has never deserted our people. Right through the ages, there have been Jews,
through all the ages they have had to suffer, but it has made them strong too; the
weak fall, but the strong will remain and never go under!
Anne Frank"
D.B.
Some Jews, however, tried to hide themselves from the Nazis, hoping that the war would be over before they were found. Anne and her family were among these. With the help of a few Gentile friends, the Frank's were permitted to hide in a warehouse, where there was a maze of small rooms that were in the rear of the building. While their friends who arranged all this kept the Frank family fed and supplied with whatever items they needed, even in war torn Holland, where it was hard to obtain even the most basic necessities.
But as things would go, as the war was nearing its end the Frank's were discovered. The "secret annexe" as Anne nicknamed it was a secret no more. Because on or about August 4, 1944, on information provided by an unnamed informant, the police raided the building where the Franks were living. They were quickly dispatched to concentration camps.
Then, in March 1945, in the infamous Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Anne's older sister Margot was the first to become ill and die. While Anne died a short time later. Their remains buried somewhere on or near the grounds of the camp along with tens of thousands of their fellow Jews, while their mother died at another camp. Only Anne's father, Otto, survived. When, after the war, Otto Frank would make the painful journey back to the hiding place he and his family stayed in for about 25 months. Here, in a pile of rubble on the floor of his daughter's former room, sat her diary, untouched. Later he would publish it and Anne Frank would shake the literary world.
So with the possibility of a future holocaust in mind, I would like to quote a portion of Anne's diary for Friday, April 14, 1944, which she penned inside her stuffy little room while hiding from her enemies:
"... We have been pointedly reminded that we are in hiding, that we are Jews in
chains, chained to one spot, without any rights, but with a thousand duties. We
Jews mustn't show our feelings, must be brave and strong, must accept all
inconveniences and not grumble, must do what is within our power and trust in
God...
"Who has inflicted this upon us? Who has made us Jews different from all the other
people? Who has allowed us to suffer so terribly up till now? It is God that has made
us as we are, but it will be God, too, who will raise us up again. If we bear all this
suffering and if there are still Jews left, when it is over, then Jews, instead of being
doomed, will be held up as an example. Who knows, it might even be our religion
from which the world and all peoples learn good, and for that reason, and that
reason only, do we have to suffer now. We can never become just Netherlanders,
or just English, or representatives of any country for that matter...
"Be brave! Let us remain aware of our task and not grumble, a solution will come.
God has never deserted our people. Right through the ages, there have been Jews,
through all the ages they have had to suffer, but it has made them strong too; the
weak fall, but the strong will remain and never go under!
Anne Frank"
D.B.
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