Understanding Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl: A Student Casebook to Issues, Sources, and Historical Documents

By Hedda Rosner Kopf

Book Overview

Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl is the most widely read text about the Holocaust, yet it reveals only one example of the tragic consequences of the Nazi policy to eliminate the Jews. This casebook enriches Anne Frank's remarkable personal account with a variety of historical documents that illuminate the political and social context of anti-Semitism in Germany and the Holocaust. It includes an account of the Frank family's life in Germany before emigrating to Holland; first-person accounts of Anne's last seven months in deportation and concentration camps; other Holocaust narratives in the form of memoirs, letters, and children's diaries; an excerpt from Zlata's Diary, the story of a young girl caught in the war in Bosnia which has been compared to Anne Frank's; official Nazi pronouncements on The Final Solution to the Jews; and newspaper reports and editorials of the horrific events occurring between 1939 and 1945. All of these materials will help the student to better understand the historical context of Anne's experience, and the teacher to select appropriate materials to sensitize students to this period in history.

Documents and discussion materials are organized into chapters on the Frank family history, including a chronology; the Jews in Holland; children in the Holocaust and their rescuers; a narrative overview and chronology of anti-Semitism in modern Germany; the Holocaust; and other Holocaust stories. Kopf also addresses the psychological issues of adolescent development so dramatically illustrated in Anne's diary and looks at her writing as carefully crafted literature. Each chapter contains study questions, topics for research papers and class discussions, and lists of further reading for exploring the historical as well as the personal issues leading to and culminating in the Holocaust. This is an invaluable source for interdisciplinary, English, and world history classes.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0313296073
• ISBN13: 9780313296079
• Release Date: August 1997
• Publisher: Greenwood
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Meloncoly touched my soul.

When I read this book all I could feel is tears coming to my eyes as I read the book of a life time.I think the saddest part was the end when they were all talk ing about how much they were going to enjoy life.But while their thoughts were in heaven hell(The Nazies)Were donw stairs.

A true learning experience!

First of all, the author of this book, Hedda Rosner Kopf, is my aunt. And the "Other Holocaust Story" about Anna Gelbman is about my grandmother. Living in a jewish family which has grown with the realism of the holocaust I would have expected myself to know quite a bit about the events of the Holocaust. I am familar with The Diary of Anne Frank; the dairy itself, the play, etc. But, while reading this book I learned a lot about the holocaust that surprised me. Mostly, because I was not aware of it. The book is extremely well written, and a wonderful source of information about Anne Frank's life and the rest of the holocaust. It give facts and opinions, as well as allows you to question your own knowledge and beliefs about the Holocaust. It's a wonderful tool for anyone teaching the Diary of Anne Frank or a student doing a research project on the subject. I feel that it is a terrific book regardless of my relationship to the author. If you have an interest is the Holocaust, Anne Frank, or any other people in her situation like Zlata Filipovik who lived in Sarajevo (Zlata's Diary is an excellent book, too); you should definetly read this book. Thank you for your time.