The Two Sides of Anne
In a letter written to her grandmother, Alice Frank, in July 1941, Anne Frank revealed a world of both teenage complaint and quiet contentment. She was in Beekbergen, on a trip with her friend Sanne Ledermann and her family, visiting a relative named Eva Kämpfer. While Kämpfer found Anne to be a difficult guest, moody and often complaining of boredom, Anne’s letter tells a slightly different story.
Anne’s letter begins with a classic teenage gripe: the bad weather. But she quickly shifts to the simple joys of her vacation. She and Sanne spent their days playing with a one-and-a-half-year-old child named Raymond, a small, innocent pleasure that filled her time. She found comfort in her surroundings, describing the “very old-fashioned but cosy” house and the small room she shared with Sanne. She was able to read, a passion that provided an escape from the boredom she might have felt.
The most poignant part of the letter is her final line: “We sleep much more peacefully here than in Amsterdam, there’s nothing to bother us.” This simple statement is a heartbreaking premonition. It reveals that even in her home in Amsterdam, a sense of danger was already encroaching on her life. The quiet of Beekbergen was a temporary sanctuary, a place where she could finally rest without fear. This letter is a powerful testament to the fact that Anne was a complex girl with a spirited personality and a quiet longing for peace.
