The Last Days of Freedom
On June 30, 1942, just days before her world would shrink to a few hidden rooms, Anne Frank wrote in her diary, chronicling her life as any normal teenager would. The entry, a week in review, paints a vibrant picture of a life filled with friends, outings, and small, social dramas.
She details her afternoons spent with friends, Jacqueline van Maarsen and G, baking biscuits and enjoying each other’s company. Her Saturday was a mix of religious duty and youthful flirtation, with a trip to the synagogue in the morning and an afternoon with boys, including Hello Silberberg and Freddie Weiss. She notes the small, awkward social dance of boys trying to buy them ice cream, a moment of perfectly normal teenage life.
Sunday brought a change of plans, as she and Jacqueline were thwarted in their attempt to see a film. Her Monday was “a fairly quite day,” spent shopping with her friend Hanneli Goslar and then feeling “bored stiff” later in the day.
This diary entry is a poignant and heartbreaking snapshot of a life that was about to disappear forever. It is a testament to the fact that just before her world was turned upside down, Anne Frank was a normal girl, a girl who loved spending time with her friends, a girl who got bored, and a girl who, in a beautiful, bittersweet irony, lived a life filled with freedom.
