15 Important Quotes From Anne Frank's Diary

Black and white photo of Anne Frank writing in a notebook while sitting at a desk.

Website Anne Frank Stichting, Amsterdam/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

When Anne Frank turned 13 on June 12, 1942, she received a red-and-white checkered diary as a birthday present. For the next two years, Anne wrote in her diary, chronicling her move into the Secret Annex, her troubles with her mother, and her blossoming love for Peter (a boy also hiding in the annex).

Her writing is extraordinary for many reasons. Certainly, it is one of the very few diaries salvaged from a young girl in hiding, but it also a very honest and revealing account of a young girl coming of age despite her surrounding circumstances.

Ultimately, Anne Frank and her family were discovered by the Nazis and sent to concentration camps. Anne Frank died in Bergen-Belsen in March 1945 of typhus.

On People

"I've learned one thing: you only really get to know a person after a fight. Only then can you judge their true character!"

September 28, 1942

"Mother has said that she sees us more as friends than as daughters. That's all very nice, of course, except that a friend can't take the place of a mother. I need my mother to set a good example and be a person I can respect, but in most matters, she's an example of what not to do."

January 6, 1944

"I want friends, not admirers. People who respect me for my character and my deeds, not my flattering smile. The circle around me would be much smaller, but what does that matter, as long as they're sincere?"

March 7, 1944

"Have my parents forgotten that they were young once? Apparently, they have. At any rate, they laugh at us when we're serious, and they're serious when we're joking."

March 24, 1944

"To be honest, I can't imagine how anyone could say 'I'm weak' and then stay that way. If you know that about yourself, why not fight it, why not develop your character?"

July 6, 1944

Spirituality

"Sometimes I think God is trying to test me, both now and in the future. I'll have to become a good person on my own, without anyone to serve as a model or advise me, but it'll make me stronger in the end."

October 30, 1943

"Peter added, 'The Jews have been and always will be the chosen people!' I answered, 'Just this once, I hope they'll be chosen for something good!'"

February 16, 1944

Living Under Nazi Rule

"I long to ride a bike, dance, whistle, look at the world, feel young and know that I'm free, and yet I can't let it show. Just imagine what would happen if all eight of us were to feel sorry for ourselves or walk around with the discontent clearly visible on our faces. Where would that get us?"

December 24, 1943

"I've asked myself again and again whether it wouldn't have been better if we hadn't gone into hiding; if we were dead now and didn't have to go through this misery, especially so that the others could be spared the burden. But we all shrink from this thought. We still love life, we haven't yet forgotten the voice of nature, and we keep hoping, hoping for...everything."

May 26, 1944

On Anne Frank Quotes

"Writing in a diary is a really strange experience for someone like me. Not only because I've never written anything before, but also because it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a 13-year-old schoolgirl."

June 20, 1942

"Riches, prestige, everything can be lost. But the happiness in your own heart can only be dimmed; it will always be there, as long as you live, to make you happy again."

February 23, 1944

"I'm honest and tell people right to their faces what I think, even when it's not very flattering. I want to be honest; I think it gets you further and also makes you feel better about yourself."

March 25, 1944

"I don't want to live in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I've never met. I want to go on living even after my death!"

April 5, 1944

"We have many reasons to hope for great happiness, but...we have to earn it. And that's something you can't achieve by taking the easy way out. Earning happiness means doing good and working, not speculating and being lazy. Laziness may look inviting, but only work gives you true satisfaction."

July 6, 1944

"It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart."

July 15, 1944

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Rosenberg, Jennifer. "15 Important Quotes From Anne Frank's Diary." ThoughtCo, Jul. 31, 2021, thoughtco.com/anne-frank-quotes-1779479. Rosenberg, Jennifer. (2021, July 31). 15 Important Quotes From Anne Frank's Diary. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/anne-frank-quotes-1779479 Rosenberg, Jennifer. "15 Important Quotes From Anne Frank's Diary." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/anne-frank-quotes-1779479 (accessed March 28, 2024).