In the early days of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime, Otto Frank (Anne's father), a German businessman, made the difficult decision to relocate his family (his wife and two daughters) to Amsterdam. Once the Germans took control of the Netherlands in 1941, Anne was forced to leave her public school and attend a Jewish school instead.
It was on her 13th birthday, June 12, 1942, that she received a red-and-white plaid diary as a gift. That day was the beginning of her intimate relationship with the diary, in which she poured out her thoughts and emotions.
That day she began writing in the book:
“I hope I will be able to confide everything to you, as I have never been able to confide in anyone, and I hope you will be a great source of comfort and support.”
Here is the goodreads synopsis of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank:
Discovered in the attic in which she spent the last years of her life, Anne Frank’s remarkable diary has become a world classic—a powerful reminder of the horrors of war and an eloquent testament to the human spirit.
In 1942, with the Nazis occupying Holland, a thirteen-year-old Jewish girl and her family fled their home in Amsterdam and went into hiding. For the next two years, until their whereabouts were betrayed to the Gestapo, the Franks and another family lived cloistered in the “Secret Annexe” of an old office building. Cut off from the outside world, they faced hunger, boredom, the constant cruelties of living in confined quarters, and the ever-present threat of discovery and death. In her diary Anne Frank recorded vivid impressions of her experiences during this period. By turns thoughtful, moving, and surprisingly humorous, her account offers a fascinating commentary on human courage and frailty and a compelling self-portrait of a sensitive and spirited young woman whose promise was tragically cut short.
Source: Britannica