Anne Frank: The Life of a Young Girl

• Documentary

Episode overview

Her Diary is one of the most widely read books in the world. Yet the time she spent hiding from the Nazis is but one chapter in her remarkable life. Anne Frank has become an international symbol of the horror and hatred of the Nazi regime--an innocent, intelligent young girl swept up by their voracious killing machine. The document she left behind (one of a very few things not taken when the German soldiers raided the "secret annex" of the Frank home in Amsterdam) is a remarkable testament to the strength of the human spirit under the worst of conditions. In this moving biography, the details of Anne's life outside the attic are revealed. From the carefree days of her early childhood in Germany to the harrowing months she spent at Bergen-Belsen before succumbing to typhus, scholars and survivors tell what they know of the young girl who has become a worldwide icon. The story of her life is a tragedy, but the enduring message is one of hope and tolerance that will never die.

60 minutes