If Anne Frank had survived

[Amanda Knight]

Do you think she would have become as famous as she is now? I don't think she would have done, her diary wouldn't have been so powerful as it is today. I think it moves people because right at the end of the diary, it says ANNE FRANK'S DIARY ENDS HERE...I just think it is so powerful and tragic now...what do you all think?

[Vivienne Rousseau]

Looks like I'm not the only one who's seen the works.

Yes, I believe she would be famous. Her story is very powerful and moving; despite being trapped in an attic for a while (I forget how long, sadly) because of the Nazis, to me, she seemed like a strong girl. If she was still alive, I would love to have an autographed copy of her diary.

[Amanda Knight]

She was in hiding for two years...It would be amazing to have met her...I saw the BBC adaptation of Anne Frank in January and it was amazing! Didn't show the Concentration camps scenes, just had each attic member walking down the stairs and pausing on each to tell the audiance about how they ended up and then had Anne as the last person coming down, with her staring back at the camera up the stairs and then had Meip finding the diary and it ended there...it was quietly done, the ending as we all knew what would happen...very touching.

[⊕ Owen Pearson]

I don't think it would have been published had she been alive. She, as most people would, wouldn't give away that type of personal literature.

[Heidi]

You do have a point. Not everyone is comfortable publishing a diary, whether it be a war diary, a sports diary, or the like. Still, if she did, I would have it autographed. It's a beautiful piece of work.

[MSG. Steven J. McMillan]

If she survived and decided (key word here) to publish her diary after the war, then she would wreak a small fifteen-minutes of fame from the limelight and slowly fade over time. Sure, there would movies and exhibitions held in regard to her diary, as there has been with her deceased and her diary being published. I do not think she would be AS famous though.

For starters, her diary is not the most moving thing I've ever read. The only moving thing about it, is the fact she unfortunately dies and we all know, in stories and fairytales, the hero or in this case, the story-teller never dies. However, she did and this what turns her diary into a piece of immortal literature, recording history and emotions.

I have read many published diaries from second-world-war victims, ones who have survived and I can honestly say, some of their tales are far worse then what Anne experienced on a daily basis. Sure, they didn't die, whereas Anne did and that in it's own right, could be considered the worst outcome. Obviously.

For starters, there are no more than a few first-world-war veterans alive today and I read the accounts of a veteran known as Harry Patch, who is still alive. The things that poor man has gone through, wow, it makes Anne Frank's story look timid. I'm not just saying that, but this man battled through two entire wars, plus his personal life and what problems occured there. He IS still alive and he has little, no fame, whereas people like Anne-Frank have ten fold to what he would ever obtain from the limelight. Yet, his life experiences far exceed Anne Frank's, I have to say.

So as I mentioned, Anne Frank was only made famous and her literature immortalised on the basis that she died, tragicly. People like Harry Patch, who is well over a hundred years old, foretold his life's experiences of two whole wars and more, is barely even known. Which saddens me greatly and I'm not saying his story should over-throw Anne Frank's, but he has a lot more to tell - granted and he went through a lot more than Anne Frank, undoubtedly. Yet, until the day he dies, he will never be famous... Sick culture we live in today.

Does it truly take a hero to die, for us to remember or even want to know them?
That is one of the questions you should be asking.

[Vivienne Rousseau]

Does it truly take a hero to die, for us to remember or even want to know them?
That is one of the questions you should be asking.

A wise statement, Steven.

It is my belief (especially as one who loves writing) that all history should be recorded; we should never forget what happened. Perhaps Anne Frank is so popular because of how she connects with the younger generation - like today's teens and pre-teens, she was becoming a woman, but in a time when her people were not as free as they are today. The children of the world's more peaceful nations never had to fear if some ruthless dictator would end their lives one night, or have to live in an attic because their religion was hated by a single man of great power. With Anne Frank, they can see a different perspective, and just how lucky they are.

I don't know. Maybe I'm babbling, maybe I'm not. Some people today have to live like Anne Frank, in fear of being killed for their beliefs or ethnicity, sadly enough. But for those who don't, as I said before, maybe Anne Frank allows them to walk in another shoes.

[MSG. Steven J. McMillan]

Thank you,

Yes, I have to agree completely. I guess everything falls down to the target audience at the end of the day and the Jewish faith is still strong as ever; Two thousand years or more down the line. So her accounts wouldn't just be symbolised as being something people could relate too as children, a young generation, but anyone with the Jewish faith and I'm guessing straight away, that's one big audience to sell your story too. Excluding all your historians, common readers and second-world-war fans.

So yes, I put you right completely. I guess her audience was wide and with a very interesting story to tell, it wouldn't be hard to captiviate your audience. Still, I believe if she were alive, her story wouldn't have been as famous as it currently is. I'm not saying she would tarnish her career for publishing her diary, just by being alive, but people would care less to a degree and for as long as she had a breath in her body, she could tell her story a thousand times and maybe, just maybe, it's those little things within her diary that are unknown, which keep people captiviated.

When I say unknown, I mean, we will never know and there is no author there to question about what our curiosity needs to hear. Simple things even, like, "Were you scared?" as lame as that may sound, we will never know the mass-degree of how she felt that emotion, because she never lived to tell the tale in detail. So it leaves readers thinking; "I wonder if she was so frightened, she..." Y'see, the old curiosity kicks in and with a good story, you must keep your audience thinking. Even after it's ended.

If she survived, I don't think her audience would have been kept captive, as they are now. So that's another small reason, as to why I believe she would not be as famous as she would be deceased. I also believe her death is the most shocking and controversial part of her diary, again, it's a cliff-hanger to a story and it gets you thinking; Wow, I wonder how she died exactly and I wonder how she was feeling within her last days? Something we will never know.

One thing I can personally state as a writer, is that the unknown and curiosity is what keeps your audience reading and wanting more. Fictional and Factual, this one main rule applies immensly and the fact she was a real person, experiencing everything she wrote, is what adds a zest of spice. As I keep saying, if she survived, her story would not have such a flavour...

[Heidi]

YES!

Yes yes YES!

I agree with you completely! Her book has a HUGE target audience, and our curiosity is perked by her diary, in which we must find answers to the questions we would ask her. Writers do the same with their characters - we must find the answers to the questions we would ask them by reading the book.