Connections: 1942-44, The Secret
Annex – 2020-21, In Quarantine
Reading Anne Frank – a way to help our students reflect on a
difficult year
“…later on, when everything has returned to normal…” The Diary of a Young Girl, May 2, 1943
In the fall of 2020 I recommended students read George Orwell (“Debate and democracy: How Animal Farm presents a uniquely teachable moment,” The Colorado Sun[i]).
Here's another classic book for grades 7-9, well-matched, I believe, for this coming school year. There are risks, I realize that. If it only recalls the worst moments of quarantine for our 13- and 14-year-olds, if it reads like a nightmare they are desperate to wake up from, it will not meet the moment. However, my guess is that many students will identify with the main character. She is isolated, frustrated, cut off from “normal life.” She struggles to keep her spirits up – “in spite of everything.”[ii]
I am also aware that, in a million ways, The Diary of a Young Girl* is unlike anything young people experienced this past year. Teachers can make it clear the similarities only go so far; much of a year “maintaining social distance” due to a world-wide pandemic should not be equated with Anne’s ordeal. In hiding to avoid capture by the Third Reich. To avoid death in a concentration camp.
And yet, where literature allows us to see connections,
where there is so much that an 8th grader in the United States will relate
to in a journal written by a girl from her 13th birthday to her 15th,
let’s not miss this opportunity. Here is a text against which students can
reflect on their own trying year, now behind them.
This former English teacher can imagine an abundance of writing prompts built upon a close reading of Anne’s Diary.
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How was your 2020 like, or not like, Anne’s
experience?
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How did your spirits bounce up and down? What
helped?
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What did you learn about yourselves?
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As you look back, can you see—through Anne’s reflections—some
of your own struggles?
·
Are there passages from her Diary that help
you explore what you just endured?
Teachers who know their students well will, of course, come up with better prompts. They know best how to create writing assignments that will engage their students’ emotions. All of us who believe in the value of finding the words to capture a difficult experience, who realize many young people are dealing with some degree of post-traumatic stress after a year cut-off from “normal life,” see the potential. To provide teachers with a place to start, I present several moments in Anne’s journal that might resonate with an 8th grader next fall, after surviving the 2020-21 school year.
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CREDIT LINE: Excerpts from THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL: THE DEFINITIVE
EDITION by Anne Frank, edited by Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler, translated
by Susan Massotty, translation copyright © 1995 by Penguin Random House LLC.
Used by permission of Doubleday, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing
Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
_____________
I use a terrific piece by Andre Peterson in The Wall Street Journal as my other text. It opened this way:
When Victoria Vial’s Miami middle school shut down last spring and her classes went online, it felt like the beginning of an adventure. “I was in my pajamas, sitting in my comfy chair,” the 13-year-old recalled. “I was texting my friends during class.”
Then she received her academic progress report. An A and B student before the pandemic, she was failing three classes. The academic slide left her mother, Carola Mengolini, in tears. She insisted her daughter create to-do lists and moved the girl’s workspace into the guest bedroom to pull up her grades.
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From “Loneliness,
Anxiety and Loss: the Covid Pandemic’s Terrible Toll on Kids” A year of school shutdowns and
family trauma leads to social isolation, stress and mental-health issues By Andrea Petersen, The Wall Street Journal, April 9, 2021 https://www.wsj.com/articles/pandemic-toll-children-mental-health-covid-school-11617969003 |
From The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank (published in 1947) Translation by Susan Massotty (published 1996) |
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SMALL PARALLELS |
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[The boys’ mother] worries that her sons’
struggles with remote learning will have serious long-term consequences.
“What skills are they lacking now?” Jonathan,
who is in fourth grade, is slated to take a crucial test this fall, the
results of which will largely determine whether he will land a spot at the
high-performing public middle school where (his brother) Marcus is now…. Marcus, who is in seventh grade, will be
applying to high school. The school Ms. G and her husband want him to attend
requires excellent grades.
As the months piled up, Victoria found it hard to stay motivated to do her schoolwork. Her grades have started falling again. “Every day is the exact same,” she says. “You kind of feel like, what’s the point?” |
Sept. 21, 1942 I’m working hard at French, cramming
five irregular verbs into my head every day…. I threw myself into my school
work…since I have little desire to be a freshman when I’m fourteen or fifteen.
April 5, 1944 For a long time now I didn’t know why I was bothering to do any
schoolwork. The end of the war still seemed so far away... If the war
isn’t over by September, I won’t go back to school, since I don’t want to be
two years behind. |
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Overwhelmed,
bored, changing hair-styles [For] Victoria, “the biggest blow came when her 78-year-old grandfather died of Covid-19. “It was super, super hard,” she says. “I
didn’t know how to feel. All of the people I look up to, they are all, like,
breaking down.” She grew anxious about going to
school—afraid she would catch the virus and spread it to her parents. She turned to social media for solace and to stave off boredom. She gave herself makeovers and posted the results on TikTok. She cut her bangs, then added a pink streak to her hair. She added four new ear piercings with a safety pin.... [Victoria] also can point to some high points during her otherwise tough year. Last summer, she and her friends created an arts-and-crafts camp for some younger children in their neighborhood. They named it “Camp Quaranteam” and earned $3,000.
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Nov. 28, 1942 In bed at night…I get so confused by the sheer amount of things I have to consider that I either laugh or cry, depending on my mood. Jan 28, 1944 Whenever I come sailing in with a new hairstyle, I can read the
disapproval on their faces, and I can be sure someone will ask which movie
star I’m trying to imitate. March 27, 1943 We’ve finished our shorthand course… Let me tell you more about our “time killers” (this is what I call my courses, because all we ever do is try to make the days go by as quickly as possible so we’re that much closer to the end of our time here). |
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Cats and Music [Victoria] snuggles with her kitten, George, a former stray her parents allowed her to keep because they thought a pet would help.
Another escape has been listening to her
favorite songs by artists like Drake, Kanye West and Post Malone.
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March 27, 1944 [Anne could not bring her own cat into the
Secret Annex, but she enjoys Peter’s cat. While listening on radio to a
speech] by our beloved Winston Churchill…. Margot and I are united in a sisterly way
by the sleeping Mouschi, who has taken possession of both our knees. April 11, 1944 There was a beautiful Mozart concert on the radio from six to seven-fifteen; I especially enjoyed the Kleine Nachtmusik. |
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When it
ends And Victoria has big plans for when the pandemic ends. “I want to go to a concert with my friends
so badly,” she says. “I see me and my friends yelling the lyrics at each
other and screaming the artist’s name and just jumping up and down.”
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July 23, 1943 Most of all I long to have a home of
our own, to be able to move around freely… Dec. 24, 1943 I long to ride a bike, dance,
whistle, look at the world, feel young and know that I’m free, and yet can’t
let it show. Feb. 8, 1944 One minute I’m longing for peace and quiet, and the next for a little fun. We’ve forgotten how to laugh—I mean laughing so hard you can’t stop. |
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BIGGER PARALLELS |
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Loneliness
and friendships Mary Alvord, a psychologist in Chevy Chase,
Md., says she is seeing two main issues in her practices: anxiety about
school work and sadness over not being able to see friends. [Victoria] thinks about all the other kids
in the world who are living through this time, too. It helps her feel less
alone. “Social
anxieties” Mihika Deshmukh, 13, says she feels that
“it’s been a lot harder to make friends and talk to new people.” The
eighth-grader…has been attending school remotely since March 2020. During the
entire pandemic school year, she has met up with a friend in person just
once. She and her friends had been connecting via
FaceTime and Zoom regularly, but in recent months those calls have dwindled.
“I feel like a lot of us have drifted apart,” she says. “It has set in that
I’m alone.” She feels sad and lonely at times. When she does connect with friends online now, they prefer to share their Spotify lists and listen to music… Children 12 and younger who had at least
some in-person time with peers—in a Covid-pod, for example—also did better.
The same wasn’t true for teens, however. |
Nov. 19, 1942 I feel wicked sleeping in a warm bed,
while somewhere out there my dearest friends are dropping from exhaustion or
being knocked to the ground. Nov. 27, 1943 [From a painful dream of her good friend Hanneli, who is presumed to be in a concentration camp.] “Oh Anne, why have you deserted me? Help me, help me, rescue me from this hell?” And I can’t help her. I can only stand by and watch while other people suffer and die. Jan. 6, 1944 Much of the last six months of her Diary is about the hope for a real friendship with Peter. My longing for someone to talk to has become so unbearable… March 16, 1944 Anne gave a name to her Diary, “Kitty,” creating “a friend” to whom she can confide. The nicest part is being able to write down all my thoughts and feelings; otherwise, I’d absolutely suffocate. |
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“Mental
toll” In studies on the aftermaths of other
disasters—hurricanes, fires, the 9/11 terrorist attacks—from 30% to half of
children have some initial negative reaction, including symptoms of anxiety,
depression and overall distress, but bounce back. Another third are just fine
from the start. The remaining 15% to 30% have persistent problems. They have
physical symptoms like headaches and fatigue, as well as depression, anxiety
and post-traumatic stress symptoms.
Scientists say they expect the pandemic to
cause deeper and more chronic suffering for more children than most natural
disasters. “What makes the pandemic different is how long it has been going
on and how many people are affected,” says Betty S. Lai, an assistant
professor of counseling psychology at Boston College. |
May 2, 1943 Mr. Van Daan predicts we’ll have to
stay here until the end of ’43. That’s a very long time… But who can assure
us that this war, which has caused nothing but pain and sorrow, will then be
over? Feb. 3, 1944 I’ve reached the point where I hardly
care whether I live or die. The world will keep on turning without me, and I
can’t do anything to change events anyway. March 11, 1944 When will I untangle my jumbled
thoughts? When will I find inner peace again? April 14, 1944 Every day you hear, “If only it were over!” |
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“Multiple
blows” Rarely have
America’s children suffered so many blows, and all at once, as during the
pandemic’s lost year. The crisis has hit children on multiple
fronts. Many have experienced social isolation during lockdowns, family
stress, a breakdown of routines, and anxiety about the virus. It is unusual to have so any challenges at
once, and for so long. …the looming question for this generation is: What
will the long-term effects of the lost year be?
Harvard University researchers who have
been following 224 children ages 7 to 15 found that about two-thirds of them
had clinically significant symptoms of anxiety and depression… That is a huge
jump from the 30% with anxiety and depression symptoms… before the pandemic. The biggest driver of child well-being
during Covid is how parents are functioning, according to a survey of nearly
500 parents with children ages 8 to 17… Particularly delicate are the years from 8
to 14…. It is when children begin to form their identities and start to
separate from their parents. It is also when mental-health issues such as depression and eating disorders
can emerge.
The good news is that in children this age, troubling trajectories can be relatively easily reversed with positive experiences and by supporting kids through challenges, says Dr. Ronald E. Dahl. These kids also are generally more receptive to guidance from caring adults compared with older adolescents. Psychologists and pediatricians say the majority of children will likely bounce back from the pandemic’s challenges, but some might struggle for years. |
July 26, 1943 [German planes are bombing the city of Amsterdam] Meanwhile, there was another air-raid alarm this morning… I’ve had it up to here with alarms. I’ve hardly slept… Sept. 16, 1943 I’ve been taking valerian every day
to fight the
anxiety and depression, but it doesn’t stop me from being more
miserable the next day…. The others here aren’t doing any better. Everyone
here is dreading the great terror known as winter. Oct. 29, 1943 She writes of the fights between Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan. All the bickering, tears and nervous tension have become such a stress and strain that I fall into my bed at night crying and thanking my lucky stars that I have half an hour to myself. I’m doing fine, except I’ve got no appetite. November 8, 1943 It annoys me to be so dependent on
the moods here in the Annex, but I’m not the only one: we’re all subject to
them.… As you can see, I’m currently in the middle of a depression. I simply can’t imagine the world will ever be normal again for us. |
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CONTRASTS |
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Connections matter. So do differences. In
the spring and summer of 1944, before the Gestapo discovers the eight Jews
hiding out in the Secret Annex, Anne–now turning 15–expresses her hopes and fears.
Many passages are haunting. Depending on the context (e.g. age of the
readers), teachers might want to be sure their students have some sense of
the contrast between Anne’s experience in hiding—and their own trials this
past year. Having taught 8th and 9th graders The Diary
of a Young Girl, I know passages such as these (below) can be difficult
to bear. But such passages might be studied and discussed—again, I also believe
they lend themselves to writing exercises—to be certain we do not leave the Diary
without reflecting on critical differences between Anne’s story and our own. |
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April 11, 1944
We’ve been strongly reminded of the fact that we’re Jews in chains,
chained to one spot, without any rights, but with a thousand obligations. We
must put our feelings aside; we must be brave and strong, bear discomfort
without complaint, do whatever is in our power and trust in God. One day this
terrible war will be over. |
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April 18, 1944
Father just got through saying he definitely expects large-scale
operations in Russia and Italy, as well as in the West, before May 20; the
longer the war lasts, the harder it is to imagine being liberated from this
place. |
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May 3, 1944
Every day I feel myself maturing, I feel liberation drawing near, I
feel the beauty of nature and the goodness of people around me. Every day I
think what a fascinating and amusing adventure this is! With all that, why
should I despair? |
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May 9, 1944
Oh, Kit, it’s such lovely weather. If only I could go outside! |
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May 26, 1944
How much longer will this increasingly oppressive, unbearable weight
press down on us?
What will we do if we’re ever…no, I mustn’t write that down. But the
question won’t let itself be pushed to the back of my mind today; on the
contrary, all the fear I’ve ever felt is looming before me in all its horror.
Let something happen soon, even an air raid. Nothing can be more
crushing than this anxiety. Let the end come, however cruel; at least then
we’ll know whether we are to be the victors or the vanquished. |
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June 6, 1944 [D-Day]
Is this really the beginning of the long-awaited liberation? The
liberation we’ve all talked about so much… Will this year, 1944, bring us
victory? ... Oh, Kitty, the best part about the invasion is that I have the
feeling that friends are on the way. |
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July 15, 1944
…for the longest time I’ve felt extremely lonely, left out, neglected
and misunderstood.
“Deep down, the young are lonelier than the old.” I read this in a book
somewhere and it stuck in my head. As far as I can tell, it’s true. |
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July 21, 1944 [Next-to-last entry. After several
paragraphs on Hitler, Germans, and the war, she writes:] …Were
you able to follow that, or have I been skipping from one subject to another
again? I can’t help it, the prospect of going back to school in October is
making me too happy to be logical! |
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CREDIT LINE: Excerpts from THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL: THE DEFINITIVE EDITION by Anne Frank, edited by Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler, translated by Susan Massotty, translation copyright © 1995 by Penguin Random House LLC. Used by permission of Doubleday, an imprint of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All rights reserved.
[i] “Debate and
democracy: How Animal Farm presents a uniquely teachable moment,” The
Colorado Sun, by Peter Huidekoper, Jr., Sept. 27, 2020, https://coloradosun.com/2020/09/27/debate-and-democracy-peter-huidekoper-jr/.
[ii] I borrow that phrase from perhaps the most well-known
passage in her Diary, written shortly before the Nazis discover Anne and
the others in the Secret Annex—and send them off to Westerbook, the closest
transit camp for Jews.
“… I still believe, in spite
of everything, that people are truly good at heart.” (July 15, 1944)
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