Anne Frank's Diary

I'm reading The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition. You may or not be aware that the original book was considerably edited, for several reasons. Her father, Otto, felt that some of her discussions of her mother Edith, Edith's and Otto's marriage, sexual matters, and even of some other people, were not appropriate for the public. Later, with Otto's approval and editorial help from others, a complete edition of the diary was published. (I think that was published right when my eighth grade English teacher had the class reading the earlier version, for what it's worth.)

This is like reading an almost entirely different book. Some sentences I recall from previous readings are worded differently, as well as entire passages that I've never read before. I'm also glad that I had recently read The Hidden Life of Otto Frank and have gthat much more background about the building. It is difficult, even with the floorplan in the book, to picture the Secret Annex and the rest of the building at 263 Prinsengracht, but I've read enough now to understand somewhat.

Nothing about the Holocaust is ever an easy read, but I do recommend these books.

Some hooters, courtesy of the Historian

The Historian gave an exam a couple days ago. Among other things, he got answers such as:

"The Exodus was the Hebrews' concept of Paradise."

"The Exodus was the journey the Egyptians took out of Egypt."

"The Domesday Book was a collection of religious tales about the end of the world."

...right. I love when he shares these with me!

Very Interesting!

Happy 100th birthday to Miep Gies. As you may know, she was one of the people who protected the Frank and Van Pels families in the Secret Annexe, as chronicled in Anne Frank's diary. There was a very nice piece in today's Philadelphia Inquirer telling about her. She thinks she's gotten far too much praise over the years. She was not the only person to help Jews hide, which is true. She's just the most famous. Of course, manyh Christians know of the ten Boom family and what they did to help other Jews. Still, i find it pretty impresive that Miep has lived so long and been such an impressive presence.

We were speculating what would have happened if Otto Frank had not survived the concentration camps; would the diary ever havebeen published? I think that would be quite a topic for alternate history discussion.

Mysterious Item

In his diary, The Naturalist talks about making "an electric bird chart". I cannot begin to imagine what he made that fits this description Amdittedly I have yet to ask The Historian if he has any idea about this. What an odd concept....

Time travel, of a sort.

My father-in-law (hereinafter, The Historian) and I have a wonderful rapport. As you might surmise, there's a shared interest in history of many kinds, as well as several other shared interests (cars, cooking, etc.) We also get along very well. He loves to tease me, as do most people, and at least with him I can give as good as I take.
The Historian followed his father's example in keeping a diary for many years. His father, whom I'll call The Naturalist, was not a man I had the privilege of knowing. The Naturalist died in early 2006 and had Alzheimer's disease for several years before. While I met him once, it was only once and he was, I was told, only a shadow of his former self.
The Naturalist's diaries are in posession of The Historian, and I have been allowed the privilege of reading some of them. (I'm sure I'll be permitted to read all of them, but have only just begun.) It is a thorough privilege indeed. The Naturalist taught in a rural school in upstate New York, among many other things. I've been reading his diary for 1940 right now. His writing style is wonderful- I can picture just what he's describing, and laugh at the sight that it brings to mind some of the time. (He had work painting a garage, which he described as "sloppy work" for which he was wearing "an old raincoat and boots." I'm picturing this man in one of those wonderful bright yellow Mackintoshes of the 1920s, painting this garage. It's even funnier when you know that he had hair the color of a copper penny.)
This is unusual reading, but very well worth it.