by Elizabeth Pierce Ritz

Created on: May 01, 2008   Last Updated: April 08, 2011

There is a prelude before Anne Frank's life-and her diary-can be fully understood. The backdrop in her parents life held three pivotal events. World War One waged from 1914 to 1918; Germany admitted defeat in WW1. Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany's loss in WW1. Subsequently, World War Two arose in 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland. Hitler's ego kept his sight on total dominance of Europe. World War II began, in part, to bring about Germany's redemption after an embarrassing defeat in WW1. The two wars were knit together by Adolph Hitler's mentally unravelled yet crafty plans. He used anti-Jew propaganda to bring about the worst manipulations of events and people. Germany helped pave the way for Hitler to bring about the lowest humanity possible and idly conceded to his complete disregard for human life. Anne and her family were Jews who suffered with courage and hope during Hitler's diabolical reign.

A succinct account of Hitler, his life and motivations would be voluminous. As he searched for the cause and effect for Germany's loss of WW1, his mind progressed to blaming the Jews as being the most influential source. In his lunacy against the Jews, he developed the idea of a superior race of people he called 'Aryan'. His definition of Aryan was blond, blue eyed and fair skinned. Later he developed a model of the Aryan family tree. Any Jew with at least one Aryan grandparent was deemed to be Aryan and likewise exempt from the horrors he would impose on the Jews.

Hitler's cumulative rise to power brought concurrent restraints against the Jews. They were dismissed from public office, civil service and teaching. They were not allowed to work in journalism, radio, movies and theater. He brought on one oppression worse than the next. Eventually Jews were barred from practicing law, medicine, and business. Private employ was no longer allowed. Laws segregated Jews from their Aryan neighbors, denying Jews to attend the same schools. Finally, Hitler's answer to "the Jewish question"-what to do with the Jews- had evolved to his "final solution"-to exterminate them.

In her diary Anne recounts a short history of her family. Otto and Edith Frank were her parents. She had one sibling, Margot, who was her older sister. In the summer of 1933, shortly after Hitler became Chancellor of Germany, Edith Frank, along with daughters Margot and

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