Anne Frank
The author of the diary. She was born on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt, Germany. Moved to Holland to find a better place for the family to live. She is very intelligent and perceptive, and she wants to become a writer. She dies of typhus in the concentration camp at Bergen-Belsen in late February or early March of 1945.
Margot Frank
Anne's older sister. She was born in Frankfurt in 1926. Anne thinks that she is pretty, smart, emotional, and everyone's favorite. First to be called up to a work camp. She dies of typhus in the concentration camp a few days before Anne does.
Otto Frank
Anne's father. He is practical and kind, and Anne feels a particular kinship to him. After the Nazis came to power in Germany, he moved to Amsterdam in 1933 to protect his family from persecution. Owns a spice company in Holland until the family goes into hiding. They hide above his old office. He is the only member of the family to survive the war.
Edith Frank
Anne's mother. Anne feels little closeness or sympathy with her mother, and the two have a very tumultuous relationship. Anne thinks her mother is too sentimental and critical.
Mr. van Daan
The father of the second family that hides in the annex along with the Franks. He had worked with Otto Frank in Amsterdam. His actual name is Hermann van Pels, but Anne changes his name in the diary. He is temperamental, speaks his mind openly, and is not afraid to cause friction, especially with his wife, with whom he fights frequently and openly.
Mrs. van Daan
Mr. van Daan's wife. Her actual name is Auguste van Pels, but Anne calls her Petronella in her diary. Anne initially describes her as a friendly, teasing woman, but later calls her an instigator. She is a fatalist and can be petty, egotistical, flirtatious, stingy, and disagreeable. She frequently complains about the family's situation—criticism that Anne does not admire or respect.
Peter van Daan
The teenage son of the van Daans. Anne first dislikes him, but later they become close friends. He is quiet, timid, honest, and sweet to Anne, but he does not share her strong convictions. During their time in the annex, Anne and him develop a romantic attraction, which Mr. Frank discourages. He is Anne's first kiss, and he is her one confidant and source of affection and attention in the annex.
Albert Dussel
A dentist and an acquaintance of the Franks who hides with them in the annex. His real name is Fritz Pfeffer. Anne finds him particularly difficult to deal with because he shares a room with her. His wife is a Christian, so she does not go into hiding, and he is separated from her.
Mr. Kugler /Kraler
A man who helps hide the Franks in the annex. He was Mr. Frank's business associate. He is arrested along with Kleiman(Koophius) in 1944 but escapes in 1945.
Mr. Kleiman/Koophuis
Another man who helps the Franks hide. He is sick and has surgery while the Franks are in hiding. He is arrested in 1944 but released because of poor health.
Bep Voskuijl/Elli
A worker (typist)in Otto Frank's office. She helps the family by serving as a liaison to the outside world.
Miep Gies
A secretary at Otto's office who helps the Franks hide. After the Franks are arrested, she hides the diary away in a desk drawer and keeps it there, unread, until Otto's return in 1945.
Jan Gies
Miep's husband; Henk
Peter Schiff
The love of Anne's life from the sixth grade. he is a boy one year older than Anne. He is also referred to as Peter Wessel.
Winston Churchill
Prime Minister of England
Mousche
Peter's Cat
The Gestapo
German Police Force
Mussolini
Italian Leader
Adolf Hitler
Leader of the Nazis
Boche
Warehouse cat
Pim
Anne's nickname for her father
Anneke/Annele
Nicknames for Anne
Melancholy
gloomy state of mind
Inquisitve
Curious
Ceased
Stopped
Rebuke
Criticism
Speculate
Guess
Devour
eat hungrily
Obstinate
Stubborn
Clandestine
Secret
Cunning
Cleverness
Consolation
Comfort
Wretched
Miserable
Fanatic
person with extreme enthusiasm for something
Trivial
of very little importance, insignificant
Pedantic
Exact
Capitulate
Surrender
Tumult
violence, confusion
Somber
Dismal or dull as in color
Morale
Spirit
Optimism
Tendency to look on the bright side
Superfluous
More than what is required
Adroit
Skillful
Hospitable
Welcoming
Sabotage
Undermine
Concentration Camps
where the Jewish people were sent as prisoners. Relatively small areas with inadequate facilities. Many were forced to work or to await execution.
Star of David
A Yellow six pointed star the Nazis forced Jews to wear on their clothing
SS
Special police force in Nazi Germany founded as a personal bodyguard for Adolf Hitler 1925
Auschwitz
A nazi concentration camp for Jewish people in southwestern Poland during World War II. Said to be one of the worst concentration camps.
Ration Books
Contain coupons that people use to buy a limited amount of food and supplies
Ghettos
were parts of a number of cities in Europe in which Jews were permitted to live
Bergen-Belsen
Concentration camp where Anne and Margot died
Jewish restrictions in Amsterdam
-Had to wear the yellow star -Could not own bicycles -Banned from trams and were forbidden to drive -Only allowed to do their shopping between 3 and 5 in shops they were allowed in -Must be indoors by 8 PM. -Forbidden from theaters, cinemas, and other places of entertainment -Could not take part in public sports. Must go to their own schools.
D-Day
Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June 1944 to August 1944, resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany's control.
WWII
1939-1945; Allies vs Axis powers; Started with Germany's invasion of Poland; Allies defeated Nazi Germany and Japan