第7章 Lesson 7 The Secret Annex

Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1929, but her family left Germany because of the economic crisis and the anti-Semitism accompanying Hitler's rise to power. They resettled in the Netherlands. Anne was just ten years old when Germany invaded Poland and World War II. began. Around six months later, Germany invaded the Netherlands and instituted curfews and anti-Jewish rules, separating Jews from others at schools and businesses. Anne's family tried several times to emigrate to other countries, but they were unsuccessful. Anne's mother received a notice that she was to report to a German work camp, so the family went into hiding in secret apartment behind an office. The Van Pels family joined them a week later, and another person — Fritz Pfeffer moved in about a year later. They all lived together for over two years.

The hiding space was quite large and the entrance was behind a moveable bookcase. They had to remain continuously quiet, and office workers brought them food, clothing, and books. Anne kept busy with her diary, in which she recorded what happened in the annex as well as things about herself. She decided to make her diary into a novel called The Secret Annex and was writing it when she and the other people in hiding, as well as two people who had been helping them were arrested. They were all deported to Aushwitz. The office workers collected Anne's papers for The Secret Annex. To this day nobody is sure how the annex was discovered.

Only Anne's father, Otto, survived. He returned to the Netherlands and had 3000 copies of The Secret Annex published. The novel was reprinted many times and sold very well in many languages.

I. Word List

crisis: emergency situation

anti-Semitism: bad treatment of Jewish people

annex: joining rooms

II. Vocabulary Skills—Find the correct words in the reading.

1. to move to another country: e _ _ _ _ _ _ _

2. unknown by most people: s _ _ _ _ _

3. going together with: a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

4. a book about one's life: d _ _ _ _

5. in trouble with the law: a _ _ _ _ _ _ _

III. Wrong Sentences—Each sentence has one mistake. Correct them.

1. Anne Frank was born in The Netherlands.__________

2. Anne Frank's father's name was Toto.__________

3. After the war, Anne Frank's father returned to The United States.__________

4. The Secret Annex was made into a play.__________

5. Everyone knows how the annex was discovered.__________

IV. Answer the following questions.

1. Why did Anne Frank and her family go into hiding?

___________________________________________________________.

2. Who joined Anne and her family in hiding?

___________________________________________________________.

3. What happened to Anne after she was arrested?

___________________________________________________________.

4. Why do you think Anne's father had The Secret Annex published?

___________________________________________________________.

5. Would you like to read The Secret Annex? Why or why not?

___________________________________________________________.