Books

Anne Frank Diary Illustrated

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12 October 2017

By Alex Khalil

One of the most read books in the world has been made into a comic-book format, visualising what the young girl must have gone through all those years ago. The diary, which Anne Frank nicknamed Kitty, has been given a splash of colour by the creators of Oscar-nominated animation Waltz with Bashir, with an animated film coming as soon as 2019.

The illustrator, David Polonsky was initially hesitant to begin work on the project, afraid of becoming part of the ‘Holocaust Industry’, one that is often accused of making money off The Diary of a Young Girl. He hopes, however, that the images will continue to promote debates about people forced from their homes by world leaders waging war.

‘It is one story about one person, and each immigrant has a different story, too.’

The story of Anne Frank brought to light how horrible it must have been for someone so young. She was eventually found and taken to a concentration camp, but her diary serves as a ray of optimism, detailing her struggles as a teenager living in such an awful time.

A spokesperson from the Anne Frank Trust, Eilidh Lean, said:

‘Six million people [approximate number of Jews murdered during World War Two] is difficult to get their heads around. Anne puts a human face on it. You can tell she’s 13. She’s going through puberty. They can empathise with her.”

But reimaging Anne’s famous prose in cartoon form was not an easy decision.’

Obviously, it is a large task to take on after so many other people have interpreted it through theatre and cinema. Well, given the few images we have, it looks incredible.

The Graphic Diary of Anne Frank is already available in Germany and the Netherlands, with an English version coming to the US and UK early next year.

Might be worth a purchase.

 

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