The Diary of Anne Frank

Act One

The play opens in an attic, decorated sparsely, but with the intention of becoming a home. It is July 6, 1942. World War II is waging outside on the streets of Amsterdam, and the Nazis have taken control of the city. The Frank family — Anne, her older sister (Margot), and her parents (Otto and Edith) — arrives, soaking wet from the rain and, as they shed their layers, one can see a yellow Star of David sewn to each one. It is an identification badge, proclaiming for all to see that the members of the Frank family are Jews -- Juden -- and thus, will be treated differently.

Throughout the play, Anne addresses the audience as if she were writing in her diary. Here, she explains how the Frank family came to be in the attic, or Annex, as they call it. The family originally lived in Germany, but immigrated to Holland to escape Hitler’s regime nine years before, in the year 1933. The Nazis went on to invade Holland in 1940 , however, and quickly conquered the small country. In