Me llamo Ana, dijo, Ana Frank

by Jacqueline van Maarsen, Mercedes López-Ballesteros (Translator)

Me llamo Ana, dijo, Ana Frank es la historia de una amistad.
Jacqueline van Maarsen rememora las vivencias compartidas con Ana Frank, y también relata su experiencia como judía perseguida por el régimen nazi.
Con la muerte de Ana Frank no terminó la amistad entre ambas. Otto Frank, el padre de Ana, fue quien comunicó a Jacqueline su muerte y quien le mostró los diarios que Ana había escrito. Otto se aferró desesperadamente a la amiga más querida de su hija fallecida. Y precisamente esta amistad hizo que Jacqueline no revelara en las primeras décadas posteriores a la guerra que había sido amiga de Ana Frank, y que era la Jopie de su Diario. Sólo apareció en público para desenmascarar algunas "medias verdades" que se divulgaban sobre Ana Frank y reivindicar el valor de su legado. Precisamente en El legado -libro II de este volumen- relata la colaboración con Otto y la Fundación Ana Frank, con la que no siempre estuvo de acuerdo en algunas de sus actuaciones.
Otro de los aspectos en los que profundiza Jacqueline es en la relación con su madre, figura crucial en su vida y que murió a la edad de 101 años.
"Querida Jacqueline: escribo esta carta para despedirme de ti, lo que te sorprenderá, pero el destino lo ha decidido así." Carta de despedida de Ana a Jacqueline 25 de septiembre de 1942

Genres: Holocaust, Nonfiction, Biography, History, World War II, Memoir, Autobiography

370 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Jacqueline Yvonne Meta van Maarsen was a Dutch author and bookbinder. She was best known for her friendship with diarist Anne Frank. Her Christian mother was able to remove the J (Jew) signs from the family's identity cards (van Maarsen's father was Jewish) during the Second World War, thereby helping the van Maarsens escape the Nazis.

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This autobiographical work adds deeper understanding to those interested in knowing more about the narrative of Anne Frank.
It is told by the girl referred to in Anne Frank's diary as her 'best friend'.
The book is divided into three parts telling of the story of the author Jacqueline's mother Eline, Jacqueline herself, and of her father Hijman.
Jacqueline had a Jewish father and a French gentile mother, so it is a unique story of somebody coming from both worlds, although through help of relatives, she did not have to go into hiding and was not transported to the camps, so this is one some levels more the account of an observer.

The author reveals her own discomfort at both their history teacher's strong words against Catholics while discussing the Spanish Inquisition at the Jewish Lyceum, as well as her pain at hearing the anti-Semitic statements from friend who did not know she was half Jewish.
It explores the author's friendship with Anne, and Anne's zest for life, liveliness and sexual curiosity.
The author explains how her some of her family and friends operated in the Dutch resistance to Nazi rule, and her meetings with Otto Frank after the war who handed her Anne's diary.

In an interview with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz it is revealed that Even though she is married to a Jew and she loves Israel, Jacqueline Van Maarsen does not feel herself to be Jewish. "After the war, I didn't want to be a Jew anymore," she says. "I suffered a lot because of my Jewishness, though not like most of the Jews of Holland, and I thought - I don't want to be Jew, and I also don't want to be a Catholic. I know that for the Jews, I'm not considered Jewish, and I'm not really a Catholic, but it really doesn't matter to me anymore. I am who I am. I saw the discrimination against the Jews and I felt it, but I can't say that I'm a Jew."

[Joan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am not sure if it is something to do with the author's European background or if the translator was not up to par, but I found the book really odd in many ways. The subtitle should have been the title but of course the publisher couldn't resist having Anne Frank's name in the title. It probably made the difference between sales in the double digits and sales in the 2 digits, say 80 vs 26,000. This is purely a guess of course. Jacqueline makes it sound as though Anne was an incidental part of her experience, which I imagine was true. She really hadn't known Anne for many years after all. I do believe that they were close friends. But that isn't what struck me as really odd. She refers to her parents often by their first name, which made it hard to be sure who she was talking about. Again, that could be a European custom to refer to parents by their first names? She repeatedly describes herself as reticent but has absolutely no problem talking about a scandal in her mother's family before Jacqueline was born. Part 3 of the book is told as if from her father's point of view, and I have no real idea why it was in the book. Her father probably suffered the most of their nuclear family in that all his relatives perished in the Holocaust and his wife recanted on being labelled "Jewess" in the orthodox community which likely saved jacqueline's and her sister's lives since they could then take off the Star of David badge from their clothes. Jacqueline thinks it also saved her father's life as well, but I didn't find that part convincing. Of course, her father took this as a betrayal of him and his family to have his wife renounce Judaism particularly since she told him after she had accomplished the deed. I certainly can't blame the lady for this. Considering how few Jews survived the war, this likely saved the family from Anne's fate. She also insists that she resisted talking about Anne with Mr. Frank, yet there is a picture in the book that seems to imply they were very close after the war. I suspect some of it may have been resentment of Anne. Anne was clearly the dominant force in their friendship and by her death remained the dominant force. No one would have purchased this book if it hadn't been for Anne's friendship. I suspect Jacqueline felt rather smothered and resentful of Anne at the same time she loved her. I'm glad I read this and recommend it to other people who have deep interests in Anne Frank but otherwise cannot really recommend this book.
Addendum: I just lowered my rating to one star. I happened to click on the author's name and realized she pretty much made a living off of Anne Frank's death. Her first book on Anne came out in 1990 and she has at least 4 titles on her friend Anne. I'm assuming the one Dutch title listed is the same as one of the English titles. I could respect her for writing one book or possibly 2, but 4 is just taking advantage of name dropping.

[Graceann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not exactly sure what to make of this memoir from Jacqueline van Maarsen - Anne's friend "Jopie" in her famous diary. The intention is a good one, and I understand the idea behind writing the story, but I'm not entirely convinced that the execution makes it work.

I can't tell if it's Ms. van Maarsen's inexperience as a writer, or if the translation lets her down (it was originally in Dutch and this edition was translated into English). The story seems rather disjointed, and even the author can't seem to make up on her mind as to how her friends and family are meant to be portrayed.

Ms. van Maarsen's mother, Eline, starts off as an intensely unlikeable person, and some of this continues throughout the book. However, her doors are open to survivors and it's through her efforts that her daughters are saved. Miraculously, the four van Maarsens survive the Holocaust, but they don't seem to know how to deal with one another, and it's clear that the author is made to feel like a fish out of water in most situations. She's not even sure how to show Anne Frank. The famous diarist comes off as selfish and jealous, and annoying.

In the end, I didn't find myself liking anyone in this story all that much, and that was a shame, because I'm sure that wasn't anyone's intention.

[Cortney Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great book and new perspective to the Diary of Anne Frank. It gave great insight and another viewpoint during the time period when Hitler was in power.
I would recommend this book. Only part that was kinda boring was the begining and the end when she focused on her family line versus Anne Franks, which didn't have anything to do with Anne and just didn't fit with the focus of this book.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mooi boek was dit.
Vond het mooi om te lezen vanuit de herinneringen van Jacqueline.
De verhalen van Anne kennen we, maar dit boek geeft je nog een andere kant van het verhaal. Een kant die je, misschien, nog niet kent.

Ik zou dit boek zeker aanraden als je meer wilt lezen over Anne Frank, maar dan een kant die nog niet zo bekend was.

[Jeanette · Rating 4 out of 5]

While Anne Frank figures prominently in both the title and cover of this book she occupies a rather small portion of the story. This book is more about Jacqueline van Maarsen, her family and her experiences during the war, including her brief but close friendship with Anne Frank.
In her diary Anne called Jacqueline her best friend and wrote two letters to her while in hiding that she was never able to send. Jacqueline and Anne met while attending the Jewish High school in Amsterdam. Shy, reserved Jacqueline and outgoing Anne became best friends almost immediately. Jacqueline liked Anne's friendly manner and her assertiveness, even if it did sometimes border on obsessiveness.
Their friendship came to an abrupt end when Anne and her family disappeared. The Frank's had been circulating a rumor that they were going to Switzerland and Jacqueline assumed that is where they were. It was not until Otto Frank showed up at her doorstep after the war that Jacqueline learned the truth.
The memoir does give a unique look at Anne and her life previous to her time spent in hiding but what I enjoyed most about this book was Jacqueline's story. Jacqueline's French mother had converted to Judaism when she was married and at Jacqueline's father's insistence the family was registered as a part of the Jewish community in Amsterdam. When Jacqueline's mother began to hear the rumors of genocide she managed to convince German officials to remove their names from the list of Jews living in Amsterdam and saved the family from deportation.
Jacqueline spent the first half of the war living as a Jew and experiencing all the limitations and fears that came with being a Jew during the Nazi occupation. During the second half of the war she lived life as a Non-Jew and through her experiences we gain a unique perspective of what life was like during the war and the effect the war had on Jacqueline, her friends and her family.
An interesting war time memoir, with or with out the story of Anne Frank.

[David Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was My Name Is Anne, She said, Anne Frank by Jacqueline van Maarsen which is an excellent book, which I bought from a car boot sale. The lady who wrote this book lived in Amsterdam, Holland & Paris, France during World War 2 and was Anne Frank's best friend. Anne Frank of course is famous for writing a diary during World War 2 which was made into a successful film. She was deported to Auschwitz where she died but prior to that she and her family lived in a house which was converted so that it had hidden parts where they could hide. She kept a diary of her experiences which is probably one of the most famous books ever published. This book offers an interesting perspective on her life. She was quite outgoing and the author was impressed at how she initiated their friendship. When the author moved to Paris, Anne continued writing to her. She does say it was at a time when Anne was becoming aware of her sexuality and was going through puberty. The man who found the diary was initially going to give it back to Anne but when he found out she had died passed it on to her father who was the sole survivor in their family. Certain parts were deleted from the published diary, including parts about going through puberty, parts her father felt were derogatory about her mother and parts that appeared unfinished. There were also some slight changes the publisher wanted because they were a bit confusing. Anne did initially go to a prison camp in Holland and said she was happier there than hiding in the house because at least she could go out in the sun. The Nazi's offered a reward for reporting any Jews in hiding and many people who were desperate for money even though they weren't anti-jewish would report them for the reward. It was very controversial when after the war Charles de Gaulle gave the collaborators an amnesty and many families were torn apart by members having been Nazi collaborators. This is a really interesting book and is only 175 pages so is fairly short. I really enjoyed reading it. It's also very moving.

[Jen]

I've been fascinated with Anne Frank lately and I saw this memoir from hr best friend o the new shelf at the library. It was a quick lunch read this week. Quick, but very powerful. Some of the perspective was interesting, you got the impression that during the war, as horrible as the events around them were, people got used to them in a way that you get used to anything. not that they accepted them, but they got used to them. The author's life was equally interesting, and she had a diverse and interesting background that allowed her a unique perspective on an already unique situation. Definitely worth reading, and any book on the subject matter is always though provoking.

[Michella (BoekenMiesje) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een kort verhaal over vriendschap en de onschuld van een kind.
Ik heb dit boek als luisterboek geprobeerd. De schrijfster zelf leest haar eigen verhaal voor.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book could've (and should've) started right around page 75...ie, when Anneliese first steps into view. The previous sections were confusing at first, and then when I figured them out they just became uninteresting. If the writer had kept true to the title, and expanded that material (as well as what went later on) it would've offered a much more intriguing (as well as germane) read. Btw chess fans take note: "We also had accounting lessons, which were given by former world chess champion Max Euwe, who was attached to our school as maths teacher for the gymnasium side." Zowie! :)

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book provides a whole new outlook on Anne Frank and how she not only treated her dearest friends and family, but also how she was as a person. Having been a lifelong Frank-fanatic, I simply adored this account. This was not just about Jacqueline's relationship with Anne, but also about her own Holocaust story. She had narrowly avoided being sent off to the concentration camps, and she even tells what happened to her family and friends. All-in-all, a whole new take on the marvelous story of the Franks.

[Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is probably a little misleading, because Anne Frank is hardly a subject. However, I enjoyed all the stories told by Jackie, Anne's best friend. It gives some insight on how Anne was like (a demanding friend, quick to be jealous. But of course they were great friends who were very intimate.). How school was like, how life was like for Jews, how family and friends started to disappear.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adult context of ideal lives ruined by horrific times from Anne Frank's low-maintenance girlfriend. Quick read.

[Ali Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not my favorite. A lot of other characters in the book. Enjoyed the pictures though.

[Gail DiVico · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent memoir written by Anne Frank's best school friend, Jacqueline van Maarsen. They met a few years before Anne and her family went into hiding, and spent a lot of time together. This book chronicles their special friendship. Thinking Anne and her family went to Switzerland, Jacqui did not find out until years after the war, while spending time with Otto Frank that they were right hiding right across the street from her. Mr. Frank shared Anne's diary with her and, to her surprise, Anne wrote several entries about the friendship they shared. This is an extraordinary read, and I highly recommend it.

[Nathalie Verelst · Rating 5 out of 5]

Als je de titel van dit boek leest, zou je kunnen vermoeden dat het een boek is over Anne Frank. Het is echter een biografie over haar vriendin Jaqueline van Maarsen., die nog steeds leeft en in Amsterdam woont.
Ik las eerder al boeken van Hanneli Goslar , de andere vriendin van Anne. Daarom wou ik zeker ook dit boek lezen. Het is heel leuk geschreven vanuit verschillende personen verteld. Het boek leest heel vlot en verveelt niet. Een aanrader!

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking read, but so important and a lot of perspectives and insights about Anne and the history of the Second World War in general that i hadn’t heard of before.

{Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟}

[ROBYN MARKOW · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very touching, heartrending book by Jacqueline Van Maarsan,a schoolmate of Anne Frank,who became one of best friends(whom she referred to as Jopie in her famous diary) . She starts the book by writing from the POV of her mother,Eline,a Frenchwoman,who emigrated to Amsterdam to work as a seamstress. At first homesick for France,she gradually adapts to her new country and becomes quite successful designing dresses for many of Amsterdam's wealthy ladies. Then she meets Hijman Van Maarsen,who's Jewish. Eline,a Catholic,is very attracted to him and fascinated by his religious background,so much that after they marry,she converts to Judaism. The book then depicts the happy childhood of Jacqueline(Jaquie) and her younger sister, Christianne until the Nazis invade Holland and the half-Jewish Jaquie along with their father and sister ,are gradually forbidden to do many things that one takes for granted,such as using public transportation,shopping in many stores,or even walking or sitting in a park. Then one day,shortly after starting classes at the Jewish Lyceum (all Jewish & half-Jewish school-age children were made to go to separate schools) she meets a "Small,dark-haired,sharp-featured girl" who,like the title in the book,introduces herself as "Anne,Anne Frank" and an instant friendship is kindled. Van Maarsen frequently visits Anne at her home on Mederwerdplein and they have fun acting out scenes from their favorite novels,playing board games and just chatting(though "Chatterbox" Anne does the majority of the talking). Then,as things get worse for the Jewish population of Amsterdam,many of Van Maarsen's classmates disappear;either after being called up to go to Work Camps in Germany or as in Anne's case.by going into hiding. One summer day,Van Maarsen goes to Anne's house and finds no one there and the place in disarray. She assumes that they fled to Switzerland and while she misses her friend a great deal,she hopes that she and her family are safe. As things get worse for Amsterdam's Jews,Van Maarsen's mother takes matters into her own hands regarding her husband and daughters by going to the Nazi Dutch Authorities.Then,using both her Parisian charm and powers of persuasion ,she manages to get her family off the list of Jews set to be deported. Therefore, while Van Maarsen and her immediate family are safe,Van Maarsen still loses every relative on her father's side and has suffer from frequent bombings and near-starvation. Yet she still thinks of her long-gone friend Anne and hopes that they'll be reunited after the war. The war ends,and, once the celebrating is over,reality sets in as the few survivors of the camps come home and describe the atrocities they witnessed. Then,one day,a sad, very thin man in a frayed suit shows up at her door. Otto,Anne's father, reveals that they didn't flee to Switzerland and instead spent two years in hiding in rooms above his office building. At first he still doesn't know the fate of his two daughters but once he does often meets up with Van Maarsen to discuss Anne,which saddens her but she realizes that he needs to talk about her. Otto then shows her a diary she left behind in their hiding place which Miep Gies(his Head Secretary and one of the people who helped hide both his family,The Van Pels as well as Fritz Pfeiffer, a Dentist)had kept for Anne. He asks her to read it,along with several unsent letters she wrote to her,which show her that Anne truly thought of her as her best friend. Life goes on but Van Maarsen never forgets her friend Anne,and has written several books about their friendship(Along with pursuing a career in Book-Binding) The book then ends with Van Maarsen writing from the POV of her father,Hijman dealing with all his relatives (outside of his immediate family) being killed and how this (as well as money problems) put a severe strain on his once-happy marriage. Spoiler Alert:This book,actually has very little to do with Anne Frank as Van Maarsen really only knew her for a few years. This book does depict their friendship in vivid detail and shows Anne as not the saintly young woman that people often think of her of being. She could be moody,possessive(when Van Maarsen made another friend Anne wrote in her diary that she felt that girl was "A bad influence" on her) as well as her need to be the constant center of attention. In short,she was flawed and very human. However,she was also a loyal friend,fun-loving,caring and adored her pet cat,Moortjie,whom she couldn't take into hiding with her which (as she wrote her diary) upset her a great deal. This book while about survival,is very downbeat as well but I feel that Van Maarsen suffers from Survivor's Guilt which might explain why she's written several books about Anne. The pictures are especially poignant as she shares photos of her relatives who weren't as lucky as the author.

[savage_book_review · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated by Anne's story, and I have spied this book in my local library a few times, so decided to pick it up today. This is a memoir written by Anne's best friend, Jacqueline. Depending on which version of the diary you read, you may know her better by her pseudonym, Jopie.

Generally speaking, I find I fall into the same trap when picking up this type of book; I expect that the narrative will be centred around the author's relationship with Anne, perhaps offering a more personal insight into her personality and her life before the Secret Annexe. Invariably, I am disappointed and find that Anne is only tangentially included, with the author telling their own story. I appreciate that Anne's is certainly not the only story or experience of that awful period in history and that as many people as possible should give voice to those experiences before they are lost in time, but when it is her name and image on the cover of such book I cannot help but feel that some people look to exploit their connection to her.

That being said, in this case Anne does take more of a central role for much of the book. I don't believe it adds much to what we already know of her, but it is a very good opportunity to see Anne and her friend as a 'normal' pre-teen. The author doesn't appear to be looking back with rose-tinted glasses; it comes across as a simply stated, factual account of their friendship without the weight of Anne's fate or fame influencing her memories.

However, the book is predominantly about the author's wartime experience. As she was in a privileged position of being able to claim her mother was a Catholic, there was little danger of her being deported and so her experiences don't stray too far from 'normal' (for wartime, that is). I know these experiences are just as important as those who went into hiding, those on the front lines and those in the camps, but it does leave very little scope for writing something engaging. It's interesting, but there's nothing that screams 'this is a story that MUST be told'.

The style is a bit odd for a memoir too. The first section is written in the third person, and reads more like the introduction of a novel rather than a factual account. There's no explanation as to who the people mentioned are, and although it's not hard to guess, it's still quite jarring and unexpected, which in turn made it hard to settle in. Likewise, the last section written in the same way. You now know who is being talked about, but there's suddenly a time shift which again jolts you as it's not clearly marked. And I have to admit to not understanding the author's choice of ending at all.

There are definitely better accounts of Anne out there, but IMO every story about her is worth reading.

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jacqueline van Maarsen vertelt hier duidelijk de geschiedenis van haar familie. Ze begint met haar moeder, hoe zij in Nederland kwam en hoe alles anders voor haar was. Dan vertelt Jacqueline haar eigen verhaal. Hoe ze het heeft gehad in Nederland en wat er allemaal veranderde. Natuurlijk vertelt ze ook hoe ze Anne Frank ontmoette. Het laatste hoofdstuk gaat over haar vader. Het boek is geschreven in de ik vorm van uit het perspectief van Jacqueline.
Het boek kreeg van mij een 3 ster omdat het toch duidelijk weergeeft wat er voor, tijdens en na de oorlog is gebeurd. Jacqueline vertelt het dan wel uit eigen ervaring, maar het geeft een redelijk beeld over wat anderen in de steden meemaakten.

[Saroja · Rating 4 out of 5]

In het boek Ik heet Anne, zei ze verteld Jacqueline van Maarsen hoe zij haar vriendschap met Anne Frank er vaarde.
Het dagboek van Anne Frank is een van mijn meest geliefde boeken. Haar manier van schrijven en haar persoonlijkheid heeft me altijd diep geraakt en geroerd. Haar levenslust, kracht, koppigheid en fantasie heeft haar zolang op de been gehouden.

Ik vond het heel interessant om het verhaal uit andere ogen te kunnen zien en Anne op een andere manier te leren kennen!

Een echte aanrader, zeker als je net zo geboeid bent in Anne Frank als ik !

[Terri Gulyas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Title misleading - only a small part of this book was about the friendship between the author and Anne Frank. Not sure if the choppiness was due to the writing or the translation or poor editing but the book didn't flow well and the ending was abrupt. Some of the description of life during the war was interesting but the author's treatment of the atrocities was shallow.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book fills out the character of Anne Frank. It gives the other side to the friendship between the two girls and also shows another route taken to save a Jewish girl.

[Damla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Etkileyici, üzücü bir anı kitabı. Bu kitap Anne Frank ve Jacqueline van Maarsen hakkında daha fazlasını öğrenmek istemenizi sağlarken, duyacaklarınıza hazır olup olmadığınızı sorgulatıyor.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful and moving account of Anne from the best friend she had to leave behind.

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Het verhaal van 'Jopie', de vriendin van Anne Frank. Mooi om te lezen. door de foto's wordt het nog persoonlijker.

[Elena Castro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este libro ha hecho que me encariñe aún más con mi libro de cabecera por excelencia. Un tesoro lleno de vivencias, fotos y emoción.

[Elizabeth A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed....The book was more about Ms. Maarsen's family history. There were a few choice details that added to the patchwork quilt that made up the life of Anne Frank.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This memoir surprised me. I have read the diary of Anne Frank many times and it inspired me to begin keeping a diary at age 12 (I am now 64). I've read many supplementary works, viewed documentaries, read the reminisces of Miep Gies, watched all the movie versions about the Secret Annex, even read the graphic novels. And yet this memoir brought up an entirely different point of view, that of a girlhood friend. And I expected that it would probably be a flimsy story; after all, How much do I remember about my girlhood friends and how much influence did they really have on my life?

And yes, that part of the story was roughly what I had expected, although interestingly, Van Maarsen added a few new details that were informative. For instance, Anne held her pen between her index and middle finger when she wrote, and Jacqueline copied her method of penmanship. She also really conveys the power and strength of Anne's personality, even her discomfort with how demanding her friendship was.

But I was surprised by the power of Jacqueline's own story and how her identity affected what happened to her family during World War II. Her father was Jewish and Jacqueline lost all her aunts, uncles and cousins on his side to the death camps. Her mother was a Jewish convert who renounced her faith, thus allowing her daughters & husband to escape being murdered as the rest of the family had been. But what a Faustian bargain! Likewise, my spouse is Greek on the maternal side and Jewish on the paternal side -- the latter relatives were completely wiped out. I've witnessed how the evils of the Holocaust have repercussions right down to the present day.

Apparently, Jacqueline van Maarsen has repudiated the faith of both her parents, but devoted her life to combating bigotry and discrimination through Anne's story. Some other reviewers have seen that as "cashing in," but I prefer to think of it as an example of what is lost through racism/antisemitism -- brilliant minds & hearts who influenced everyone they knew within their small circles to change their lives forever but whose opportunity to share their gifts with the wider world was forever snuffed out.

[Carolyn Scarcella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my 24th holocaust book. I always have been inspired reading about Anne Frank when I read the Diary of Anne Frank in school. I also have read Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies. This time I am reading about Anne’s school friends. This is Jacqueline’s story. Anne mentioned that they called her for short Lies. This book is extraordinary book ever I read. She explains about her childhood life, how she meets Anne and how she went through the war years. Her experience was very different to her school friends. She was very lucky girl. Her mother Eline is a French Gentile where she raises a catholic family. Her father Hijman is a Jew. Her father was a professor at the university. She witnesses and watch the youth Nazis throw her father out of the window. Her mother was horrified, and she had to convert back to her catholic to protect herself and Jacqueline as a result. After the war ends, she is married to a Jew, and she lives in Israel. She admits she didn’t want to be recognize a Jew anymore, or catholic. She doesn’t want to follow any faith anymore. She is happy where she is with her husband and her children.