The Diary of a Young Girl

It has been a month since Anne’s last entry because not every day has a “newsworthy item” that’s worth reporting. Anne recalls that the van Daan family—which includes Mr. van Daan, Mrs. van Daan, and their son Peter—arrived on July 13. The family arrives a day early because the Nazis have stepped up the number of call-up notices. Mr. van Daan tells the Franks that he went to their house to make sure nothing incriminating was left behind. He also convinced Mr. Goldschmidt that a friend of Otto helped the Franks emigrate to Switzerland. Everyone is amused when Mr. van Daan mentions that their former neighbors are now claiming that they saw the Franks riding on their bikes early in the morning or taken away in a military vehicle.

Mr. Kugler, a former employee of Otto Frank who now aides the Secret Annex residents, suggests putting a bookcase in front of the entrance of the Secret Annex because the authorities are searching homes for hidden bicycles. Mr. Voskuijl, another of Otto’s former employees, builds the case. As a result, the people in the Secret Annex find themselves bumping their heads when leaving the entrance. Peter fixes this problem by nailing a towel filled with wood shavings to the doorframe.