File:1958 Schnabel fr (book).jpg

1st German ed. (1958)

{de} Ernst Schnabel <1913-1986>. Sur les traces d'Anne Frank, tr. Marthe Metzger. Paris [France]: Albin Michel, 1958.

Abstract

"Continues Anne Frank's story from her capture in Amsterdam through Westerbork, Auschwitz, and Bergen-Belsen, where she died in March 1945, based on interviews with 45 persons who knew Anne or had some connection with her."--Publisher description.

"The essential companion to Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, first published in 1958, is back in print for the first time in more than 25 years. Ernst Schnabel interviewed 42 of the people mentioned by Anne Frank in her diary, including her father, other family members, and close relatives and friends, in order to offer an accurate picture of who she actually was. Otto Frank initiated this project, such was the demand for more information about his daughter following the publication of her diaryas well as to combat growing accusations at the time, from the far right, that the diary was fake. Anne Frank left only a faint trail behind her. Acquaintances describe her as gracious, capricious at times, and full of ideas. She had a tender, but also critical spirit; a special gift for feeling deeply and for fear, but also her special kind of courage. This superbly written document broadens the picture we have of this extraordinary young girl. It also tells the full dramatic story of her family's betrayal, and its disastrous aftermath in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen."--

Contents

Author's note -- The focus and the paths -- The beginning of the trail and the shadow -- When we were still in normal life -- Ten seconds -- Deadlines and top-secret orders -- The walk in the rain -- Marginal notes -- More deadlines -- The Final Solution -- Visiting hours after 9 a.m. -- The journey into night -- The end of the trail, and the moss -- The diary of Anne Frank.