Are we living Anne Frank’s life?

After almost 2 months of lockdown all of us have been quite frustrated and morose because we are not able to get out of our houses and go to school, colleges, work, malls, restaurants, etc. However, things may not seem so dire if we look at it from a different perspective.

Let me tell you a small story about a teenager, Anne Frank who lived in Germany in the 1940s.

She was born during the times of Adolf Hitler, who was the dictator of Germany and the leader of the Nazi party. He hated the ‘Jews’ because he felt that Jews were the reason Germany lost World War-I and was not a power anymore. Nazis wanted the Jews to leave their country. Of course, the Jews were unwilling to leave Germany as they considered it to be their fatherland. Since Hitler came to power in March 1933, Jews were discriminated and from 1938 many Jews were sent to concentration camps (place where mass killings of Jews took place).

In July 1942, Margot Frank (Anne Frank’s elder sister) received a letter to report to camp. In the past, several Jews who had received such letters and went for camps never returned so their family

went into hiding. Anne was 13 years old at that time.

She was gifted a diary on her 13^th birthday and she started writing in her diary (which she addressed as ‘Kitty’). Anne’s family was caught in August 1944 and sent to concentration camp. In February 1945, Anne Frank died of Typhus fever. Her diary had survived the war and was later published by her father. Anne Frank has been known throughout the world for her bravery and optimism.

During this lockdown, several times we think that this is the worst that could have happened to us. However, our captivity is nothing as compared to what Anne Frank faced.

#1: Anne was forced to keep the curtains closed all day. 
Just imagine, she couldn’t see the sun for 25 months at all.

# 2: Anne and her family could not make any noise during the day. 
They had to walk quietly and speak softly. Also, they could not flush the toilets.

# 3: Anne did not have many options for entertainment. 
She could only read her book and write in her diary.

# 4: Their ‘house’ was very small. 
In 4 small bedrooms, 8 people had to live together. They had to eat at the same place where they slept.

# 5: Now and then, bombs would fall around the area by the allied forces. 
Her house would keep trembling and all she could do was pray.

On the other hand, we do not have to worry about such things at all. We are so lucky because of advances in technology; we can watch TV, stream our favourite shows and movies, video chat with our friends and relatives, attend online classes (no need to get homeschooled, Thank God!), spend quality time with family, play board games, focus on our hobbies like baking, programming, reading, etc.

Always remember, there can be worse situations than what we are facing. So, we need to learn to be happy in small things and count our blessings…