National Anne Day – August 8, 2024

History of National Anne Day

Annelies Marie “Anne” Frank, who wrote the well-known “Diary of Anne Frank,” is a symbol of the horrors of the Holocaust. Her detailed documentation of her life in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands gave us all a glimpse into what it must have been like to live under such an oppressive fascist regime.

Born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1929, Frank and her family relocated to Amsterdam after the Nazi Party took control of their home country. Persecution of Jews in Amsterdam drove the family to seek refuge in concealed rooms in their home, where they hid for two years until their arrest by the Gestapo in 1944. Frank and her sister Margot tragically died at Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, but their life story and harrowing experiences live on in “The Diary of Anne Frank.”

Anne Rice, a writer of fantasy books, is credited with popularizing vampires. While still mourning the loss of her child, Rice wrote the bestselling book “Interview with the Vampire,” which launched her career overnight. Her book sold more than eight million copies worldwide and gave rise to a genre of attractive vampires on both the big and small screens, coming in second only to Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” Rice wrote over 30 books, and some of her best-known works include “The Witching Hour,” “Exit to Eden,” and “The Feast of All Saints,” demonstrating that she wasn’t dependent on vampire fiction to produce bestsellers. After selling around 100 million copies of her books, Rice passed away in December 2021, cementing her status as one of fantasy’s finest authors.