Part 4 (1/2)

We're so fortunate here, away froht to all this suffering if it weren't for the fact that we're so worried about those we hold dear, e can no longer help I feel wicked sleeping in a warm bed, while so frohtened myself when I think of close friends who are now at the mercy of the cruelest monsters ever to stalk the earth

And all because they're Jews

Yours, Anne

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 1942

Dearest Kitty, We don't really kno to react Up to now very little news about the Jews had reached us here, and we thought it best to stay as cheerful as possible Every now and then Miep used to mention what had happened to a friend, and Mother or Mrs van Daan would start to cry, so she decided it was better not to say any more But we bombarded Mr Dussel with questions, and the stories he had to tell were so gruesoet theest the nee'll probably go back to our usual joking and teasing It won't do us or those outside any good if we continue to be as gloo the Secret Annex into a Melancholy Annex?

Noabout those who are gone I catch race to be so cheerful But a? No, I can't do that This gloom will pass

Added to this misery there's another, but of a more personal nature, and it pales in co I've just told you about Still, I can't help telling you that lately I've begun to feel deserted I'ive it ht, since ood tis or about myself It's taken a while, but I've finally realized that Father, no matter how kind he may be, can't take the place of ot ceased to count long ago But why do I bother you with this foolishness? I'rateful, Kitty, I know, but when I've been scolded for the umpteenth time and have all these other woes to think about as well, ins to reel!

Yours, Anne

SAturdAY, NOVEMBER 2g, 1942

Dearest Kitty, We've been using too much electricity and have now exceeded our ration The result: excessive econoht for fourteen days; that's a pleasant thought, isn't it? But who knows, ! It's too dark to read after four or four-thirty, so hile away the ti calisthenics in the dark, speaking English or French, reviewing books-after a while everything gets boring Yesterday I discovered a new pastihted roo the day our curtains can't be opened, not even an inch, but there's no harhbors could be so interesting Ours are, at any rate I've co hohtened old lady

Mr Dussel, theso ith children and to absolutely adore them, has turned out to be an old-fashi+oned disciplinarian and preacher of unbearably long serular pleasure (!) of sharing enerally considered to be the worst behaved of the three young people, it's all I can do to avoid having the sa at my head and to pretend not to hear This wouldn't be so bad if Mr Dussel weren't such a tattletale and hadn't singled out Mother to be the recipient of his reports If Mr Dussel's just read ain, this ti the whole book at me And if I'm really lucky, Mrs van D calls me to account five minutes later and lays down the laell!

Really, it's not easy being the badly brought-up center of attention of a faht, as I ponder et so confused by the sheer ah or cry, depending onof wanting to be different than I a differently than I a you too Forgive s out, and in these ti away a piece of paper is clearly taboo So I can only advise you not to reread the above passage and to et to the bottoain!

Yours, Anne

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1942

Dearest Kitty, Hanukkah and St Nicholas Day nearly coincided this year; they were only one day apart We didn'ta few s the candles Since candles are in short supply, we lit the, that doesn't matter Mr van Daan made a menorah out of wood, so that was taken care of too

St Nicholas Day on Saturday wasdinner Bep and Miep were so busy whispering to Father that our curiosity was aroused and we suspected they were up to soht o'clock we all trooped downstairs through the hall in pitch darkness (it gave me the shi+vers, and I wished I was safely back upstairs!) to the alcove We could switch on the light, since this room doesn't have any s When that was done, Father opened the big cabinet

”Oh, hoonderful!” we all cried

In the corner was a large basket decorated with colorful paper and a mask of Black Peter

We quickly took the basket upstairs with us Inside was a little gift for everyone, including an appropriate verse Since you're famthar with the kinds of poems peo ple write each other on St Nicholas Day, I won't copy theot bookends, and so on Well anyway, it was a nice idea, and since the eight of us had never celebrated St Nicholas Day before, this was a good tiin

Yours, Anne

PS We also had presents for everyone downstairs, a few things left over frorateful for money Today we heard that Mr van Daan' s ashtray, Mr Dussel's picture frame and Father's bookends were made by none other than Mr Voskuijl How anyone can be so clever with his hands is a mystery to me!

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1942

Dearest Kitty, Mr van Daan used to be in the e and spice business He was hired for his knowledge of spices, and yet, to our great delight, it's his sausage talents that have coe amount ofto preserve in case there were hard ties and rinder: once, twice, three tiround s We ate the bratwurst with sauerkraut for lunch, but the sausages, which were going to be canned, had to dry first, so we hung the Everyone who caling sausagesIt was such a coht The kitchen was a sha fatter than ever, orking away at the meat What with his bloody hands, red face and spotted apron, he looked like a real butcher Mrs D was trying to do everything at once: learning Dutch out of a book, stirring the soup, watching theabout her broken rib That's what happens when old (!) ladies do such stupid exercises to get rid of their fat behinds! Dussel had an eye infection and was sitting next to the stove dabbing his eye with ca through the , kept having to move his chair this way and that to stay out of the way His rheuhtly hunched over and was keeping an eye on Mr van Daan with an agonized expression on his face He reed invalids you see in the poor-house Peter was ro around the rooot and I were peeling boiled potatoes When you get right down to it, none of us were doing our work properly, because ere all so busy watching Mr van Daan

Dussel has opened his dental practice Just for fun, I'll describe the session with his very first patient

Mother was ironing, and Mrs van D, the first victim, sat down on a chair in thehis case with an air of ine, which could be used as a disinfectant, and vaseline, which would have to do for wax He looked in Mrs van D's mouth and found two teeth that made her wince with pain and utter incoherent cries every tithy as far as Mrs van D was concerned, since it actually took no longer than two an to scrape out a cavity But Mrs van D had no intention of letting hio of his probe and itremained stuck in Mrs van D's tooth That really did it! Mrs van D lashed out wildly in all directions, cried (as much as you can with an instrument like that in your ed to push it in even farther Mr Dussel calmly observed the scene, his hands on his hips, while the rest of the audience roared with laughter Of course, that was very mean of us If it'd been reat deal of squir, Mrs van D finallyout, and Mr Dussel went on with his work as if nothing had happened He was so quick that Mrs van D didn't have tians But then, he had more help than he's ever had before: no fewer than two assis tants; Mr van D and I perforravings froes entitled” A Quack at Work” In therestless, since she had to keep an eye on ”her” soup and ”her” food One thing is certain: it'll be a while before Mrs van D makes another dental appointment!

Yours, Anne

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1942

Dearest Kitty, I' out through a chink in the heavy curtains It's dusky, but there's just enough light to write by It's really strange watching people walk past They all seem to be in such a hurry that they nearly trip over their own feet Those on bicycles whiz by so fast I can't even tell who's on the bike The people in this neighborhood aren't particularly attractive to look at The children especially are so dirty you wouldn't want to touch them with a ten-foot pole Real slum kids with runny noses I can hardly understand a word they say

Yesterday afternoon, when Margot and I were taking a bath, I said, ”What if we took a fishi+ng rod and reeled in each of those kids one by one as they walked by, stuck them in the tub, washed and mended their clothes and then” ”And then tomorrow they'd be just as dirty and tattered as they were before,” Margot replied

But I's to look at cars, boats and the rain I can hear the streetcar and the children and I'e as we are They're like afrom the Jews to food, fro of Jews, I sao yesterday when I was peeking through ; the curtains I felt as though I were gazing at one of the Seven Wonders of the World It gave , as if I'd denounced the on their misfortune

Across from us is a houseboat The captain lives there with his wife and children He has a s only by its bark and by its tail, which we can see whenever it runs around the deck Oh, what a sha and most of the people are hidden under their uain the back of a stocking-capped head Actually, I don't even need to look By now I can recognize the wo potatoes, dressed in a red or green coat and worn-out shoes, a shopping bag dangling froood-hu on the mood of their husbands

Yours, Anne

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1942

Dearest Kitty, The Annex was delighted to hear that we'll all be receiving an extra quarter pound of butter for Christ to the newspaper, everyone is entitled to half a pound, but they overn like us who can only afford to buy four rather than eight ration books on the blackwith the butter ThisI made two cakes and a batch of cookies It's very busy upstairs, and Mother has infor until all the household chores have been finished Mrs van Daan is lying in bed nursing her bruised rib She coes be changed and is generally dissatisfied with everything I'll be glad when she gets back on her feet and can clean up after herself because, Iand neat, and as long as she's in good physical and mental condition, she's quite cheerful

As if I don't hear ”shh, shh” enough during the day because I' ”too much” noise,”shh, shh” toto him, I shouldn't even turn over I refuse to take any notice of hiht back