Historical Context Anne Frank’s account must be read against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Netherlands and the systematic persecution of Jews across Europe. After the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, increasingly oppressive measures—registration, forced relocation, deportation—made life dangerous for Jewish families. The Frank family, along with others, went into hiding in a concealed annex behind Otto Frank’s business premises in Amsterdam in July 1942. The diary covers daily life in hiding, the psychological strains of confinement, and the constant threat of discovery that ultimately culminated in the annex residents’ arrest in August 1944 and their deportation to concentration camps.