Anne Frank: Reflections on her Life and Legacy

By: Hyman and Sandra Enzer

Reviewed by: Mara Jacobson (about the author) (back to main page)

Anne Frank: Reflections on Her Life and Legacy is a series of essays compiled from several different sources that attempt to help the reader understand the great importance of Anne Frank's life and diary.  The book is incredibly informative, in that it provides its reader background biographical material about Anne and examines her unique character and writing style.  Furthermore, the book provides reviews of film depictions made about Anne's diary and explores the many ways in which her legacy has influenced the ways in which people understand the holocaust. I found many of the components of Anne Frank: Reflections on Her Life and Legacy to be both captivating and enlightening.  For example, the first-hand accounts of Anne's life, as presented by her father, cousin, childhood friends and others close to her help readers delve into an inside view of Anne's terrifying world.  These testimonies are of great value because they present the reader with vital information and perspectives that are not included in Anne's own diary. Furthermore, I thought it was very interesting to hear about the final months of Anne's life as described by an individual who witnessed many of the horrid events.  Aside from the plethora of additional testimony that Anne Frank: Reflections on Her Life and Legacy provides, I also enjoyed the fact that the book attempted to tackle more complex questions concerning Anne and the holocaust.  The book gives great insight on how to interpret Anne as an individual, a writer, a victim and a legend.  Anne is portrayed as a symbol of the holocaust itself, as her life is essential in the quest to understand the extensive meaning that the holocaust had and continues to have on the entire world.