# Best version of Diary of Anne Frank? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-version-of-diary-of-anne-frank/719953 "2015-05-13T16:14:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-version-of-diary-of-anne-frank/719953/1 "2015-05-13T16:14:40Z")
I’ve been meaning to get this for awhile, but the huge maze of editions available is a bit overwhelming. Perusing the [1 star reviews on Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Young-Girl-Anne-Frank/product-reviews/819073914X/ref=cm_cr_pr_hist_1?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=one_star), I see that many of these decry liberties taken in this or that edition-and of course Amazon doesn’t differentiate reviews based on editions (a long standing pet peeve). So which one would Dopers recommend? I’d prefer the full unabridged edition natch. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-version-of-diary-of-anne-frank/719953/2 "2015-05-13T16:37:19Z")
I like the one where she leaves the attic at night and goes on to kill Nazis with her bare hands. That one might not be official though ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-version-of-diary-of-anne-frank/719953/3 "2015-05-13T17:11:17Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > I like the one where she leaves the attic at night and goes on to kill Nazis with her bare hands. That one might not be official though Damn you! I saw this thread title and clicked it for the sole purpose of making that exact same joke! ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-version-of-diary-of-anne-frank/719953/4 "2015-05-13T18:07:47Z")
> [@leahcim](#): > > Damn you! I saw this thread title and clicked it for the sole purpose of making that exact same joke! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-version-of-diary-of-anne-frank/719953/5 "2015-05-13T19:22:48Z")
There’s an old, probably apocryphal theatre story that [insert your least-liked actress’s name here] was starring in a local stage production of _The Diary of Ann Frank_ early in her career. It was such a terrible performance that, when the Nazi soldiers showed up near the end, someone in the audience shouted, “They’re in the attic!” ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-version-of-diary-of-anne-frank/719953/6 "2015-05-13T19:32:49Z")
For a straight reading copy in English, you basically want one of the editions titled “The Diary of a Young Girl” and labelled “The Definitive Edition”, like [here](http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Young-Girl-Definitive/dp/0553577123/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431543961&sr=1-2&keywords=anne+frank+definitive+edition). Once ownership of the manuscripts passed to the Dutch government after her father’s death, they organised a detailed forensic and scholarly examination of them with the intent to refute allegations of forgery from Holocaust deniers. It’s worth noting that there is no single version of the diary, since she herself revised it and so there are multiple manuscripts just in her own hand. The end result was [_The Diary of Anne Frank: The Critical Edition_](http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Anne-Frank-Critical/dp/0385240236/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431544246&sr=1-2&keywords=anne+frank+critical+edition) in 1989 (since [revised](http://www.amazon.com/The-Diary-Anne-Frank-Critical/dp/0385508476/ref=dp_ob_title_bk)). This is a thorough affair, with all the technical details, variants and annotations and aimed at a specialist readership. Most notably, it included all the material Otto Frank had cut, mainly for length, but also in relation to his daughter’s discussion of sexual feelings. The “Definitive Edition” was then first published in 1995 as a coherent single version that includes all the text as originally published, augmented with (a lot of) material that had previously been cut. Unless you want to see every last draft and all the scholarly detail, that’s the way to go. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-version-of-diary-of-anne-frank/719953/7 "2015-05-13T19:47:14Z")
This was the best version: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnkkUFenWr4) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2015, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-version-of-diary-of-anne-frank/719953/8 "2015-05-13T19:51:00Z")
Several years ago, I had business trip to Amsterdam. I had never read Anne Frank’s Diary, so I picked up a copy, read it on the plane ride over, and the day I landed, I had several hours to kill, so went and toured the house where she and her family hid. It was a very surreal experience to have just read her diary and then actually tour the location. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-version-of-diary-of-anne-frank/719953/9 "2015-05-14T01:03:15Z")
> [@bonzer](#): > > For a straight reading copy in English, you basically want one of the editions titled “The Diary of a Young Girl” and labelled “The Definitive Edition”, like [here](http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Young-Girl-Definitive/dp/0553577123/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431543961&sr=1-2&keywords=anne+frank+definitive+edition). > > Once ownership of the manuscripts passed to the Dutch government after her father’s death, they organised a detailed forensic and scholarly examination of them with the intent to refute allegations of forgery from Holocaust deniers. It’s worth noting that there is no single version of the diary, since she herself revised it and so there are multiple manuscripts just in her own hand. The end result was [_The Diary of Anne Frank: The Critical Edition_](http://www.amazon.com/Diary-Anne-Frank-Critical/dp/0385240236/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431544246&sr=1-2&keywords=anne+frank+critical+edition) in 1989 (since [revised](http://www.amazon.com/The-Diary-Anne-Frank-Critical/dp/0385508476/ref=dp_ob_title_bk)). This is a thorough affair, with all the technical details, variants and annotations and aimed at a specialist readership. Most notably, it included all the material Otto Frank had cut, mainly for length, but also in relation to his daughter’s discussion of sexual feelings. > > The “Definitive Edition” was then first published in 1995 as a coherent single version that includes all the text as originally published, augmented with (a lot of) material that had previously been cut. Unless you want to see every last draft and all the scholarly detail, that’s the way to go. Thanks. Off to Amazon to snatch it up.