The Anne Frank Phenomenon

Book Launch with N. David J. Barnouw, 4 November 2015, 6:00 p.m.


Anne Frank, who died in Bergen-Belsen in 1945, is one of the best known Holocaust victims. Her diary was sold more than 20 million times. Over 1 million people a year visit the house where she and her family hid between 1942 and 1944. Historian David Barnouw is one of the editors of the critical edition of the diaries of Anne Frank and has spent many years researching her legacy. In his book he highlights the various ways in which Anne's life and ultimate fate have been represented, interpreted and exploited in the years after World War II. Taking a global view on the phenomenon of Anne Frank, David Barnouw looks at the manifold perceptions and receptions of the diaries and their author and investigates their underlying motives.


N. David J. Barnouw studied Political Science, History, Social Law and Latin American History and was researcher at the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam for many years. He began his research on Anne Frank and her diaries after Otto Frank died and left his daughter's diaries to the NIOD. Today he is one of the foremost experts on Anne Frank.