Secret pages found in Anne Frank’s diary show that she was hiding “dirty” jokes and details about sex.
The previously unseen pages were hidden underneath some pieces of brown masking paper.
The words on the pages were recently deciphered by researchers showing Anne had written details about sex, sex work, and contraception, as well as what Anne described as “dirty” jokes.
Director of the Netherlands Institute for War Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Frank van Vree, said:
“Anyone who reads the passages that have now been discovered will be unable to suppress a smile.
“The ‘dirty’ jokes are classics among growing children. They make it clear that Anne, with all her gifts, was above all also an ordinary girl.”
Researchers also believe that the discovery more so shows Anne’s skills as a writer, rather than her interest in sex.
The pages, two of which were discovered, were covered with brown paper after they were written to keep their contents hidden.
They were found in 2016 during a routine check of the diary’s condition, however they were only deciphered recently.
The pages are dated from 1942, when Anne was just 13-years-old.
The teenager described sex, writing: “I sometimes imagine that someone might come to me and ask me to inform him about sexual matters. ‘How would I go about it?'”
She also made reference to sex work in the 1940s, saying:
“All men, if they are normal, go with women, women like that accost them on the street and then they go together.
“In Paris they have big houses for that. Papa has been there.”
Anne died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp when she was 15. Her sister Margot also passed away in the camp.
