“Monday, the sixth of July, nineteen forty-two.” Nineteen forty-two. We found them in a heap of rubbish on the floor after Frank, did you see? There are some of your papers here. I know what you went through, you and Mr. I’m not the person you used to know, Miep. Now that the war is over, there are things that. Frank, you can’t leave here! This is your home! Amsterdam is your home. What do you mean? Where are you going? Where? What’s the use of torturing yourself like this? She wears a coat and hat, ready to go home. MIEP is a Dutch girl of about twenty-two. He holds it in his hand and suddenly all of his self-control is gone. As he starts back for his rucksack, his eye is caught by something lying on the floor. FRANK takes it, putting it around his neck. There is a many-colored scarf hanging from a nail. He goes to the window at the back, looking off at the Westertoren as its carillon strikes the hour of six, then he moves restlessly on.įrom the street below we hear the sound of a barrel organ 5 and children’s voices at play. He opens the door to one of the smaller rooms, and then abruptly closes it again, turning away. His clothes are threadbare.Īfter a second he drops his rucksack 4 on the couch and moves slowly about. He stands looking slowly around, making a supreme effort at self-control. There is still a trace of a German accent in his speech.
He is a gentle, cultured European in his middle years. The door at the foot of the small stairwell swings open. In what year is the beginning of the play set? The rooms are dusty, the curtains in rags. When the door is opened we see that it has been concealed on the outer side by a bookcase attached to it. This is the only entrance from the building below. Directly under this room is a small steep stairwell, with steps leading down to a door. There is a skylight in the sloping ceiling. The room on the left is hardly more than a closet. 3 In the main room there is a sink, a gas ring for cooking and a woodburning stove for warmth.
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK WINDOWS
The windows are painted over, or covered with makeshift blackout curtains. The rooms are sparsely furnished with a few chairs, cots, a table or two. A narrow, steep flight of stairs at the back leads up to the attic. On the right is a bathroom, out of sight. The largest of the rooms is in the center, with two small rooms, slightly raised on either side.
The three rooms of the top floor and a small attic space above are exposed to our view. Occasionally faint sounds float up from below: the voices of children playing in the street, the tramp of marching feet, a boat whistle from the canal. Nearby is the belfry 1 of a church tower, the Westertoren, whose carillon 2 rings out the hours. The sharply peaked roof of the building is outlined against a sea of other rooftops, stretching away into the distance. It is the top floor of a warehouse and office building in Amsterdam, Holland. The scene remains the same throughout the play.
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