The Diary of Anne Frank

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Drama: War & Disaster

An eye-opening reminder of the human cost of the Nazi genocide.

Teenager Anne, bursting with life, living in hiding and inches from discovery. An eye-opening reminder of the human cost of the Nazi genocide, and the loss of a life barely begun.

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Ellie Kendrick

Iain Glen

Tamsin Greig

Felicity Jones

Lesley Sharp

Ron Cook

Nicholas Farrell

Tim Dantay

Kate Ashfield

Elinor Day

Jon Jones

The Diary of Anne Frank: Series 1: Episode 2

Episode 2

BBC One - The Diary of Anne Frank, Series 1, Episode 2

The two families are worried when a plumber is called to fix their broken toilet.

Dramatisation. It is October 1942, and the two families are worried when a plumber is called to fix their broken toilet. Meanwhile, Anne adjusts to life with the Van Daan family.

October 1942. World War II. In the secret annex where Anne Frank is in hiding from the Nazis with her family and close friends the Van Daan family, the toilet is blocked and her father, Otto, is forced to try and unblock it with a stick. When he fails, they have to resort to using jam jars until it is mended. Their helpers in the offices downstairs call a plumber, and the family are terrified that he will need to come up to the annex and they will be discovered. Fortunately, it is finally sorted from downstairs and all is well.

Anne finds Mrs Van Daan increasingly hard to bear, as she orders her around and criticises her in a way that her liberal parents never do. She also finds Peter Van Daan frustratingly dim, and never misses an opportunity to tell him so. But overall they are getting used to their incarceration, and the strict rules of daily quiet by which they must live. Otto oversees their school studies and everyone has their routine tasks to perform. Only at night when the bomb raids start is Anne so scared that she runs into her parents' room for comfort.

Anne invites Miep and her husband Jan to come to dinner in the annex and to stay overnight in her room, while she and Margot camp in their parents' room, and Miep agrees. Anne is thrilled and draws up a special menu in their honour, which Mrs Van Daan cooks for them. But Miep brings the bad news, which she tells only the Franks, that the Van Daans' apartment has been ransacked by the Nazis and all their property confiscated. When Mrs Van Daan asks Miep to bring her some more of her things, it is Anne who covers the difficult moment with a toast to the helpers.

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