THE END
Yours, Anne
Thursday, 19 November, 1942
Dear Kitty, Mr. Dussel is a very nice man, just as we had all imagined. Of course he thought it was all right to share my little room.
Quite honestly I’m not so keen that a stranger should use my things, but one must be prepared to make some sacrifices for a good cause, so I shall make my little offering with goodwill. “If we can save someone, then everything else is of secondary importance,” says Daddy, and he’s absolutely right.
The first day that Mr. Dussel was here, he immediately asked me all sorts of questions: When does the charwoman come? When can one use the bathroom? When is one allowed to use the lavatory? You may laugh, but these things are not so simple in a hiding place. During the day we mustn’t make any noise that might be heard downstairs and if there is some stranger — such as the charwoman for example—then we have to be extra careful. I explained all this carefully to Mr. Dussel. But one thing amazed me: he is very slow on the uptake. He asks everything twice over and still doesn’t seem to remember. Perhaps that will wear off in time, and it’s only that he’s thoroughly upset by the sudden change.
Apart from that, all goes well. Mr. Dussel has told us a lot about the outside world, which we have missed for so long now. He had very sad news. Countless friends and acquaintances have gone to a terrible fate.
Evening after evening the green and gray army lorries trundle past. The Germans ring at every front door to inquire if there are any Jews living in
