Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party came to power,
A stone carving from the 600s
shows a Frankish warrior.
Anne Frank’s
diary shows
remarkable
hope in the
face of fear
and evil. She
wrote,
“In spite of
everything I
still believe
that people
are really
good at
heart.”
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Frank, Anne 61
and Germany became a dangerous place
for Jews. Anne’s family soon moved to
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
In May 1940, during the early months
ofWorldWar II, Germany took over
The Netherlands. By 1942, Jews were
being rounded up and sent to camps
where most of them would die.
The Secret Annex
Anne’s father prepared some rooms
upstairs from his business offices. This
was to be a “secret annex” where his
family could hide. On July 6, 1942, the
Frank family and four other people went
into hiding. Some non-Jewish friends
supplied them with food.
For two years the eight people shared
the small space. They were always afraid,
but they tried to live normally. Anne
wrote in her diary about her daily life
and her hopes.
After the Annex
Somehow the Gestapo (German secret
police) found out about the annex. On
August 4, 1944, they arrested everyone.
Anne and her sister went to the Bergen-
Belsen camp in Germany. In March
1945 they both died of a disease called
typhus. Except for her father, everyone
from the secret annex died in the
camps.
After the raid, friends discovered Anne’s
diary. In 1947 Mr. Frank had it published.
The English translation was titled
The Diary of a Young Girl. The annex
building in Amsterdam is now a
museum called the Anne Frank House.
#More to explore
Holocaust
Frankfort
Population
(2000 census)
27,741
Frankfort is the capital of the U.S. state
of Kentucky. The Kentucky River flows
through the city.
Frankfort is a trade center for the area.
Its farms produce tobacco and corn.
Some farmers in Frankfort raise Thoroughbreds,
a breed of horse used in
horse racing. Factories in the city make
bourbon whiskey, candy, furniture, and
electronics.
Anne Frank
62 Frankfort BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA
A U.S. general founded Frankfort in
1786. The city became the capital of
Kentucky in 1792. The Capitol burned
down twice in the 1800s. Both times the
cities of Louisville and Lexington tried
to take over as state capital. But Frankfort
remained the capital of Kentucky.
In 1937 floods greatly damaged the city.
#More to explore
Kentucky
Franklin,
Benjamin
Benjamin Franklin won fame as a writer,
a publisher, a scientist, and an inventor.
He is best remembered, however, for his
leadership in the American colonies and
the early United States.
Printer and Inventor
Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts,
on January 17, 1706. He left
school at age 10. At age 12 he went to
work in his brother’s printing shop.
In 1723 Franklin moved to Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. He worked there as a
printer. His most popular publication
was Poor Richard’s Almanack. The almanac
featured Franklin’s witty sayings and
verses. A famous one was “Early to bed
and early to rise, makes a man healthy,
wealthy, and wise.”
Franklin started many public services in
Philadelphia. They included a fire
department, a hospital, an insurance
company, and a library. A school he
founded became the University of Pennsylvania.
Franklin was a great scientific thinker
and inventor. He invented the Franklin
stove, which was used to heat rooms,
and a type of eyeglasses called bifocals.
His experiments with electricity led to
the invention of the lightning rod. That
Benjamin Franklin
The Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort
is 210 feet (64 meters) high.
BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Franklin, Benjamin 63
metal rod is used to protect buildings
from lightning.
Politician
Franklin became a respected political
leader in the years leading up to the
American Revolution. In 1765 the British
Parliament passed the Stamp Act, a
tax on printing in the colonies. The act
angered the colonists. Franklin persuaded
the British to withdraw it.
In 1775, as war with Great Britain grew
closer, Franklin took part in the Second
Continental Congress. There he helped
write the Declaration of Independence.
In 1776 he went to France to seek aid
for the Revolution. In 1787 he signed
the U.S. Constitution.
In his last years Franklin wrote his autobiography.
He also worked to end slavery.
He died in Philadelphia on April
17, 1790.
#More to explore
American Revolution • Continental
Congress • United States Constitution
Frederick the
Great
Frederick II ruled Prussia, a kingdom in
what is now Germany, from 1740 to
1786. He was a great military leader
who made Prussia a major power in
Europe. Because of his military genius,
he earned the title Frederick the Great.
Frederick was born on January 24,
1712, in the city of Berlin. His father
was FrederickWilliam I, king of Prussia.
Frederick’s early life was unhappy. He
liked music, art, and literature, but his
father wanted him to become a soldier.
The king criticized and beat him. At age
18 Frederick ran away, but he was
caught. His father put him in prison as
punishment.
Frederick became king of Prussia when
his father died in 1740. As king he was
called Frederick II. He spent the first
