Historical Events  Books
The Diary of Anne Frank

Alternate:
The Diary of Anne Frank

Current:
The Diary of a Young Girl

Eternal poinancy

Many people are suprised to learn that Anne Frank was born in Germany in 1929, because they know she later died in a German concentration camp. That's not the issue here, however - it's the title of her famous work: was it "The Diary of Anne Frank" or "The Diary of a Young Girl"?

This is unusual for a Mandela Effect because there is a great deal of residue for the "misremembered" version, including a well-known stage play.

It's included in several top books of the 20th century lists, and since it was written in 1947, the copyright has expired so it is now available online, where the title is shown as "The diary of a young girl".

Stage play

In 1955, The Diary of Anne Frank premiered a the the Cort Theatre on Broadway, and was updated in 1997. This title is not in doubt, but may have contributed to the common understanding of the original work to have the same name.

Nelson Mandela read it in prison

Ignoring the head spinning irony here, it turns out Mandela himself read and took inspiration from the diary whilst in prison, but he doesn't mention it's title in this interview about it: