This week, an article published by a progressive LGBTQ media outlet stirred up quite a bit of controversy online by speculating about the sexuality of Anne Frank, the iconic young Holocaust diarist.
The piece, which appeared on Pink News, posed the question: Was Anne Frank lesbian or bisexual? It pointed to passages in her diary that suggest she felt attraction to girls as well as boys.
While the diary does hint at Anne’s complex feelings and crushes on both genders, many people took to social media to express how upset they were by the article’s speculation.
Comments ranged from outright anger to disappointment, with some calling the discussion disrespectful to Anne’s memory.
Voices from Social Media Clash Over the Discussion
One user wrote bluntly, “Shut the f**k up. It’s no one’s business and to speculate is more than morbid, and incredibly crass.” Another pleaded for the article’s removal, calling it “unnecessary and degrading.”
A third commented, “You are not, in any way, helping your cause with this. It’s baffling to me.”
However, others felt that exploring Anne’s sexuality was fair game given the honest way she recorded her feelings in her diary.
One person highlighted the double standard around childhood crushes: “Why is it normal to fill kids’ Disney movies with romantic plots and that’s not seen as sexual, but as soon as it’s not a hetero love interest it’s ‘sexual’? God forbid you ever had a crush on someone as a kid.”
Another added a personal note: “Me and my friends were obsessed with Anne Frank’s undiscussed bisexuality in middle school, and whenever we did something covertly gay we called it ‘Franking.’”
Anne Frank’s Diary Reveals Complex Feelings
Anne’s diary is famous worldwide for its candidness, including how she shared her feelings about people around her.
She expressed admiration and possible romantic feelings toward her close friend Jacqueline van Maarsen, but also had a crush on Peter van Pels, another friend she wrote about.
Anne Frank was a Jewish girl born in Germany who moved to the Netherlands with her family in 1938 to escape Nazi persecution.
The family went into hiding in a secret annex behind a bookcase in her father Otto Frank’s office building in Amsterdam after the Nazi occupation worsened.
The Tragic End and Lasting Legacy
Sadly, the family was discovered in 1944 and deported to concentration camps.
Anne and her sister Margot died at Bergen-Belsen, while Otto Frank survived and later published Anne’s diary in 1947.
The Diary of a Young Girl has since become one of the most widely read books in history, translated into over 70 languages and touching millions worldwide.
Anne’s story symbolizes quiet courage and hope amid unimaginable horror.
Recently, in February 2025, her closest childhood friend Jacqueline Sanders-van Maarsen passed away at age 96.
Jacqueline had shared many memories of her friendship with Anne throughout her life.
The Anne Frank Museum Remembers a Lasting Friendship
The Anne Frank Museum released a statement honoring Jacqueline’s memory, noting their deep bond and the promise they made to stay best friends despite their forced separation during the war.
Jacqueline attended school with Anne at the Jewish Lyceum in Amsterdam and was a witness to the early years before Anne’s family went into hiding.
Their friendship, captured in Anne’s diary and remembered by Jacqueline, remains a poignant reminder of the human connections that endured even in the darkest times.