Thinking Anne Frank qu(e)er? – On the reception of her queer diary reflections between conservative culture war and anti-heteronormative appropriation

Thinking Anne Frank qu(e)er? – On the reception of her queer diary reflections between conservative culture war and anti-heteronormative appropriation
queerKAstle - Karlsruhe Center for Queer Diversity
Sat 05.09.2026 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Queeres Zentrum Karlsruhe, Liebigstraße 10-12, 76135 Karlsruhe
Wheelchair accessible – Quiet area available
Lecture with discussion on Saturday, September 5, 2026, at 4 p.m. in the queerKAstle (Liebigstraße 10–12, 76135 Karlsruhe)

On January 6, 1944, the then 14-year-old Anne Frank confided in her diary how, before the time in her Amsterdam hiding place, i.e., at least a year and a half earlier, she had unsuccessfully suggested to her friend Jacqueline that they feel each other's breasts and how she always became "ecstatic" when she "saw a naked female figure." This queer passage was omitted from the Dutch first edition of the diary in 1947 out of consideration for "puritanical or Catholic sensibilities" and was not published until the English edition in 1952. Because of it, right-wing activists in the USA have been trying for a few years to remove a comic adaptation of the diary from school libraries, and a teacher was even fired for using it in class.