Anne Frank (1942)Of course the hiders, in their uncomfortable situation, had more than enough reason to complain once in a while. They never let the helpers notice their discomfort, but amongst each other they could sometimes hardly contain their frustration. Besides the poor quality and repetitiveness of the food, the heat in the spring of 1944 was another cause for some eruptions. Anne describes the grumbling humorously in her diary entry of Wednesday, May 31, 1944:

"(...) Hot weather is horrible in the Annex. To give you an idea of the numerous complaints, I'll briefly describe these sweltering days. Saturday: "Wonderful, what fantastic weather," we all said in the morning. "If only it weren't quite so hot," we said in the afternoon, when the windows had to be shut. Sunday: "The heat's unbearable, the butter's melting, there's not a cool spot anywhere in the house, the bread's drying out, the milk's going sour, the windows can't be opened. We poor outcasts are suffocating while everyone else is enjoying their Pentecost." (According to Mrs. van P.) Monday: "My feet hurt, I have nothing cool to wear, I can't do the dishes in this heat!" Grumbling from early in the morning to late at night. It was awful. I can't stand the heat. I'm glad the wind's come up today, but that the sun's still shining."

Quoted from: Anne Frank, The Diary of a Young Girl. The Definitive Edition Viking, an imprint of Penguin books Ltd. London in association with The Folio Society 2006.