Annelies Marie Frank is born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, to Otto Frank and Edith Hollander. She has one older sister, Margot.

With the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, Otto Frank, fearing the escalating antisemitism, decides to move his family to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Otto establishes a business to support his family. This relocation is critical for Anne's early childhood development and exposure to a relatively tolerant society, albeit one that will soon be threatened.

Anne and Margot attend local schools. Anne quickly adapts to Dutch culture and language. She makes friends and enjoys a relatively normal childhood.

Nazi Germany invades and occupies the Netherlands, bringing increasing restrictions and persecution of Jewish people. Anti-Jewish decrees are enacted, gradually limiting freedoms and forcing Jewish people out of public life. This event drastically alters Anne's life, introducing fear and uncertainty.

Anne receives a diary for her 13th birthday. She begins writing about her life, thoughts, and feelings. The diary becomes her confidante and a crucial historical document.

The Frank family goes into hiding in a secret annex behind Otto Frank's business premises at Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam. They are joined by Hermann van Pels (van Daan), his wife Auguste, and their son Peter. They receive help from Otto Frank's trusted employees, including Miep Gies, Johannes Kleiman, Victor Kugler, and Bep Voskuijl.

Fritz Pfeffer, a dentist and friend of the Franks, joins the occupants of the Secret Annex, further increasing the strain on resources and interpersonal relationships in the confined space.

The Secret Annex is raided by the Gestapo. The eight occupants are arrested and taken to Westerbork transit camp. The identity of the person(s) who betrayed them remains a subject of historical debate.

The Franks and the other occupants of the annex are deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland. The family is separated upon arrival.

Anne and Margot are transferred from Auschwitz to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany, which is known for its horrific conditions and rampant disease.

Anne and Margot Frank both die of typhus in Bergen-Belsen, likely in February or early March 1945, just weeks before the camp is liberated by British troops. Their exact date of death is unknown.

Auschwitz is liberated by Soviet troops. Otto Frank, the only surviving member of the Frank family who was hidden in the annex, is in the hospital at Auschwitz at the time of liberation.

Otto Frank returns to Amsterdam after his liberation and learns of his daughters' deaths.

Otto Frank fulfills Anne's wish to be a writer by publishing her diary. It is initially published in Dutch as 'Het Achterhuis' ('The Secret Annex') and soon translated into numerous languages, becoming one of the most widely read books in the world.