Why did Anne Frank change peoples names in the diary?
When Anne Frank began rewriting her diary, with the idea that it might be published after the war, she made up new names for all the main characters. Otto Frank kept most of these pseudonyms in the edition of the diary that was published in 1947. In the 1985 Critical Edition of the diary, all the real names are given. In the current published version of the diary, only the people hiding in the Secret Annexe are still referred to by their pseudonyms. The helpers are given back their real names.
