Dearborn Will Not Pull Anne Frank Diary from School Libraries

There are no plans to pull copies of "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" from library shelves at Dearborn Public Schools, officials said Tuesday.

A newly released unabridged edition of the book has become the center of a statewide debate after a Northville woman complained that the book is too graphic for her daughter's seventh-grade class because of a scene in which Frank discusses her female anatomy.

Parent Gail Horalek filed a formal complaint with the Northville school district and is hoping to have the book banned at the school.

Currently, there are several versions of Anne Frank’s diary available. The first version was edited by Frank’s father, Otto Frank, and released in English in 1952. This edition removed several pages of content relating to Anne’s emerging sexuality and her distaste for her mother, according to the International Business Times. The book has since been re-edited to include other additions following Otto Frank's death in 1952.

Dr. Gail Shenkman, associate superintendent for secondary education at Dearborn Public Schools, said the edited version of the book is available to students to check out at the district's libraries.

"We use the original version of the story — which is much shorter, and all of the human growth and development parts of (Anne Frank's) diary are edited out. It is used in language arts class, where the play is taught as part of a theme about growing up and staying positive in the face of adversity," Shenkman said.

"We are a very conservative community and keep that in mind when we select content for classes," she said.

Shenkman said the district has not received any complaints about course materials in recent years; however the district does have a policy for parents who object to a book, video, or other media used in the classroom.

Parents can file a "Request for review of materials or course content" form with their child's school administration. According to the form, the complainant must articulate the content that is objectionable and can ask the district's curriculum committee to re-evaluate its decision to allow teachers to use the item in question, or simply ask that an alternate option be provided for their child.

"Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl" is a first-person account of a 13-year-old Jewish girl and her family as they live in hiding in Nazi-occupied Holland for two years before finally be captured by the Gestapo.