Peter van Daan was the teenage son of the van Daans, whose real name was Peter van Pels. Anne first saw Peter as obnoxious, lazy, and hypersensitive, but later they both became close friends. Peter was a quiet, timid and honest boy who was sweet to Anne. During their time in the annexe, Anne and Peter developed a romantic attraction, but he failed to express his love openly. He liked reading books and especially if they were meant for adult reading. Once he hid in the loft to read one such book and got so engrossed in reading that he forgot to come down for dinner. His father came up to call him and hit him hard when he found him reading the book. He was refused dinner that night which he resented. He didn’t like his parents’ authoritative nature, but being shy, he never told them about it. He got emotionally alienated from them.
At a later stage, he expressed his desire to become a criminal. Anne disapproved of it. She realised that he wanted to be successful but did not want to work hard for it. He was forced to take part in the ‘death march’ and died on 5th May 1945.
