5/12/24 Anne Frank

    Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the Anne Frank house. Anne Frank was a jewish girl born in Frankfurt, Germany. During world war 2, her and her family had to flee Germany and move to Amsterdam  to escape the Nazis. While there they had laws about what jews could do and where they could go. As the war progressed, her father decided it was safest if their family and others hid in the secret annex above his office. While Anne was in hiding, she kept a diary of her thoughts, experiences, and hopes. In 1944, the Nazis discovered her and her fellow hiders. They were sent to concentration camps and the only one to survive out of the 8 hiders was her father, Otto Frank.

    After the war ended, her diary, which was kept by a secretary, was returned to Otto Frank and he decided to publish it. Her diary is famous all around the world because it humanizes the holocaust. It is a first hand account of a teenage girl whose adolescence and future was cruelly ripped away from her. We hear about her aspirations for the future, her longing for being able to go outside again, and her joy of writing. Despite the unimaginable circumstances she was put through, her diary remains a beacon of hope for the future postwar which is inspiring.

    In my opinion, Anne Frank has been commemorated remarkably well. Museums and memorials have been dedicated to spreading awareness about the holocaust and her life story. These spaces provide those who visit with a meaningful and impactful experience. The Anne Frank annex tour was extremely well done and thorough. It provided us with facts, videos, pictures, artifacts, and more. In addition, in most schools across America and throughout the world have built learning about Anne Frank into their school curriculum. Her legacy continues to live on and education about her does not appear to be stopping anytime soon. She teaches people all over the world what happens when you dehumanize humans.



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