Anne Frank: A History For Today

"Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it." -Philosopher George Santayana

My kids think I'm totally awesome because I picked them up from school an hour early yesterday and we boarded the train for downtown. Our destination? The Main Library in Salt Lake City for the last day of the Anne Frank exhibit. While we were at the exhibit, there were news crews interviewing this lady and filming her as she went through the exhibit. I couldn't hear everything but from what I gathered, I believe she is a Holocaust survivor.

Riding the elevator up to the rooftop garden.

We had a little snack while on the roof and poor Addy was being circled by 3 seagulls trying to get her snack. They got pretty close to her several times. I guess they figured out of the 5 of us, she was the easiest target.





I took Hebrew in high school and really developed a love for the Jewish people and their culture and traditions. I have read Anne Frank's Diary. I have studied the Holocaust and done several research papers, both in high school and in college on the Holocaust. It was important for me to take my children to this exhibit and exposed them to this history. I am planning on reading the Diary of Anne Frank to them over the summer.

There are several things that really stuck out to me when we were there yesterday and I want to share them here.

This picture is in part of the display. It says:

"Presidential elections, March 1932. Berliners look at the NSDAP election poster which reads: 'Hitler our last hope'. Support for the party is increasing."

In the paper they gave us as we entered the exhibit there is an article that talks about Hitler's rise to power. Under a part titled, "The Stage Is Set" it reads:

...It's leader, a man named Adolf Hitler, promised to bring political stability, work for millions and greatness to Germany once again. But Hitler also offered something more. He offered a scapegoat. For years, many Germans had been looking for someone to blame for their country's problems. In Hitler's mind, the main culprits were the Jews. As the Nazi leader, Hitler proved to be a skilled politician and vibrant speaker. Although many people feared Hitler would become a dictator, there was no one else with enough power to lead Germany through the hard times.

There is also a part in the paper that says:

On March 28, 1944, a radio broad cast form the Dutch government-in-exile in London urged the Dutch people to keep diaries, letters and other items that would document life under German occupation:

"History cannot be written on the basis of official decisions and documents alone. If our descendants are to understand fully what we as a nation have had to endure and overcome during these years, then what we really need are ordinary documents-a diary, letters from a worker in Germany, a collection of sermons given by a parson or priest. Not until we succeed in bringing together vast quantities of these simple, everyday material will the picture of our struggle for freedom be painted in its full depth and glory."

Prompted by this announcement, Anne began to edit her diary, hoping to publish it after the war under the title, "The Secret Annex".

And lastly I want to share a quote from you that was in a movie we watched as part of the exhibit. It is from Anne's diary and she is describing her time in hiding:

"...a time when the ideals are being shattered and destroyed, when the worst side of human nature predominates, when every one has come to doubt truth, justice and God."