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The National World War II Museum to
host Anne
Frank exhibition
Young girl’s diary teaches enduring lessons of
hope and tolerance
NEW ORLEANS –
November 16, 2006: Beginning January 20, 2007, The
National Word War II Museum will present an exhibition
that is both profound and poignant, timely and timeless.
It illuminates the life and death of a remarkable young
girl and the extraordinary forces sweeping the world
around her.
At only 15 years of age, Anne Frank left a great legacy:
lessons on the perils of prejudice and discrimination,
the importance of tolerance and social justice, and the
blessing of hope. All of this comes to life in the
exhibition Anne Frank: A History for Today, developed by
the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and sponsored in North
America by the Anne Frank Center USA.
The exhibition introduces visitors to the history of the
two World Wars and the Holocaust from the perspective of
Anne Frank and her family. The presentation contrasts
personal photographs of the family, many never before
seen, with images of historical events to show how the
Franks and millions of other innocent people were
victimized by the rise of National Socialism and the
actions of many individuals.
Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1929 and
lived there with her parents Otto and Edith and her
sister Margot until 1933. Concerned about the Nazi
Party’s rapid rise to power and the ever-growing
persecution of Jewish families and other minorities,
Otto determined the family should start a new life in
Amsterdam. He established a business there, and life was
fairly normal for a few years.
In May, 1940, the German Army invades Holland. Jews were
forced to wear yellow Stars of David on their clothing,
and conscriptions for “work abroad” began -- the first
steps toward mass deportations and the death camps. The
Frank family along with four other Jews went into hiding
in “the Secret Annex” of the building occupied by Otto’s
company. Miep Gies and three other employees of the
company provided supplies and protected their secret.
Anne and her family remained in hiding for more than two
years. When they were betrayed and arrested in 1944,
they were first taken to Westerbork transit camp in the
Netherlands and, from there, to the infamous Auschwitz
concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland. Later that
year, Anne and Margot were transferred to Bergen-Belsen,
a concentration camp in northern Germany, where they
died of typhus in March of 1945. Both still teenagers,
they lived only seven months after their arrest. The
following month, British soldiers liberated
Bergen-Belsen. Anne and Margot had been buried in a mass
grave.
During her two years in the Secret Annex, Anne’s diary
was her solace. Miep Gies kept the diary and Anne’s
other writings and, after the war, gave them to Otto
Frank, the only survivor of the eight who had hidden in
the Secret Annex. Since it was first published in 1947,
Anne’s diary has become one of the most powerful memoirs
of the Holocaust and one of the most widely read books
in the world. It has been translated into more than 67
languages.
The exhibition encourages the visitor to learn more
about scapegoating, anti-Semitism, racism, ethnic
cleansing and genocide, as well as the positive lessons
of tolerance, human rights, democracy and personal
responsibility.
School groups are encouraged to see this important
exhibit and explore the lessons of Anne Frank’s life.
Student visits include a short introductory film, a
docent-guided tour, and a post-tour discussion on
contemporary issues of tolerance, to be held in the
Frank Walk Student Activity Center.
Anne Frank: A History for Today is free with Museum
admission and Museum members are admitted free at all
times. For information regarding group visits for
schools, churches and synagogues, reunion groups and
other organizations, please call 504.527.6012, ext. 222.
The exhibition will be on view through March 25.
For more information on programs and exhibits at the
National World War II Museum, visit
www.nationalww2museum.org or call 504-527-6012.
The National World War II Museum was dedicated in 2000
as The National D-Day Museum and recently has been
designated by Congress as the country’s official
National World War II Museum. The Museum illuminates the
American experience during the war era and celebrates
the American spirit, the teamwork, optimism, courage and
sacrifice of the men and women who won World War II. The
National WWII Museum recently completed the first phase
of a $300 million expansion that, when complete, will
create a six-acre campus of exhibition pavilions, an
advanced format 4-D theater, USO venue, and a research
and conference center in downtown New Orleans.
# # #
Anne Frank: A History for Today Educational Programming
Hidden Children Panel
January 21, 2007
1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
A panel made up of Jewish Holocaust survivors who were
hidden away during WWII and sympathizers that helped
other Jews to hide will talk about their experiences and
take questions from the audience. For more information,
call 504-527-6012 x 229.
Teacher Open House
January 22, 2007
5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
For more information, call 504-527-6012 x 225.
Scenes from The Diary of Anne Frank by Lee Road Middle
School drama students
Saturday, January 27, 2007
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm and 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Join students from Lee Road Middle School as they
present dramatic interpretations of scenes from The
Diary of Anne Frank. For more information, call
504-527-6012 x 225.
Scenes from The Diary of Anne Frank by Lee Road Middle
School drama students Saturday, March 3, 2007
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Join students from Lee Road Middle School as they
present dramatic interpretations of scenes from The
Diary of Anne Frank. For more information, call
504-527-6012 x 225.
Diary Making Workshop
Sunday, March 11, 2006
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
For more information, call 504-527-6012 x 229.
Lunchbox Lecture – Anne Frank
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
For more information, call 504-527-6012 x 229.
Panel on Tolerance
Sunday, March 25
1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
For more information, call 504-527-6012 x 229.
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