"Dear Kitty. . . ," began the diary of a young girl that has sold 18 million copies in 52 languages around the world. The teenage Jewish author, Anne Frank, died in Auschwitz in 1945, but her story continues to be told.
About 600,000 people visit the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam each year. But for those who can't make the trip to the Netherlands, the exhibit has been duplicated, and copies are on tour in England, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. In April a copy will go to Israel, and on June 12, Anne Frank's birthday, another copy will go to Moscow.
"Anne Frank in the World: 1929-1945" is the name of the international exhibit, which will be in Salt Lake City from March 25 through April 22. Funded by Geneva Steel and hosted by the mayor's office in the Salt Lake City-County Building, the exhibit re-creates the world of Anne Frank and her diary. A model of the Secret Annex is displayed, as well as 800 documents and family photographs, some never published before.
The two parts of the exhibit explain the events in Germany from 1929-1945 and the occupation of the Netherlands. It shows events that influenced the political scene in Germany, while Anne Frank's life is described and paralleled with political and social developments.
The international director of the Anne Frank Foundation, Cornelis Suijk, met Anne Frank's father, Otto, 20 or so years ago, when Frank offered him the job of treasurer of the foundation. During an interview with the Deseret News, Suijk related how he told Frank that he had vowed after the war never to speak German again and not to ever visit Germany or Austria out of bitterness for what the occupiers had done to the Netherlands.
"Otto Frank said to me, `You might not be on the right track - do you realize I'm a German? And two of our four helpers who hid us, Miep and Victor, were Austrians. Never generalize!' "
Suijk's family were Calvinists who would do no violence or carry weapons. "In Amsterdam one day we saw soldiers dragging Jewish males from all quarters. Women and children were shouting and crying the names of husbands and fathers - it was horrifying, tragic. `Don't worry, we put them to work,' the soldiers said, but we knew some of the people could hardly walk. My family felt we should help them, to find places for them to stay," Suijk said.
For his involvement in sheltering Jews, Suijk was arrested 10 months before the end of the war and spent time in a concentration camp. But he brushes aside what he did during the war and concentrates on educating people on how easy it is to discriminate and persecute.
"When people see the exhibit, they find it hard to accept that the victims were not to blame for what happened to them - that ordinary citizens voted for Hitler and brought him to power." Suijk said. As a non-Jew, Suijk has heard harsh words from his countrymen who tell him that only the Germans and the Austrians could do this, not to portray Holland in such a bad light. "But 200,000 Dutchmen supported Hitler, and millions were looking in the other direction," Suijk said.
Suijk is tireless in his efforts to teach and inform on the world stage. In London, the exhibit was in a mall opposite Buckingham Palace. A group of black East London teens came to see the exhibit. A 13- or 14-year-old asked Suijk, "Can you show me Anne?" Suijk took the teenager to a large photo. "But sir," the youth said, "she is white. . . ." And Suijk took time to teach that discrimination is really colorblind.
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Volunteers are needed as docents for the tours of the Anne Frank in the World exhibit. Survivors of the Holocaust, or children of survivors are encouraged to share their witness along with those who were liberators. Reservations for scheduled school tours can be made in advance by calling 535-6126 weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For further information an Anne Frank phone line will be open at Geneva Steel from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 1-800-877-8990. *****
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Photographic plea
for understanding
What: A free photographic exhibit that makes a universal plea for tolerance and understanding.
When: March 25-April 22; hours will be 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. School tours will be scheduled Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Where: The Salt Lake City-County Building, 415 S. State St., Third Floor
For information: Call 1-800-877-8990 Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To schedule school tours, call 535-6126 weekdays, 9-3 p.m.