Anne Frank: History for Today

by Rabbi Debra Smith

I have been particularly troubled by the rise of antisemitism we are experiencing. I have attended numerous programs and webinars on the topic and have also studied the origins and causes of this insidious condition that Jews have experienced since the beginning of time.

This past week, I was fortunate enough to receive a private tour of a wonderful exhibit called the Anne Frank Exhibition: History for Today. This exhibition is sponsored by and housed at The Holocaust Education and Documentation Center in Dania Beach, Florida, near where I am staying for the winter.

The exhibition showcases a model of the “Secret Annex” where Anne and her family lived for a time, and it also had a Limited Edition, one of only 350 existing,  of Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, on display.

One of the outstanding and truly unique features of the exhibit is a collection of about 100 photographs taken by Otto Frank, Anne’s father, who was a truly gifted amateur photographer. His black and white photographs focused on his family members. We saw beautiful photos of Anne, her sister Margot, her mother, and grandmothers. Other photos showed Anne in her classroom at school with her teacher and classmates.  There were even photographs of Anne and her sister at the beach, and when they were young babies and toddlers.

We were also reminded of the timeline of the rise of Hitler and how he wanted to “make Germany great again” by primarily singling out the Jews (as well as other minorities) and restricting their personal  freedoms and their ability to conduct business to support their families prior to being rounded up and sent to the Concentration Camps. I am disturbed to see the shadow of this past history manifesting itself today.

Anne Frank: History for Today reminds us that history has the potential to repeat itself, regardless of how enlightened and advanced a society might be.  It is up to each of us to help keep the vow of “Never Again!”

It is up to each of us to help keep the vow of “Never Again!”