Anne Frank Annex Replica Opens Holocaust Story to New Generation

A New Era of Remembrance

A replica of the annex where Jewish schoolgirl Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis will open in New York, targeting a new generation with the lessons of the Holocaust. The recreation of the cramped hiding space shared by Anne and seven others at Manhattan’s Center for Jewish History is the first replica displayed outside of Amsterdam, and will be free to visit for thousands of schoolchildren.

A Different World

“They live in a different world. They have a very different media landscape around them. They are still very interested in the topic — but know less about it,” said Anne Frank House executive director Ronald Leopold. Unlike the Amsterdam museum, set in the building where Anne Frank hid from Nazis and wrote her diary during the Second World War, the New York iteration is furnished as it would have been in the 1940s.

A Bookcase of Secrets

Visitors are led through a bookcase like the one behind which Anne and her family hid from the Nazi occupiers after Anne’s sister Margot received orders to go to a labour camp in July 1942. The exhibition is brought to life largely with visual installations and uses minimal text narration. It relies instead on audio guides tailored to different age groups and interactive displays like a giant underfloor map of Europe and the Nazi Holocaust machinery.

Not Just ‘In the Past’

Mock-ups of the rooms used by Anne Frank and her family were recreated by an exhibition designer with experience of theatre and opera using two scale models commissioned by Anne’s father Otto Frank in the 1960s. The daily struggle of living in hiding is illustrated with ordinary objects and photos including artifacts that belonged to Anne Frank, like the first diary book gifted to her on her 13th birthday on June 12, 1942.

A Diary of Hope

Her diary has since been published in more than 70 languages with millions of copies sold. It recounts her life as an ordinary teenager living in extraordinary circumstances up until her arrest along with everyone in the annex in August 1944 after 25 months in hiding. She died along with Margot in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in February 1945.

A Call to Action

“Now young people (can) come here in this exhibition and get to know what it means to be in hiding, what it means to be persecuted,” said Hannah Elias, granddaughter of Anne Frank’s cousin Buddy Elias. “This has a strong connection to the present, because there are still a lot of people that are persecuted or that might go into hiding, and to know that it’s not just a thing in the past. It’s not something that we can close a chapter and then not look at it again.”

A Message of Hope

The exhibition opens to the public Monday to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp. “The Anne Frank House feels that our responsibility has never been greater,” said Leopold. “This story is not just about the past. It’s a reminder that is also very much a call to action for the present and for the future – stand against anti-Semitism, stand against other forms of hate.”

Conclusion

The Anne Frank annex replica is a powerful reminder of the importance of remembering and learning from the past. As a new generation comes of age, it is crucial that we continue to share the story of Anne Frank and the Holocaust with them, and inspire them to stand against hate and discrimination.

FAQs

* When does the exhibition open?
+ The exhibition opens to the public on Monday.
* What is the purpose of the exhibition?
+ The purpose of the exhibition is to share the story of Anne Frank and the Holocaust with a new generation, and to inspire them to stand against hate and discrimination.
* Will the exhibition be free to visit?
+ Yes, the exhibition will be free to visit for thousands of schoolchildren.
* What is the significance of the exhibition’s opening date?
+ The exhibition opens on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp.