NEW YORK As the globe observed International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a life-size model of the covert annex where Anne Frank wrote her well-known diary opened in New York City on Monday.
The annex has never been fully reconstructed outside of Amsterdam, where it is a focal point of the Anne Frank House museum, until the display at the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan.
The New York reproduction, however, depicts the five rooms as they would have appeared during the time that the Frank family and others were in hiding, whereas the original extension was purposefully left empty.
The rooms are crammed with furnishings and belongings, including a replica of the desk where Frank kept her journal.
In order to portray Frank’s tale in a fresh and engaging way, particularly for people who might not be able to visit the Amsterdam museum, which also holds Frank’s original diary, it was crucial to equip the recreated area, according to Ronald Leopold, director of the Anne Frank House.
At the show’s launch on Monday, Leopold stated, “We sincerely hope that we will be able to touch people’s hearts here, as education is the focus of this exhibition.” Empathy for what transpired here, in Amsterdam during those years, and to Anne Frank’s treatment is the foundation of education.
During World War II, when the Nazi German army conquered the Netherlands, the Frank family spent two years hiding with other Jews in the attic of patriarch Otto Frank’s business in Amsterdam.
After being found in 1944, they were taken to concentration camps, like as Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was liberated by Soviet forces on Monday, eight decades ago. At the Bergen-Belsen detention camp in 1945, Anne and her older sister Margot perished from typhus.
The only annex resident to survive the Holocaust was their father, Otto. His 15-year-old daughter’s diary, which is regarded as one of the most significant works of the 20th century, was published after the war.At the age of 91, Otto Frankdied passed away in 1980.
Walking through the exhibit rooms made Hannah-Milena Elias, the granddaughter of Anne Frank’s cousin Buddy Elias, feel upset.
The 29-year-old, who resides in Switzerland, described the cramped living quarters the families had to endure for over two years as both heartbreaking and overwhelming.
Leyv-Anouk Elias, her sister, hoped the display would inspire viewers to consider what it means to be a minority or to experience discrimination in the modern world.
According to the 27-year-old Berlin resident, history is regrettably repeating itself in various ways. To ensure that this doesn’t happen again, we must be extremely cautious about how we behave and take action.
According to authorities, the more than 7,500-square-foot New York exhibit, which runs until April 30, features over 100 photographs and other items, many of which have never been shown in public before.
The treasures include a copy of Anne Frank’s well-known diary, her handwritten poetry, and her first photo book. In addition, her journal has been translated into about 80 other languages, and Shelley Winters’ 1959 film The journal of Anne Frank received an Oscar.
The Frank family’s life in Germany is chronicled throughout the installation in chronological order, starting with the advent of the Nazi government and ending with their journey to Amsterdam, hiding, and final capture.
Henry Byrne, a junior at Manhattan’s Catholic high school Xavier, claimed that reading about the family’s story made it easier for him to understand the scope of the Holocaust.
I learned a lot about how, as the 16-year-old stated, “just because you see one story, walk into these rooms, and all the beds and tables, that’s just one person’s life.” Additionally, millions were lost.