The Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance proudly presents the Anne Frank: A History for Today exhibit. The special exhibit, created by the Anne Frank House USA, consists of eleven free-standing panels that present the life of Anne Frank alongside a parallel timeline of the events of the Holocaust as well as diary entries from The Diary of a Young Girl.
The Diary of a Young Girl tells the story of the young Jewish girl kept in hiding during her formative years. The exhibit delves deeper into the details of the Holocaust surrounding the Frank family’s decision to go into hiding, the world events that took place while in captivity, and it goes beyond the diary to explain the events that occurred after their betrayal and deportation in August 1944.
The exhibit also features a replica of the bookcase that hid the entrance to the secret annex where Anne Frank and her family lived for two years. Guests are invited to enter the room via the bookcase door to read about her legacy and watch a short film on her life.
Dr. Charlotte Decoster, Assistant Director of Education at the Museum, visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam earlier this year and decided to bring the Anne Frank: A History for Today exhibit to Dallas, Texas.
“I realized that for many people the connection [to the Holocaust] is Anne Frank. They’ve heard of her. Everybody knows who she is,” said Decoster. “[Her story is] a great tool to introduce people to other topics of the Holocaust.”
The murder of six million Jews is an incomprehensible horror. The extraordinary number of victims is overwhelming, but the innocence of one young female victim gives a face and an eloquent voice to the rest of those who lost their lives during the Holocaust.
“People want to see beauty,” said Decoster. “They want to see beyond the sadness, the horrors of the Holocaust, and I think what the story of Anne Frank does is it sees through the eyes of this young girl. It shows her hope, passion for life, and her emotions.”
Anne Frank’s beautifully written words show the promise of a young writer developing her craft. While her life and aspirations were tragically cut short, Anne lives on in the pages of her famous diary that explores the universal themes of human compassion and hope.