Recently I visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. To be honest, I only went because a friend of mine had her heart set on visiting it while we were visiting the Netherlands. Don't get me wrong, I loved reading "The Diary of a Young Girl" in middle school just like the rest of America, but I didn't really get the fascination with the museum. However, after standing in line for over an hour, entering the house, and getting a real glimpse into what it was like for Jews during WWII, I understood what all the hype was about.
At age 13, Anne Frank and her family went into hiding to avoid being sent to concentration camps as the German occupation of the Netherlands intensified. For two years of her life, Anne had no choice but to live in cramped quarters hidden behind a bookcase in her father's former business. Without any possibility of going outside, it's no wonder Anne became enamored with writing in her journals. Only several months before she and her family were discovered, Anne heard a radio broadcast from the Dutch government asking people to save their personal accounts of the war. It was then that Anne began to rewrite her journals in the hopes of getting them published once it was safe to emerge from hiding. At 15 years old, Anne Frank was able to put together what would eventually become the world renowned diary of Anne Frank.
As I walked through the museum, reading some of Anne's quotes painted onto the walls, I was deeply moved. I was literally in the same room that Anne sat writing her beautiful words. It was so incredibly unfair that a person so young and so full of life had decades stolen from them by a powerful group of ignorant people. What is even more incredible is that throughout the experience in hiding, Anne maintained hope that she and her family would make it through. Undoubtedly she was terrified and her outlook on the world transformed from innocent to educated.
I experienced a deep feeling of sorrow when looking at the book documenting all the people killed in the concentration camps. It was of course opened to Anne Frank's name. But that was not the worst part. The worst part was seeing the 15 other Frank's who were also killed, who have no museum dedicated to them. Millions of other people suffered just as much as Anne and will never be remembered like she was.
However, Anne Frank's diary successfully brings attention to the six million Jews who perished during World War II. It makes you stop and think about the power of words. The words of a young girl, no less. My favorite quote from Anne Frank's diary is this: "Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy." A teenage girl's outlook on life during one of the most frightening times in history is superior to many adults' outlooks today. The power of Anne's words will remain living long past you or me. Aren't we lucky that they are so wonderfully optimistic?
