Visit to the Anne Frank Exhibit

Dear Journal, 

I went to see the exhibit on Saturday, February 4th, 2017. There were quite a bit of people there, so my family and I had to wait in a long line in order to see it. Considering that there was much to read about the Holocaust and Anne's life during the Holocaust, the line moved slowly. It was difficult to keep my son from roaming around while we were waiting to read the information in its entirety.

I learned a lot from going, and what I thought was neat were the pictures I had not seen before. It was neat to see a visualization of the secret annex where they were able to stay. I found it interesting that they were able to find this location and that it was connected to where her father’s company was. I didn’t realize that where they were hiding was hidden by a revolving bookcase. I also saw that where they were staying was a decent size. I hope that one day I can visit the museum of where she stayed. I had also seen the location of the concentration camps where they were killed and treated abominably, and there were plenty. Seeing just how many people had been impacted by the Holocaust left a large impact on me as well. To be able to see the faces of Anne and her family, as well as the other people they knew, was very heart wrenching.

The movie offered insight into the exhibit and a nice change of pace from reading all of the information. While the exhibit was interesting and had more information in it than I had been aware of before, it lacked an interactive feature. This is why the exhibit would be more understood by adults and the attention of children could not be kept as well. My son was a prime example. 

I did gather that Anne was one of the luckier Jews, just as she had mentioned in her journal, because she had the ability to hide until she was found later on during the Holocaust. An upsetting fact is that she died from typhoid a few days before liberation. The Holocaust ended in May of 1945. It lasted for 15 years, and I cannot recall the exact amount- but the fact that many innocent lives were taken is horrible.  

While there, I was reacquainted with the fact that the Jewish population was most often blamed and deemed lesser than others. This fact drove me to feel an ambiance of sadness where the exhibit was located. I could not believe that people believed Hitler's words. He said he would help them and be the change that they needed. His change was definitely radical and certainly unnecessary.

The treatment that the Jews had to endure was beyond horrendous. They were told that they would go to labor camps but instead would be sent to extermination camps. Most were murdered immediately upon arrival. This led me to write that what occurred was horrendous and atrocious in my thoughts at the end. I saw many people who said that we must learn from history and that what occurred should have never happened. I also wrote that Anne Frank would be forever in our hearts. 

I could not believe when the Frank family tried to live in safety by moving to the Netherlands, that soon Hitler was going to send his troops to make sure that the Jewish population would be removed from there as well. I learned that the Nazis invaded Amsterdam on May 10, 1940, but Anne and her family were not captured until August 1944. It is upsetting that Otto Frank is the only one who could survive until 91 years old. In the very least, he had the ability share Anne Frank's diary and let her legacy live on. There was even a replica of her diary in the middle of the exhibit.

What I liked most was that there was background of the Holocaust, and then once going through more of the exhibit, I learned more about Anne’s life. I thought the flow worked well. Overall, I learned a lot from going and I am grateful that I was able to go.

Sincerely Yours,

Elle