Anne Frank Relics

            The article talking about the saplings that were collected from the yard outside Anne Frank’s annex was basically just summarizing how the saplings were collected before the demise of the tree in 2010, and where these saplings were sent to. The New York Times article, however, details the struggle over the remains. Much less of a “feel-good” piece, it talks about how the tree was a “monument of hope” and how it was mishandled. There could have been a metal brace built for it apparently, but instead it was allowed to fall, because the metal brace was so expensive. After the tree fell, Rob van der Leij cleared the tree away, and he is now suing the foundation responsible for the tree. However, he says that money is not the key to this case, since he would donate it to charity, but that he really wants recognition. The Jewish Chronicle details another part of Anne Frank’s history: the barracks that she stayed in in the Westerbrok camp. The remains of the barracks were burned in an apparently suspicious fire, and the structure was lost completely.

            All of these articles dealt with relics from Anne’s life, but they all went about them in different ways. Though Anne Frank’s life is summarized forever in her diary, the physical remains of the places that she experienced are being slowly stripped away. I think that this is sad, of course, because it seems like a part of history is being washed away, but I believe that her diary is the most important part of the equation. While the physical sites that Anne saw are important, their importance is also limited by their remoteness. It is not a reality for everyone to travel and see the barracks that Anne was in, but everyone can pick up a copy of her diary and read about it.

            While it is important to think about the tree and the barracks, it is also important to remember that Anne Frank was not the only person that was involved in the Holocaust, and that there are other important places that other important people experienced. Not all of the barracks burned down; there are still some standing, and their significance should not be diminished just because they were not the ones that housed Anne Frank. The tree may be gone, but the saplings are being sent to other places so that the story can live on. I think that focusing on each tiny thing is counterproductive; the little things are important to Anne's story, but they are not the only things that people should focus on when studying the Holocaust.