The Legacy of Anne Frank

I was familiar with the story. I'd read the diary as a teenager and we did a production of the play in high school. It was sad when I was a teenager, but it was something that happened to someone else - someone long ago and far away. But there in the house- in the secret annex with the light blocking shades pulled down I realized that I wanted to open the shade and peek out - get my bearings, check the weather. Just take a peek. It was then that I realized just how horrible it would be to be locked inside for years, never to see the sun, never to take a peek. I'm sure I'd have spent most of my days in tears or tantrums.

The play told the story in a couple of hours - in fact it took place over a couple of years. Imagine being in hiding for more than two years! Being hidden away meant that you had to be quiet all day long. Any noise, creaking floorboards or voices could give you away. Being caught was most certainly a death sentence. Typically a slow death caused by starvation and ultimately the gas chamber, separated from those you love. Horrible beyond imagining.

The rooms in the house are unfurnished, at the request of Otto Frank, who was the only survivor of the people hidden in the annex. But Ann's room still has the pictures she'd cut out of magazines to decorate the wall - movie stars and the English Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret - her attempt to bring some cheer into her world. Being in that room connected me with her story so much more than reading the book.

Although, if you've never read the book, you should. (http://www.amazon.com/Anne-Frank-Diary-Young-Girl/dp/0553296981) If you have an opportunity to visit the house, go.

In addition to the horrors of the holocaust, there is one other thing that strikes me about Anne Frank's story. After reading her diary, her father remarked that he had not realized how she felt. He saw his little girl who liked movie magazines. Until he read her diary he had no idea about the depth of her feeling and understanding. I think that's probably true of most parents and children. We really don't know each other as well as we could.