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| The Touristin in Amsterdam |
As the Germans vote for Hitler in 1933, the Jewish family Frank moves to Amsterdam. Hitler scapegoats Jews for all problems. In 1940 Germany invades the Netherlands. Jews are forbidden to own their own businesses. In 1942, the family manages to go into hiding in an annexe on Prinsengracht, and the adolescent daughter Anne starts to write a diary.
“I see the world being slowly transformed into
a wilderness; I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too. I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquillity will return once more.”
In 1944 everybody gets deported to Auschwitz. Only the dad, Otto Frank, survives the camp. As I stand here in the middle of Amsterdam, I wonder once more how one cannot do everything, to maintain this peace and freedom Anne Frank hoped for. It is important to understand that discrimination of innocent people can turn the world into a wilderness.
Anne Frank House in Amsterdam
To learn all about Anne Frank, her family and the Holocaust visit the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. It is open every day, closed for Yom Kippur (most important holiday of the Jewish year). Hours: April to October 9am to 10pm. November to March 9am to 7pm (Saturdays to 9 pm). Last admission to the museum is half an hour before closing time. If it is busy, this can be 2 hours before closing time. It is recommended to buy tickets online. Find detailed information here. In Munich, you can visit the National Socialism Documentation Centre, read about my visit here.
From Berlin with love