Anne Frank The Exhibition Now Open in New York City

Anne Frank House, one of Europe’s most-visited historical sites, opened its world premiere of Anne Frank The Exhibition in New York City Jan. 27, which also commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 80^th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. This marks the first time Anne Frank House has offered an experience outside of Amsterdam, immersing family travelers in a full-scale recreation of the rooms where Frank, her parents, sister and four other Jewish people spent two years hiding to evade the Nazis.

© John Halpern

“Anne Frank’s words resonate and inspire today, a voice we carry to all corners of the world, nearly eight decades later. As a custodian of Anne’s legacy, we have an obligation to help world audiences understand the historical roots and evolution of antisemitism, including how it fueled Nazi ideology that led to the Holocaust. Anne’s legacy is remarkable, as represented in the diary she left us, and as one of the 1.5 million Jewish children who were murdered at the hands of Nazi officials and their collaborators,” said Ronald Leopold, executive director, Anne Frank House. “Through this exhibition, the Anne Frank House offers insights into how this could have happened and what it means for us today. The exhibition provides perspectives, geared toward younger generations, that are certain to deepen our collective understanding of Anne Frank and hopefully provide a better understanding of ourselves. By bringing this exhibition to New York—a place with many ties to Anne’s story— the Anne Frank House is expanding the reach of our work to encourage more people to remember Anne Frank, reflect on her life story, and respond by standing against antisemitism and hatred in their own communities.”

© John Halpern

In partnership with Center for Jewish History in Manhattan, the exhibition takes visitors through the context that shaped Frank’s life, from her early years in Frankfurt and the family’s phased move to Amsterdam to her arrest, time in concentration camps and eventual death at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany at 15 years old.

Tens of thousands of tickets were sold for the exhibit’s limited run (through October) before it even opened. The exhibition team is also working with educational leaders and school districts in the area to reach a goal of 250,000 students.