Reconstruction of room Anne Frank shared with Fritz Pfeffer in the Annex. The rooms at Anne Frank House are unfurnished, while the New York exhibition will feature fully-furnished rooms.
Amsterdam’s Anne Frank House is visited by millions of people each year, and now, for the first time, its rooms will be recreated for a one-of-a-kind exhibition in New York City. Thanks to full-scale replicas, visitors will be immersed in the rooms where Anne Frank and her family spent two years hiding from the Nazis.
Set to open on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Anne Frank The Exhibition is being organized in partnership with the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan to mark the 80th commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz. The entire Frank family was sent to Auschwitz after being discovered and arrested in 1944. While Anne Frank died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945 at just 15 years old, her memory lives on in the diary that she kept during the two years that the family spent in hiding.
Her father Otto, the only member of the immediate family to survive the Holocaust, published her diary in 1947—fulfilling his daughter’s wish to become an author. Since that time, The Diary of Anne Frank has been translated into more than 70 languages and has become critical reading for anyone wishing to understand the far-reaching effects of the Holocaust.
Otto also helped raise funds to save and restore the Amsterdam building where the family had taken refuge. This building eventually opened in 1960 as Anne Frank House. Thanks to this pioneering exhibit in New York, visitors outside of Europe will gain a full understanding of Frank’s life, from her early years in Frankfurt, Germany, through the rise of the Nazi regime and the family’s 1934 move to Amsterdam, where Anne lived for 10 years until her 1944 arrest, following her as she was sent to multiple concentration camps before her death.
Anne Frank in May 1942, two months before her family went into hiding. (Photo: Unknown photographer via Anne Frank House, Public domain)
“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,” shares Ronald Leopold, executive director of the Anne Frank House. “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. Through this exhibition, the Anne Frank House offers insights into how this could have happened and what it means for us today.”
Designed for those who haven’t had the opportunity to visit the historical site in Amsterdam, Anne Frank The Exhibition will immerse visitors in Frank’s world. In addition to the rooms, organizers will use video, sounds, photography, and animations to establish the context of the teen’s experience. More than 100 items from Anne Frank House will also make the voyage across the ocean for inclusion in this special event. These include her first photo album, as well as a typed and handwritten invitation for a friend to come to her house and watch a film. This invitation is particularly poignant, as 1942 anti-Jewish measures prevented Jews from going to the cinema.
“As we approach the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in January, Anne Frank’s story becomes more urgent than ever,” says Dr. Gavriel Rosenfeld, president of the Center for Jewish History. “In a time of rising antisemitism, her diary serves as both a warning and a call to action, reminding us of the devastating impact of hatred. This exhibition challenges us to confront these dangers head-on and honor the memory of those lost in the Holocaust.”
Anne Frank The Exhibition is set to open at New York City’s Center for Jewish History on January 27, 2025. The exhibit, designed for adults and children ages 10 and up, will run until April 30, 2025. Tickets will be available for purchase online at AnneFrankExhibit.org.
Amsterdam’s Anne Frank House and New York City’s Center for Jewish History are mounting a unique exhibition to mark the 80th commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz.
Furnished reconstruction of Peter Van Pels’ room in the Annex.
“In a time of rising antisemitism, her diary serves as both a warning and a call to action, reminding us of the devastating impact of hatred. This exhibition challenges us to confront these dangers head-on and honor the memory of those lost in the Holocaust.”
Typed and handwritten invitation to film screening by Anne Frank (Photo: Ray van der Bas)
Unique artifacts and replicas of the Anne Frank House will immerse visitors in her experience.
Anne Frank photo album (Photo: Ray van der Bas)
Anne Frank The Exhibition: Website | Facebook | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Anne Frank The Exhibition.
Related Articles:
Merging the Past and Present of Anne Frank’s Amsterdam
Painting Looted by the Nazis Is Returned to 101-Year-Old Dutch Woman
96-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Is Now the Epic Frontwoman for a Death Metal Band
Man Who Saved 669 Children During the Holocaust Has a Surprise Reunion 50 Years Later