In March 2017 we started the renewal of the Anne Frank House museum. Many of our visitors are under 25 years old and come from countries outside of Europe, so it is important to give more in-depth information on the historical context and the background of the life story of Anne Frank in the museum.
Besides this renewal, the museum is also gaining more space for educational groups and visitor facilities, and a new entrance area. Renewal and rebuilding are not always easy if you want to keep the museum open at the same time. We are grateful to the designers and contractors for their work, and to our neighbours, employees and visitors for their understanding. By mid-2018 all the work will be completed and we will be ready for a new generation of visitors.
We have made good progress with our new digital strategy, which will also be finalised by mid-2018. In this way too we aim to introduce as many people as possible to the life story of Anne Frank and the history of her times, and encourage them to reflect on the meaning of her life story for the world today.
Anne Frank featured in the news many times in 2017. From football fans who used her photo for an antisemitic provocation of their opponents to the German railway company that wanted to name a train after her. Seventy years after the publication of her diary, the significance of Anne Frank seems only to increase. She exerts ever more attraction on those who are in search of a symbol: often with good intentions and taking an educational form, sometimes rather unfortunate, regularly in bad taste, occasionally downright antisemitic.
What does this mean for the future? First of all, we must continue to ensure that we provide a historically reliable, authentic and accessible presentation of the life story of Anne Frank in the context of the persecution of the Jews and the Holocaust. This can help to prevent the fading away of history gradually gaining the upper hand. Secondly, it would be wise to not too hastily condemn contemporary expressions that refer to Anne Frank. They can form an effective stimulus to reflection on the present-day meaning of her history.
It was with sadness that on 6 October 2017 we learned of the death of Eberhard van der Laan, mayor of Amsterdam. He made - also in the awareness of what happened in the wartime years - the city a finer, more open-hearted and more human place. “Take good care of our city and of each other”, were his parting words. Let us continue to commit ourselves to this endeavour.
We warmly thank you for your involvement in and support of the activities of the Anne Frank House, last year and in the year to come.
Ronald Leopold, executive director
Amsterdam, May 2018