Anne Frank

A few months ago I ran across some information about Anne Frank. I forget what I was Wikepedia-ing (like my verbalization of a noun?) but I linked around and ended up reading up on her. I had never read her book as a youngster but essentially knew the story and I became further intrigued.

So, during my lunch time at work I read very lengthy excerpts of her diary. It struck me hard - so hard that she remained in my thoughts.

I'm the father of a young girl. I cannot, in any way, conceive of what Otto Frank, her father, went through. To be forcefully separated from his wife and two teenage children on some train platform and have no idea their fate has to be beyond horrific. And the end? To be the only survivor? Honestly, I can't get my head around it, but when thoughts of such hit me, I hug my child that much harder.

So, last week I'm cruising around the channels and run across a made-for-television movie of the Anne Frank diary starring Melissa Gilbert. It was made in 1980 or so and basically just revamped the young lady's diary, but spared the horrific end. It got me all charged up on learning more once again.

It almost felt compulsive, if you will. I remember in the late 90's after seeing Titanic getting riled up to learn so much about that event that I went to the library and researched the hell out of it. So its not out of the ordinary for me to really, really get into something and want to learn everything I can about a topic. But this topic is far from a pleasant subject to say the least. And hits so much harder than Titanic, which was afterall, just a horrible accident and in actuality on such a tiny scale compared to the Holocaust.

This past week, I'm channel surfing and stumble upon a bunch of stuff on the History Chanel about Hitler, his bunkers, the concentration camps, and interviews with survivors and it hits me in the gut all over again.

Of course, there's a million stories like Anne Frank's from that period, but hers gets plenty of attention because of her diary was published and her father remained such an advocate for the remainder of his life.

Its just so fucking sad! She was simply a young woman who enjoyed reading and writing and hopscotch and ping-pong. She fought with her mother and adored her father and was subjected to the end result of her life because she happened to be born Jewish. That's all. Her family wasn't particularly political or even religious for that matter. Yet she was deemed guilty by madmen and essentially sentenced to death.

I've recently read quite a few survivor accounts, such as the absolutely mesmerizing Dentist of Auschwitz and an interview with Hanneli Pick-Goslar, a childhood friend of Anne's. Its almost surreal how people can overcome in my view.

As a consequence, I've ordered another, more complete Anne Frank movie and while I'm anxious to see it, I kind of dread it as well. As big a movie buff as I am, I've never seen Schindler's List either. It just never seemed to happen, so I plan on watching that soon too.

Anne Frank, were she alive today, would be turning 80 in June. Only 80 years old. Perhaps she'd be a vibrant grandmother who was reknowned for her writing career. Anyone at 14, 15 and 16 who could write like her had a future in it and it was that aspiration that she never got to pursue. Only 80. These events occured closer to my birthdate than I am now to my graduation from High School. How's that for incredible?

What mankind can do to one another is beyond my comprehension. There but for the grace of God, or luck go any one of us, eh? And its still happening in the world today.