GOINGS ON : The Resistance Spotlighted in Special UCSB Series : The university’s offerings include an exhibit on Anne Frank and a play on the underground movement.

The Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center will hold its 14th annual benefit auction Saturday at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History’s Fleischmann Auditorium. A silent auction will begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by a gourmet buffet at 5:30 p.m. and a live auction at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 and $50. Call 963-6832. The museum is at 2559 Puesta del Sol Road.

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Political and moral resistance, particularly in relation to the Holocaust, is the focus of an art, lecture and film series at UC Santa Barbara.

Let’s start with the art. The University Art Museum is exhibiting “The White Rose” and “The Anne Frank Project.” The former, a compilation of 65 photographs and panels, documents the work of a group of students at the University of Munich, who from 1942-1943 mounted an underground organized Resistance to Hitler’s National Socialism program. Most of the students were apprehended and publicly executed.

“The Anne Frank Project” is a look at one of the most identifiable victims of the Holocaust, and at the various ways she and her part in history have been interpreted.

The exhibit includes a large wooden structure--akin to the hidden attic in which Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis during the Holocaust from 1942-1944. Visitors walk through this structure to view 29 panels of documents--including diary excerpts--and other material that played significant roles in the girl’s life.

Part 2 of the exhibit looks at how the public’s image of Anne Frank and history, itself, have been formed by television, film, literature and other media.

There will be an opening reception for both exhibits tonight at 5 p.m. in the museum. The exhibits will run through Oct. 15.

In conjunction with the UCSB art exhibits, the University’s Theater Arts Group will present the play “The White Rose,” at the university’s Main Theater.

Through a combination of fact and fictionalized dialogue, the play focuses on the lives of the five founders of the Resistance movement, and on the group’s activities. The production will run tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., and Oct. 7-9 at 8 p.m. General admission is $12.

This student Resistance group will be looked at from another perspective Friday at Campbell Hall, with a screening of the movie version of “The White Rose.” Directed by Michael Verhoeven, it takes the perspective of Sophie Scholl, a founder of the group, as she combines a college-life innocence with a desire to fight Nazism. White Rose survivor George Wittenstein of Santa Barbara will answer questions. The movie begins at 7 p.m. General admission is $5.

A panel discussion on the Resistance will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at the university’s library. For more information, and a complete list of films and lectures, call 893-2951.

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Santa Barbara’s Oak Park will close out its cultural festival season this weekend with the German Oktoberfest. Expect the usual food, music and entertainment traditions of Germany. The festival will run 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days. The park is at Alamar Avenue and Junipero Street. Admission is free.

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Last year, the theme was the Australian outback. This time, it’s the rain forest. Whatever the focus, the Santa Barbara Zoo’s annual Zoofari Ball on Saturday figures to be fairly untame. The $150-per person affair includes cocktails, a live auction and dinner by Michael’s Waterside Catering. Proceeds will benefit the Santa Barbara Zoological Society. Cocktails will begin at 5 p.m., with dinner and dancing at 7:30 p.m. Appropriate dress: safari or casual. Call 965-0110.

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A Monday night showing of “Much Ado About Nothing,” released earlier this year, will kick off UC Santa Barbara’s international fall film series.

The movie, based on William Shakespeare’s classic comic love story, is directed by and stars Kenneth Branagh. He is joined on screen by his wife, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Michael Keaton and Keanu Reeves.

The series, dubbed “The Reel World--Films for Fall,” will continue Mondays and Thursdays through Nov. 4. All of the movies will begin at 7 p.m. at the university’s Campbell Hall. Tickets are $5 at the door. For more information call 893-3535.