Anne Frank Writings Go on Exhibit Today

At a ceremony Wednesday marking the first U.S. exhibition of Anne Frank’s writings, First Lady Laura Bush paid tribute to the young Holocaust victim and said her diary holds powerful lessons for the world today.

“The writings of Anne Frank remind us of the strength of hate and the need to end discrimination in our world,” she said at the private event at the Holocaust Museum. “Anne Frank wrote that we must hold onto our ideals in the face of prejudice.”

“Anne Frank the Writer: An Unfinished Story,” opens to the public today and will remain on view until Sept. 12. It will feature loose pages from Anne Frank’s diary as well her lesser-known writings, including short stories, essays and the beginning of a novel.

The items are on loan from the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation in Amsterdam, which holds all of Anne’s original writings, and the Anne Frank Foundation in Basel, Switzerland. Her writings have never been displayed outside of the Netherlands, while other artifacts have never been displayed to the public.

Anne Frank’s first cousin, Bernd “Buddy” Elias, attended. “Anne’s life was brutally terminated, but her ideals are alive,” he said.

Other guests included major supporters of the museum, who were invited to dinner Wednesday at the White House.

The exhibit is part of a yearlong celebration of the museum’s 10th anniversary and marks Anne Frank’s birthday. She would have been 74 today.