Anne Frank’s small red diary exudes an air of reverence. The pages that document the Jewish oppression from the innocence and openness of a child’s perspective lie silent, but powerful.
Despite Amsterdam’s famous attitude of tolerance, the Anne Frank Huis acknowledges the exceptions in its long history of acceptance. The home lies concealed in the back of Otto Frank’s warehouse. We walked through the hidden house in silence, acknowledging the bravery of the family in hiding and the religious oppression that tore them apart.
Although the living conditions alone were incomprehensible, the final room of the house was most powerful. In the center of the room lies the testament of the Jewish persecution. Seeing Anne’s little red diary was a god-moment. Standing alone in front of the journal, I began to cry as I looked at those yellowed, faded pages.
As a writer, I crumbled at the sheer power of that journal.
As a near-graduate, I was touched by the power of having a future and a choice.
As a daughter, I cried for her father’s immense love, adopting his daughters dream as his own.
Yet ultimately, it was simply my own humanness that shattered when I struggled to comprehend the persecution.
In the silent pages of that diary lie memories of fifteen years of a young girl’s life elegantly written in a cursive ink pen. Yet that diary has a voice that echoes throughout the world – reprinted in 62 different languages, read by young and old for generations.
As oppression continues to permeate our globe, there are so many stories that have not been told. Some reside in small journals, but perhaps more importantly, in the voices of the oppressed. The value of Anne’s diary isn’t simply its window into the past; the diary stands as a call to listen to the stories of today.
Although I could never understand Anne’s persecution, I felt connected to her as I stood heartbroken in her windowless pink bedroom. Staring at the eye-level, smiling portrait of this young girl, I crumbled feeling a connection we both understood – the power of words.
Postcards from Ireland 