June 2007 Monthly Message
At the first of this month, I returned from Amsterdam. To be honest, I really didn't know much about this popular city in Holland before my visit. I knew Holland was known for windmills and canals and tulips. What I didn't realize was how badly this country was affected during the Holocaust. I knew the Jewish people were persecuted in Germany, but I hadn't realized the people in the Netherlands were affected just as much.
Amsterdam is where Anne Frank hid with her family (along with another family and a single gentleman) during the war in a secret quarter of her father's office building. Anne faithfully kept a diary. She wrote about the hardships before the war (May 1940) - Jews were required to wear a yellow star, and they couldn't ride bikes, go in cars, use public transportation or attend any form of public entertainment; Jews were forbidden to visit Christians in their homes; Jews could only shop between 3-5 p.m... The list goes on and on.
In 1942, Anne's sister, Margot, received a letter to report to Germany for work. That's when Anne's family went into hiding. Anne wrote everything in her diary - her frustrations, hopes, dreams and fears. She confided in an entry dated April 5, 1944: "Will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer? I hope so, oh, I hope so very much, because writing allows me to record everything, all my thoughts, ideals and fantasies."
Anne's dream was realized, but due to a horrible and untimely death in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15, Anne herself would never know what her diary would mean to the world for generations to come. Anne was killed along with six million other people because she was Jewish (one and a half million were children).
Touring through Anne's secret home in Amsterdam changed my life. Reading her story almost the entire plane ride home (I bought three books) made me realize more than ever how important it is to write the facts down - JOURNAL, JOURNAL, JOURNAL. Our lives may seem mundane and ordinary (Anne didn't know what an impact her diary would have), but all the details are worth preserving. Everyone has a story to tell, and future generations will be glad you took the time to write it down.
As Italian writer Primo Levi so articulately put it: "Perhaps it had to be that this one Anne Frank moves us more than all the other countless victims whose names remain unknown. If we had to share, and could share, the suffering of each one of them, we should be unable to go on living."
This month, let's all be a little kinder, a little gentler and a little more loving to those around us. And, let's learn from the past the importance of recording all those little details from our daily lives.
Sincerely,
Lisa B.
Amsterdam is where Anne Frank hid with her family (along with another family and a single gentleman) during the war in a secret quarter of her father's office building. Anne faithfully kept a diary. She wrote about the hardships before the war (May 1940) - Jews were required to wear a yellow star, and they couldn't ride bikes, go in cars, use public transportation or attend any form of public entertainment; Jews were forbidden to visit Christians in their homes; Jews could only shop between 3-5 p.m... The list goes on and on.
In 1942, Anne's sister, Margot, received a letter to report to Germany for work. That's when Anne's family went into hiding. Anne wrote everything in her diary - her frustrations, hopes, dreams and fears. She confided in an entry dated April 5, 1944: "Will I ever be able to write something great, will I ever become a journalist or a writer? I hope so, oh, I hope so very much, because writing allows me to record everything, all my thoughts, ideals and fantasies."
Anne's dream was realized, but due to a horrible and untimely death in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the age of 15, Anne herself would never know what her diary would mean to the world for generations to come. Anne was killed along with six million other people because she was Jewish (one and a half million were children).
Touring through Anne's secret home in Amsterdam changed my life. Reading her story almost the entire plane ride home (I bought three books) made me realize more than ever how important it is to write the facts down - JOURNAL, JOURNAL, JOURNAL. Our lives may seem mundane and ordinary (Anne didn't know what an impact her diary would have), but all the details are worth preserving. Everyone has a story to tell, and future generations will be glad you took the time to write it down.
As Italian writer Primo Levi so articulately put it: "Perhaps it had to be that this one Anne Frank moves us more than all the other countless victims whose names remain unknown. If we had to share, and could share, the suffering of each one of them, we should be unable to go on living."
This month, let's all be a little kinder, a little gentler and a little more loving to those around us. And, let's learn from the past the importance of recording all those little details from our daily lives.
Sincerely,
Lisa B.
2 Comments:
Lisa
What an amazing opportunity. 20 years ago, my High School did the play, The Diary of Anne Frank. It was incredibly moving!! It is definitely something that has stuck with me. I can't even imagine how scared everyone must have been! And also how horrible we as humans can be to each other!!
We are all God's children, no matter what our beliefs.
Thanks for the reminder!
Cindy
Lisa,
I have seen the play of Anne Frank done twice, saw a dance done to some beautiful music from a musical from (the Diary)not sure where the music derived. I will always be saddened by the events of Anne's short life and of all the victims. I will be meeting you at the end of the month in Ft Lauderdale and I look forward even more to meet you as I hope you share this story with our group in the journaling class. (I need you to get me over this journaling block!) Thank you for sharing your story and look forward to meeting you.
Donna Sullivan, Winter Haven, Fl.
Post a Comment
<< Home