Day 19 - Berlin, Germany

Day 19 - Anne Frank Center

Today we went to the Anne Frank Center (which is not the Anne Frank House).  The main exhibit is a timeline of her life that stretches down a hallway.  On the right are events that are happening on the warfront:  the rise of National Socialism, the deportations of Jewish people, the invasions of other countries.  On the right are photos of Anne, her family and her friends.  There's pictures from her birth and young childhood in Germany, pictures of her growing up in Amsterdam, pictures of how life changed when the Nazis invades the Netherlands, and the few pictures that exist of the Annex where they went into hiding.  Hanging from the ceiling are photos of Anne - close up shots of her face that her father took every year on her birthday.  There is on for each of the first 13 years of her life.  The next two hangings are blank except for the years, for the two years in the Annex, where they didn't take pictures because there were more important things to worry about.  The last hanging is completely blank - for the sixteenth birthday she never had.  There was also a glass case containing her diary which was on loan from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.  After the center, we visited a museum dedicated to Otto Weidt.  He risked his life to help Jewish people escape persecution.  He employed Jewish people, many of whom were blind, in his brush factory.  When they were arrested, he was able to convince the police to release them.  When some were sent to concentration camps he sent them letters and care packages to help them survive.  He even hid one family in a small secret room behind a cupboard for a year.

Anne Frank's Diary

 

Then, this afternoon we walked around the old Jewish Quarter, which is now a shopping area.  We also found a Christmas store (which was actually air conditioned!!!) where they sold German Christmas ornaments.  It was really cool (literally - because of the air conditioning).