THE tragic tale of Dutch Holocaust victim Anne Frank will be told through a travelling exhibition at Portland and Casterton.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Anne Frank — A History For Today will be on display at the Portland Art Centre from August 19 and the Casterton Town Hall from September 17.
Frank is one of the best-known victims of the Holocaust thanks to a diary she kept while she and her family hid from the Nazis in German-occupied Netherlands.
Her diary was first published in 1947, two years after she died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, aged 15.
The travelling exhibition details a timeline of events that contrasts Frank’s experiences while hiding with her family in Amsterdam with the major events of World War II.
It will also feature photos and documents from the Frank family collection.
Portland and Casterton are two of only four Victorian centres to host the exhibition.
Glenelg Shire Council’s cultural services officer Linda Cooper said the powerful display was something everyone should see.
“It’s a real coup for the Glenelg Shire Council to have it here,” Ms Cooper said.
“It’s such an opportunity for people who aren’t able to go to the Netherlands (and visit Anne Frank House).”
Amsterdam’s Anne Frank House is the location where Frank and her family hid for just over two years in a secret attic and has become a popular attraction since opening to the public in the 1960s.
“It’s about ‘never again’,” Ms Cooper said of the exhibition. “Her father wanted to make sure her message of hope, which is what it’s about, continued on for young people in particular, and for them to understand what happened.”
Ms Cooper highlighted a key quote from Frank’s diary: “Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart”.
“She was a lovely little girl and she never got to grow up,” Ms Cooper said.
School bookings have already been flowing in for the exhibition from as far away as Kaniva. Ms Cooper said the display was suitable for children in grade 6 or above.
Glenelg Shire Council mayor Karen Stephens said the show was expected to touch the lives of hundreds of visitors.
It will be open on weekdays, 9am to 5pm, at Portland Arts Centre until September 13. The official opening will be held on August 19 from 5.30pm with Hans Nieuwland, honorary consul of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, as guest of honour.
