The Anne Frank House museum posted on YouTube the only live footage of young Anne before her death from typhoid in a concentration camp. The short clip was taken following the July 1941 wedding of the Franks’ neighbor, with 13-year-old Anne looking down to the street from an upper window to see the young couple leaving the apartment building. Years later, after Anne’s diary was published, the couple recognized Anne and gave a copy of the clip to Anne’s father and to the museum where it has since been available for viewing by visitors. There are other videos posted on the Anne Frank House new You Tube channel, including one of Otto Frank, Anne’s father, speaking about his daughter’s diary which he received after his family’s deaths. When he finally read the diary, he was quite surprised by Anne’s deep thoughts and self criticism.
Probably most parents don’t really know their children, just as most children – even grown children – probably don’t really know their parents, this despite living under the same roof for years, speaking to each other daily, observing each others’ oddities and emotional hot buttons. We don’t dig into each others’ thoughts or formative experiences, we just don’t have the awareness to do that or, in our busy world, the time. And yet, when we are able to ask the deep questions, probe into past experiences, we learn so much about each other and why we act the way we do, which then enriches our lives and our relationships. When I heard some of my mother’s childhood stories, her whole being seemed to be illuminated to me. Writing about our thoughts and our reflections on experiences is even more of a treasure as a lasting and most intimate look at who we are. Imagine what gold Anne’s diary is to her father.
Take a look at the YouTube channel for the Anne Frank House museum, which includes the clip of Anne and a virtual tour of the attic space the Frank family hid in during WWII
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