#NotSilent: social media campaign remembers Anne Frank
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Version 0 of 1. Anne Frank didn’t get to see the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The young Jewish Dutch girl died in that camp, aged 15, but left behind an indelible account of her life, The Diary of a Young Girl. The exact date of her death in 1945 is unknown, but today has been chosen to commemorate its 70th anniversary, coinciding with the date of the liberation of the camp. The commemoration is taking a rather unusual shape. “Because her voice could not be silenced, we decided that one minute of silence wouldn’t be as appropriate” as a minute of people reading out her words, explains Gillian Walnes, co-founder and vice-president of the Anne Frank Trust UK, who have organised the campaign with Penguin Random House, the publishers of the diary. Everyone, whether they’re at work, at home or on the street, alone or with friends, is encouraged to take one minute to film themselves reading her words, and upload the videos to social media using the hashtag #NotSilent. You can obviously choose a reading yourself, but the Anne Frank Trust has also put extracts on their site, and suggested people talk about their own lives and hopes if they prefer. Some celebrities have already joined the campaign: You can watch their one-minute videos by following these links: actor Naomie Harris, choreographer and director Arlene Philips, author Cathy Cassidy, journalist Michael Buerk, actor Jing Lusi, poet Roger McGough, author Malorie Blackman, author Jacqueline Wilson, actor Russell Tovey, actor Ceallach Spellman, author and journalist India Knight, and former Labour politician David Miliband. Related: A timeless voice against prejudice: your videos reading Anne Frank A timeless voice for the young One of the reasons Frank still touches people is how well she captured the struggle of any young soul against the unjust world of adults, and the yearning to get out into the world and fight injustice. “Even though she lived 70 years ago, and teenagers’ experiences and the way they communicate have changed so dramatically, she was essentially a very modern girl,” says Walnes. “She goes through things with her parents, changes in her body, injustices in a world where adults make a mess of things … And that is a springboard to talk about many issues,” adds Walnes, who also recently blogged about Frank’s writing and life for the Huffington Post. “She saw herself as many things, but to her persecutors she was just one thing: a Jew.” The Anne Frank Trust works with young people in schools, prisons and deprived communities around the UK to educate and help teenagers suffering all kinds of prejudice. Now, for instance, they’re getting funding from the Department of Education for a project tackling bullying against LGBT teens. Bergen-Belsen survivor Freda Wineman: “We mustn’t forget” The big concern now is that “we will soon see the end of first-hand accounts”, says Walnes, mindful of the responsibility to carry the story forward. Freda Wineman, one of those living witnesses, saw the Frank sisters, Anne and Margot, in both Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. In a telephone interview, she emphasised: “It’s very important that young people take an interest in history: they need to learn to have respect for other people. The world today is in big trouble. You have to learn, if you want to have a little bit of peace and to live in harmony, how to live with others.” Wineman stressed the importance of Frank’s testimony: “At her age, she was absolutely brilliant: to speak the way she spoke about everything, and to keep her courage the way she did … she would have gone on to be a great fighter and a great human being.” Take part: post your one-minute videos reading Anne Frank using the hashtag #NotSilent. If you don’t have the Diary to hand, the Anne Frank Trust is offering extracts here. We will update this piece with some of your videos during the day. |