A Person to Remember, The Anne Frank Memorial

We all have at one point in our life been judged by something we had little control over. Anne Frank was more than judged, but died because she was Jewish. The importance of human rights cannot be understated, and the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial is a must-see for anyone concerned with the issue of human rights in society.  Anne’s belief in humanity inspired the nearly full-acre park in downtown Boise for residents of Idaho to remember her story.

Anne Frank: A Story that Should Never be Forgotten

Born Anne Marie Frank on June 12, 1929, Anne was 13 years old when German authorities began rounding up Jews throughout the Netherlands and sending them to Westerbork. Westerbork was a transit concentration camp on the way to Auschwitz. This is when Anne and her family went into hiding. For two years they remained hidden in the walls of an old house and Anne kept a diary until August 4, 1944, the day they were betrayed and captured by the Gestapo.  Anne Frank and her sister died of typhus while in Auschwitz in March of 1945.  

On December 10, 1948, during Eleanor Roosevelt's tenure as chair to the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, a document was drafted proclaiming the fundamental rights of all people.  This ideal is memorialized at the Anne Frank Memorial in Boise. Today Anne Frank symbolizes courage and a belief in humanity that surpasses mankind’s petty differences.

Anne Frank

The Boise Anne Frank Memorial

The Idaho Human Rights Education Center gifted the city of Boise with the Anne Frank Memorial on August 10, 2002, commemorating Anne Frank's ideals as well as the importance of human rights.   The park named in her honor is one of only eleven U.S. sites that have a sapling from the Anne Frank Chestnut Tree in Amsterdam.  Anne spoke of this tree in her diary, "As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be." Anne is an icon of hope to all in the darkest of times. 

The Anne Frank Memorial Quote WallInscribed on a one hundred and eighty foot wall in the memorial are notable quotations, attributed to both the famed and unknown, which are meant to inspire hope. In view of the amphitheater is a life-size statue of Anne Frank cast in bronze by sculptor Greg Stone, standing in a spatial replica of the attic she lived in for the last few years of her life. The Stone Bookcase, which represents the bookcase that hid the door to the attic in Amsterdam, is carved with words from Anne’s diary.


Also at the Memorial:

The Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial, however, also includes another of famous piece of literature from the era. "The Butterfly" is a poem written by Czechoslovak poet Pavel Friedmann, written two years prior to his internment at Auschwitz, during his time in Terezin.

A small except of Anne Frank's writings is inscribed in a bronze replica of her diary, which sits atop a writing desk donated by Frank and Bethine Church. Frank Church was an accomplished Idaho Senator who is well remembered today for his efforts in preserving Idaho's natural landscapes. His wife, Bethine, was equally as renown for her work in improving the lives of countless all over America -- it was through her efforts that this memorial was created. 

This beautiful display of human rights is widely visited throughout the year, and is just a short distance away from the Cabin, an Idaho literacy center meant to help people develop a passion for reading and writing, like the young Miss Frank.  Being inspired by the heartfelt honesty at this memorial is just one of the many benefits Boise real estate has to offer. 

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