Anne Frank's Tree
I, like many, found a visit to the Anne Frank House a really tough, moving rite of passage when I visited Amsterdam a few years ago. Amidst the art and the bicycles and the open spirit of the city, experiencing the museum (in the building where she hid from the Nazis for over two years) is incredibly sobering.
Behind the Anne Frank House is a magnificent chestnut tree, one that Anne wrote about in her diary. The tree is now horribly diseased, and at the end of last year, news outlets reported that the owner of the property had applied for a license to fell it. Recently, the permit was granted, and we're about two weeks into a six-week period where interested parties can file objections, but according to at least one report, the tree is sick beyond recovery.
Roughly 982,000 visitors went to the museum last year; I wonder how many took a real look at the tree. You can place a leaf on a virtual Anne Frank Tree ; the felling of the tree will be shown live on the museum's Web site. The plan, right now, is to replant a cutting from the tree in the same spot.
By Anne McDonough |
March 29, 2007; 10:25 AM ET
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Posted by: Anonymous | March 29, 2007 11:10 AM
Thank you for finally posting something to this blog that is not a petty complaint. It was a nice story, and I appreciate thr information.
Posted by: bkp | March 29, 2007 11:23 AM
Although it's been 30 years since I visited Ann Frank's house, I still remember the tree was blooming in May at the time of my visit, and I remember her writing about it in her diary.
Posted by: swissmiss150 | March 29, 2007 11:31 AM
The Iranians always put on a good show,God Bless Em!! More fun than a barrel of exotic pets.Sure glad I don't work at 10 Downing or 1600 Pennsylvania for that matter.Whoaa.....
Posted by: Your Old Pal Ricardo | March 29, 2007 1:11 PM
Thanks for sharing this memorable site. While it's sad that the real tree must be removed, Anne's legacy is so strong that it's only a little "blip" in her ongoing story.
Posted by: Karen | March 29, 2007 5:06 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
That's lovely, though it is certianly a shame that the tree has to be felled (though better felled than falling *on* someone -- somehow it loses its message of hope that way).
The site is really touching, though, thanks for passing along the link.