ANNE FRANK IN THE WORLD

The life of Anne Frank serves as the frame for this photomontage of the rise of Nazism in Germany and the Netherlands. The volume begins with a history of the Frank family in Germany; a photo of Otto Frank, Anne’s father, wearing his uniform as a soldier in the German army underscores the family’s integration into German society. Following the family photographs, the scope widens to depict the dire economic times in Germany in the 1920s, the rise to power of the Nazi party, and the acquiescence of German institutions from the judiciary to the churches. Anne’s story is reintroduced in the context of Jewish refugees seeking safe haven outside Germany. Photos illustrate the reaction of the Dutch government and people to German occupation and racial laws. A section on the Frank family in hiding includes photos of the Secret Annex with captions from Anne’s diary. The emphasis here is on the response to the rise of Nazism more than on the fate of the victims and few concentration-camp photos are included. The last section looks at present-day manifestations of hatred with photos of neo-Nazis marching in Austria circa 2000 and a Ku Klux Klan cross burning. As Rabbi Julia Neuberger writes in her introduction, the message of Anne Frank’s diary and of this chronicle of her life and times is tolerance. While there are other excellent photo histories of the Holocaust, this slim volume has the attraction of Anne Frank to draw young people in. (Nonfiction. 12-14)