December 24, 2024

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Groundbreaking NYC Exhibition To Recreate Anne Frank’s Annex for the First Time

(Courtesy of Anne Frank House) The Anne Frank House, one of the most visited historical sites in Europe, has announced the upcoming opening of Anne Frank The Exhibition in New York City. For the first time in history, the Anne Frank House will present a pioneering experience outside of Amsterdam to immerse visitors in a full-scale recreation of the rooms where Anne Frank, her parents and sister, and four other Jews spent two years hiding to evade Nazi capture.

As a nonprofit organization helping to shape global understanding of the Holocaust and its contemporary relevance, including lessons on modern day antisemitism, racism and discrimination, the Anne Frank House is entrusted with the preservation of the Annex where Anne Frank and her family hid during World War II. This exhibition, presented in New York City in partnership with the Center for Jewish History in Manhattan, will open on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, 2025, to mark the 80th commemoration of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Anne Frank The Exhibition is a first-of-its-kind, full-scale recreation of the complete Annex, furnished as it would have been when Anne and her family were forced into hiding. Moving through the exhibition, visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the context that shaped Anne’s life—from her early years in Frankfurt, Germany through the rise of the Nazi regime and the family’s 1934 move to Amsterdam, where Anne lived for 10 years until her 1944 arrest and deportation to Westerbork, a large transit camp in the Netherlands, then to Auschwitz-Birkenau, a concentration camp and killing center in Nazi-occupied Poland, and eventually to her death at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany when she was 15 years old.

Designed for audiences who may not have the opportunity to visit the Netherlands, the new exhibition in New York City is anticipated to draw extraordinary attendance for what will be among the most important presentations of Jewish historical content on view in the United States. Through the recreated Annex; exhibition galleries immersing visitors in place and history through video, sound, photography and animation; and more than 100 original collection items from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Anne Frank The Exhibition will provide an opportunity to learn about Anne Frank not as a victim but through the multifaceted lens of her life—as a girl, a writer, and a symbol of resilience and strength. This is a story inspired by one of the most translated books in the world.

The New York City exhibition will occupy over 7,500 square feet of gallery space in the heart of Union Square. This marks the first time dozens of artifacts will be seen in the United States—many have never been seen in public.

Artifacts in the exhibition include:

Anne Frank’s first photo album (1929-1942);

Anne Frank’s typed and handwritten invitation to her friend for a film screening in her home (by 1942, anti-Jewish measures prohibited Jews from attending the cinema); and

Handwritten verses by Anne Frank in her friends’ poetry albums.

Ronald Leopold, executive director of the Anne Frank House, said: “As a custodian of Anne’s legacy, we have an obligation to help world audiences understand the historical roots and evolution of antisemitism, including how it fueled Nazi ideology that led to the Holocaust. Anne’s legacy is remarkable, as represented in the diary she left us, and as one of the 1.5 million Jewish children who were murdered at the hands of Nazi officials and their collaborators. Through this exhibition, the Anne Frank House offers insights into how this could have happened and what it means for us today.”

Dr. Gavriel Rosenfeld, president of the Center for Jewish History, said: “In a time of rising antisemitism, her diary serves as both a warning and a call to action, reminding us of the devastating impact of hatred. This exhibition challenges us to confront these dangers head-on and honor the memory of those lost in the Holocaust.”

Tickets are available at AnneFrankExhibit.org. The exhibition is designed for children (ages 10 and older) and adults. All general admission tickets include the exhibition audio guide. Visitors should plan to spend approximately one hour at the exhibition. Last entry is one hour before closing. Visit the website for ticket prices and more information.

Hours:

Sunday through Thursday: 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Friday: 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Address: Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, N.Y. between 5th and 6th Avenues.


Anne Frank The Exhibition is a limited engagement, scheduled to close on April 30, 2025.

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