The first weekend started off in a rush as soon as I got off the train into Amsterdam. I knew the one thing I had to do while in Amsterdam was to see Anne Frank’s House. A group of us decided that we should order tickets in advance because the travel guidebook said the line is always long during the day. Our train left Lux City at 12:06 so we figured we would be in Amsterdam by 6, so we made our tickets for 7:15.
Our train arrived in Amsterdam at the central station at 7:10. We really had no idea how to get to the Anne Frank House and we also didn’t have time to check into our hotel before hand. We soon learned that many people in Amsterdam speak English so we were able to find a bus that took us half way to the house. We arrived at the house a little sweaty and tired from running with our luggage to find that there was no line. Relieved that we could still take the tour even though we were late, I was a little pissed as well since we could have easily dropped off our luggage before coming. Lesson learned to plan out all of the train routes before making any plans on the trip.
What struck me first about Anne Frank’s house was that I would’ve had no idea which one it was if I hadn’t been looking for it. It blends in with all the other houses along the canal, but yet represents such an important part of the past. In class we talked about how the memory of the past from artifacts, architecture, and museums can reflect how we see the future. Anne Frank’s house is not just a house; it represents a sad time in history and impacted the placement of certain cultures all over Europe, especially the Jewish. Although, this house only served as a hiding place for 8 people, it demonstrates how much the lives of all Jews were impacted. While walking through the house it was very surreal to imagine that these people had to live the way they did. But it wasn’t only these 8 people that suffered, it was millions of people from different regions of the world but with the same heritage and religion.
On the Anne Frank website they let it be known that they have done as much as possible to preserve this house and that Anne Frank’s story is known all around the world. It said on the website that the house “brings her life story to the attention of people all over the world to encourage them to reflect on the dangers of antisemitism, racism and discrimination and the importance of freedom, equal rights and democracy.” By preserving this part of history in Amsterdam we can reflect on it now and apply it to the current world. Although the Nazis and WWII are in the past, there are still countries that fight for equal rights and equality. This house shows what horrible things can happen when there is racism and discrimination of certain cultures and religions. The preservation of the house and the building of the museum also shows that Amsterdam finds this part of their past to be important and that they want to remember this place and what happened here.
Inside the house there were quotes from Anne’s diary on the wall, but they were all translated into English. I was very grateful for this because it really brought the image of the war to life and it became very real to me. The organization that keeps the house running wants everyone to understand this time in history and thus translates the quotes. When walking through the house, by being able to read the quotes it helps you understand what happened inside these walls. The house isn’t just a house; it’s a representation for all the Jews who suffered and feared for their lives every minute. This specific story took place in Amsterdam, but it represents the lives of millions who were killed during this time in history.
The website created for the house is http://www.annefrank.org/en. They have an online tour who those who don’t have a chance to visit the house and gives a lot of information about the tour and the history of Anne and her family. I highly recommend people to check it out!
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