Skip to main content

For “The Extraordinary Story of Anne Frank's Family”





I have never read Anne Frank’s Diary and only recently saw the 1959 version of the movie. Yet, I have always been drawn to her story. It is remarkable that anyone survived as long as the Frank’s and their co-inhabitants did in an attic unable to make noise or move for most of the workday. I am also intrigued to see a teenager’s view of what war and living in a world filled with hate was like. I am saving reading her diary for the day I finally get to go to Amsterdam. Once there it has always been my intention to visit the house that was her shelter that now exists as a museum.

Tuesday night I got the opportunity of a lifetime that will definitely hold me over until my unscheduled trip to Amsterdam. One of my favorite NYC spots, 92Y, hosted an incredible event entitled ““The Extraordinary Story of Anne Frank's Family”. As soon as I saw that title in their brochure I was hooked.

It was described as the following:

“Anne Frank’s first cousin Buddy Elias (the only living relative who knew her when she was alive) and his wife Gerti have reconstructed Anne Frank’s family life before, during and after the war based on a cache of 6,000 never-before-seen family documents. Delve into photos, correspondence and other family keepsakes that offer a new window into the family’s life before the Holocaust, their desperate attempts to reconnect during and after the war, their joyful reunion with Otto Frank and the ensuing, tragic discovery that his wife and two daughters, Anne and Margot, had died in concentration camps.”


After reading something so powerful I HAD to purchase ticket. However, there was a snag. For the first time I had waited too long and the event was completely sold out. But there was a light at the end of the tunnel. The good people at the 92Y responded to my panicked emails and tweets and let me know as soon as extra tickets became available. The dedicated customer service puts them over the top. I already have tickets to two more of their events, and now doing a dance that they can find me some for Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s talk in March. I have complete faith.  That and a positive blog can’t hurt my chances, right? But, one event at a time.


Oprah says that the word “amazing” is over used. I agree. But that really is the only appropriate word for this experience. This was an evening I will never forget. It gave me chills and while I was listening to their story, I was transported to another world. I left my world, my problems, my thoughts, and all I could concentrate on was the events being described. It was so powerful and interesting all at the same time. I have never simultaneously been apart of living history and the past.


Buddy and Gerti began on an unexpected adventure two years ago. They had found gold, so to speak, in their attic. While cleaning through papers they found the papers, photographs, and documents from Buddy’s ancestors. This included correspondence from Otto Franks’s family to Buddy’s prior to and after the war. These letters tell the story of the Holocaust as it happened to one family. How they survived and the now famous legacy of their family. It is just incredible. It is like a miracle that these documents survived and were discovered in the attic. The story of what they found and how they found it, is the subject of a new must read book “Treasures from the Attic: The Extraordinary Story of Anne Frank's Family.” Second to only Anne’s diary itself, will you get such an intimate and revealing look of these struggles and strive to preserve a legacy.

During this event Buddy and Gerti read from this book, shared photographs, and stories of what they knew and learned from this process. The intensity in this room was unexplainable. I felt so lucky that I was among the group that got to hear this story first hand. It was such a special evening and one that only few can say they have participated in.





After the talk, Buddy and Gerti signed the book and posed for photographs. They were warm and open. I wish I could keep in touch and have them over for dinner. Buddy shows no signs of the traumas he has survived but is bubbly in all of the languages his speaks. The smile on his face will always remind me that their can be happiness after tragedy.

I will be reading this new book now but still plan on reading Anne Frank’s diary on my plane ride to Amsterdam. Although now I will have the weight of the entire story with me.


If you are luckily enough to be planning a trip to Amsterdam, this is a must-do activity:




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

For Find Out Friday - Why Do Emery Boards Make My Skin Crawl?

You know that sound a fingernail makes when it scratches against a chalkboard?  You know that feeling the sound of that action gives you? I, like most people, hate that sound.  I instantly feel like scrunching my shoulders up to my neck and closing my eyes.  I feel the exact same way when I am using an emery board to file my nails. This annoying sensation has a name: “grima” which is Spanish for disgust or uneasiness. This term basically describes any feeling of being displeased, annoyed, or dissatisfied someone or something.  It is a feeling that psychologists are starting to pay more attention to as it relates to our other emotions.  Emery boards are traditionally made with cardboard that has small grains of sand adhered to them. It is the sandpaper that I believe makes me filled with grima.  According to studies that are being done around the world, it is not just the feeling that we associate with certain things like nails on a chalkboard or by using emery boards

For Find Out Friday - How Do You Milk An Almond?

Despite my affinity for cheese and other dairy products, occasionally (actually a few times a week) I like to go dairy-free.  During those times I rely heavily on my favorite brand of almond milk, as seen in the picture above.  Though I know there is no dairy in this product, I constantly wonder: “how does one milk an almond”? Logically I am aware that no actually “milking” is taking place.  I also know that almond milk can be made at home, although I have zero interest in attempting to make it despite my love of spending time in my kitchen. So, what is the actual process?  How long does it take?  When / where / who was the first to successful develop this product? When talking about this kind of “milk” what we are really talking about is plant juices that resemble and can be used in the same ways as dairy milk. Plant like juice has been described as milk since about 1200 A.D. The first mentions can be found in a Baghdadi cookbook in the thirteenth

For a Doughnut Worthy of Food Network Glory: “Dun-Well Doughnuts”

All because I wanted a Boston creme doughnut. That is how this blog truly began. It was Father’s Day weekend and although I was initially thinking of myself, I knew my father wouldn’t mind having a sweet treat for dessert. Brooklyn is synonymous with great pizza, bread, and of course bagels. But it also has many great bakeries producing some of the most delicious doughnuts you have ever tasted. Just to name a few, there is: Doughnut Plant , Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop and Dough .   On the day of my craving, I did what any of us do countless times a day - I opened Google. When I Googled “best Boston creme doughnuts in Brooklyn” Dun-Well Doughnuts appeared high on that list. Intrigued I researched it further and learned that it had won the Canadian  Food Network’s contest called “Donut Showdown” in 2013. That was enough information for me to decide to visit the very next day.  Dun-Well Doughnuts was opened by Dan Dunbar and Christopher Hollowell in December 2011. Despite