In October Nobel Prize winner and President of Israel Shimon Peres visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. In the guest book he wrote:Anne belongs to the genesis of humanity, when human beings begun to understand the difference between evil and right, between light and darkness. Her innocent, truthful voice will sing all over the world by many generations to come, so to understand the difference between human and satanic.And further; The light of Anne defeated darkness. It is the most moving attic (in the Anne Frank House) in the world.

The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam receives more than one million visitors each year. Every day long queues wait to visit the House and experience a visit that combines emotion with admiration.She was so brave and her diary has become translated into about 70 languages. Even now a new film is being made of her life.To bring this moving history to the world a travelling exhibi-tion has been produced giving a timeline of the Frank family into the timeline of the history in the world. It has been shown in more than 40 countries. Millions of people worldwide have gone through and for most people it is a moving and emo-tional experience.

Now, some 70 year after the holocaust, this exhibition has been brought to Australia. It started in February 2013 with the most successful showing in the Holocaust Museum in Melbourne and has travelled widely throughout Victoria since. It has been extremely successful as a result of the support of sponsors and the wonderful cooperation by the museums. Each museum where the exhibition has been is full of praise and report that they have never had an exhibition that was so successful (see page 6, 7 and 8).Our main aim is to bring the Anne Frank story to teenagers. They must also know what happened during the Second World War when over 6 million Jews, amongst them 1.5 million chil-dren, were killed, a major tragedy never experienced before. But the Holocaust and the Anne Frank story also has the objec-tive to tell these youngsters that this must never happen again.

Our first year in Australia is almost behind us and early March 2014 we start in the Sydney Jewish Museum. This will be the start of exhibitions throughout New South Wales. In 2015 and 2016 we intend to continue in the other states starting in Can-berra in February 2015.

a history for today

It has been a fascinating and emotional journey so far and it has only been possible with the sponsors featured in this e-newsletter.Museums also deserve credit for their wonderful co-operation.

At the end of year one in Australia my best wishes to you all for the holiday season. We are privileged to live in a democra-tic society. Yes, discrimination still happens and I hope that the Anne Frank story will register and have a positive impact.

Boyd Klap, Chairman Anne Frank TravellingExhibition Australia

TRAVELLING EXHIBITION AUSTRALIA

Bring this moving history to the world

December 2013

The world-renowned Anne Frank Travelling Exhibition that has been touring rural and regional Australia throughout 2013 has been well received by local communities, according to principal sponsor, Rabobank.

As principal sponsor of the nationally-touring exhibition, Rabobank has hosted client functions in the various locations of the exhibition.

CEO Rabobank Australia and New Zealand Thos Gieskes said the regional communities’ response to the Anne Frank Travel-ling Exhibition has been very positive.

“Rabobank has a history of supporting arts and cultural initiatives all over the world and in bringing exhibitions like these into communities,” Mr Gieskes said.

“Given our Dutch heritage there is a strong connection with the story of Anne Frank and in particular, this is such an important piece of history that we can bring to the rest of the world in this way – it’s a world-class exhibition.”

“It’s an opportunity for our clients and regional communities more broadly to become aware of and experience one of the most powerful stories in history.”

From 2010 to 2012, Rabobank supported the Anne Frank Travelling Exhibition during its visit to New Zealand where it

World-renowned Anne Frank exhibitionwelcomed in rural communities

toured to 25 locations, including Invercargill, Christchurch, Nelson, Wellington, New Plymouth, Hamilton and Auckland, where client events were held in each location.

Rabobank is looking forward to holding client functions and promoting the exhibition further while the exhibition moves to New South Wales in 2014, starting in the Jewish Sydney Museum in March.

Anne Frank Travelling Exhibition proudly sponsored by

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Thos Gieskes, CEO Rabobank Australia and New Zealand

“I long to ride a bike, dance, whistle, look at the world, feel young and know that I’m free, and yet I can’t let it show. Just imagine what would happen if all eight of us were to feel sorry for ourselves or walk around with the discontent clearly visible on our faces. Where would that get us?” (Anne Frank, December 24, 1943).Nelson Mandela read Anne Frank’s Diary while imprisoned on Robben Island. He said, “We derived much encouragement from it. It kept our spirits high and reinforced our confidence in the invincibil-ity of the cause of freedom and justice.” Anne Frank’s Diary is one of the 10 most read books in the world and has been translated into 70 languages since it was first published in 1947.

A gift for her 13th birthday, the diary became Anne’s best friend and keeper of her thoughts and feelings when she and her family were forced into hiding during the Nazi occupation of the Neth-erlands in 1942. After two years of writing in her diary, the people hiding in the ‘secret annex’ were betrayed and arrested. 100,000 Dutch Jews died in concentration camps, including 15-year old Anne Frank. The ‘Anne Frank: A History for Today’ exhibition makes use of over 200 images from the Frank family photo albums and quotations from the diary. The personal story of Anne and her family is told in the context of the historical events unfolding at the same time.

William has worked for several private firms and public organ-isations, including LawAccess NSW. As Researcher to the New South Wales Court Appeal, he worked under the direction of some of the most astute Judges in Australia and helped to develop the NSW Court of Appeal database. Prior to that, he graduated as one of the top three law students in his degree, with Honours, and was awarded the Law Prize for Legal Practice: Ethics & Management.

For me the Anne Frank story is one of hope, highlighting the most admirable and deplorable sides of humanity and showing that eventually good will prevail. What Jewish people suffered during the second world war is the worst example of racism. Amidst the hatred and horror was Anne, who despite every-thing still believed that people were good at heart, showing the incredible capacity for forgiveness in humanity, amongst other amazing qualities. I am honoured to be part of the Anne Frank Exhibition Austra-lia, to help to spread this important story and do everything in my power to prevent such an atrocity from reoccurring.

Board member William Attoh

Originally from Tiel, the Netherlands, Richard Kuipers founded Two Men And A Truck from a caravan in his Sydney backyard more than 20 years ago. Since then, the home removals and office relocations business has become one of the largest in Australia, with trucks in every state.Like many other businesses the success of the business has been built by family, with family values, support and challenges.Richard’s three daughters and three sons-in-law have all played impor-tant roles along the way, but this did not just fall into place. As Richard explains, running a smooth family operation requires much planning, consultation, mediation and constant review.Two Men And A Truck recently started a sustainability and community outreach program called Moving Together. Two Men And A Truck has done different charity works.A couple of things helped me decide to support the Anne Frank exhibi-tion. One is its association with my Dutch heritage. Another important part of it is that Anne Frank was a brave young person whose story is in-spiring young people in Australian schools to look at issues that concern them, like bullying.

Board member Richard Kuipers

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Bert Bardoel is a director of the Anne Frank Exhibition Australia and joined the board in February of 2012.

Bert’s family back in the Netherlands have been supporters of the Anne Frank cause for two generations hence the decision to join the board was an easy one. Bert is particularly drawn to the message of cross cultural acceptance which the Anne Frank story communicates to youth on a ‘peer to peer’ level.

Bert is also the Chairman of Dutchlink, the Dutch Australian Chamber for Commerce and Culture. Professionally, Bert is the Oceania Leader for Strate-gic Growth Markets at EY and a member of the EY Oceania Markets Leader-ship team. In addition, Bert is the Eastern Region Director for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year programme.

Bert Bardoel is married to Caroline Spaans, they have two children and live in Turramurra, NSW.

Board member Bert Bardoel

Les Jacobson grew up in Carletonville, a small mining town in South Africa. His parents gave him an early awareness of social justice which was rein-forced during his school years and all through tertiary education. He has a Science degree and a teaching diploma.Shortly after completing his education he left South Africa on a world tour and eventually migrated to Sydney. In Sydney he worked in the IT department of Westpac for three years and then established his own company, Design Data Systems, which he has been running for the last 35 years.Les has always been involved in Jewish education and the Jewish community and was on the board of Masada College. He is married to Orit and they have three daughters and seven grandchildren who live in Auckland and London. One of their passions is travelling. The highlight of their travels was the day they were so graciously hosted at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. For both Les and Orit being involved in the Anne Frank project seems to be so appropriate in terms of their work with the Living Historian program and Holocaust survivors.

Board member Leslie David Jacobson

The mission of the Sydney Jewish Museum is to commemorate the lives of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, honour the Survivors and pay tribute to the Righteous Among the Nations. It is also to ensure - through education, academic research and the display of original arte-facts - that the Holocaust and its uniqueness in history is never forgotten and that it is recognised as a crime against humanity with contemporary and universal significance.Anne Frank is an iconic figure and her poignant story told within the context of the broader historical narrative of the Shoah ties in well with our extensive education program of-fered to primary and secondary school students. The Museum offers over 25 programs for school students from Stage 1- 6. All programs have applicability across the NSW curriculum with particular relevance to key syllabus areas, including Modern History, English, Legal Studies, Studies of Religion and Human Society and its Environment.The Anne Frank story, as told in the exhibition Anne Frank: A History for Today, provides the

opportunity to extend these education programs to a younger audience. Along with the school program, Anne’s story reso-nates with adult visitors too. It provides an avenue to touch on broad issues such as learning about ‘Righteous Among the Na-tions’, those courageous people who risked their lives to save others. Anne Frank was one of approximately 1.5 million Jew-ish children who died during the Holocaust. At the Sydney Jewish Museum, eyewitnesses who survived the Holocaust speak of their personal suffering during one of the darkest periods of human history. Like the events recorded in Anne Frank’s diary, survivors recount their experiences. Many of them were about the same age as Anne and they are deter-mined that their experiences are lasting evidence of what happened. Anne Frank’s words, insights and reflections remain meaning-ful for the world today. We look forward to welcoming you to

the Sydney Jewish Museum to view the exhibition, which will be on dis-play from 7 March to 8 June 2014.

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Agricultural Engineer (UBA), born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since 2006, Vera lives in Sydney and joined Rabobank in 2008, where she currently works in Sustainable Business Development. ‘I came across the Anne Frank Exhibition through my current role. I attended the Auckland launch while the exhibition was touring New Zealand, where a school girl played Anne when the Franks were hiding. Hearing Anne’s words of wisdom and imagining what she and her family went through, as well as another six million of human beings, including my grandparents, really touched me. I offered my assistance and soon after I joined the exhibition’s very committed team. Since, I’ve visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, which reinforced my desire to contribute to make the Frank’s story known by as many as possible’.

Advisor Drs Willem N. Cosijn, Consul-General of the Netherlands

Secretary Vera Zelenay

Coal Creek Community Park and Museum 11/10/13 - 22/12/13

Bonegilla (near Wodonga) Migrant Experience 24/12/13 - 28/02/14

Sydney Jewish Museum 06/03/14 - 08/06/14

Dubbo Western Plains Cultural Centre 14/06/14 - 10/08/14

Griffith City Library 18/08/14 - 29/09/14

Newcastle Region Library 03/10/14 - 29/11/14

Balranald Shire 5/12/14 - 26/01/15

Canberra Feb 2015 - April 2015

more at: http://www.annefrank.org.au

Willem Cosijn studied Modern History in Leiden, the Netherlands. Later he studied at the Naval Academy in Den Helder. Cosijn worked as Officer for Logistic Services on board of many frigates. Later he became Staff Officer at the Standing Naval Force Atlantic/Standing Nato Response Force Maritime Group and subsequently became adjunct-head of Marine Information at the Ministry of Defence.In June 2006 he became Master of Ceremonies for Her Majesty Queen Beatrix. He played a vital part in the succession ceremonies on the 30th of April this year. Then he became Master of Ceremonies for King Willem-Alexander and left this position in August to become Consul-General of the Netherlands in Sydney.Willem Cosijn hopes he can help to establish connec-tions relevant to the Anne Frank Exhibition.

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participating museums now and in the future

Jewish Holocaust Centre, Melbourne8,173 visitorsThe response was outstanding! It was the most successful travelling exhibition held at the Jewish Holocaust Museum. There was excellent feedback from teachers and students. We had numerous positive comments from members of the public. They were quite moved by the DVD. It gave an extra dimension to the overall experience. The response to the Anne Frank room was quite moving. Our education staff had discussions in the room with school groups enhancing their visit by giving them an experience above and beyond the written word and photos. The room was introduced to students not as Anne’s bedroom, but as a space where ‘you will get the feeling of confinement’ rather than as being in her room. This way, students were able to find a con-nection to the hiding experience, the claustrophobia and some other inherent difficulties.

Gold Museum, the Sovereign Hill Museums Association33,503 visitorsThe response was very good in general with those people who made the effort to read through the panels getting a comprehensive story.The DVD was a crucial part of the experience. We played it on a large format television and visi-tors were spellbound and deeply moved by the documentary. It was an ideal length and very well received by our visitors.Most people took time to read the letters (by people from Australia to Otto Frank) and they were rewarded for taking the extra time to do so.

John Gandel - philanthropist and educational partner, Boyd Klap and Ronald Leopold - director Anne Frank House Amsterdam

Rabobank client function at Jewish Holocaust Centre: left Thos Gieskes and Boyd Klap

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Portland Arts Centre Casterton Town Hall Supper Room

Portland – c.1,800 visitors (town population 9,600)Casterton – c.1,200 visitors (town population 1,700)

The response was fantastic. The total attendance across both towns of just over 3,000 people is unprecedented for our Exhibition program, which presents 12 exhibitions annually in Portland.There was an overwhelmingly positive response to the fact that the exhibition was available for viewing in regional towns in our Shire.The reactions of people to the content varied – from surprise (ie. learning information they didn’t previously know), to sadness and awe. Most people felt it was an important exhibition for people to see, and often encouraged others to come and view it.

We strongly promoted the DVD to people because we considered it was a very pow-erful, and provided an excellent overview of the exhibition and its wider context. Most people who watched it were of the same view. Some found it moving and sometimes a bit upsetting, but all agreed it was excellent.We ensured that every school group who came to the exhibition watched the DVD, and most students were also impressed and moved by its content.We were only able to display a few of the letters in Portland, and none in Caster-ton, because of the limited secure display facilities we had available for material of this nature. However, the letters provoked quite bit of interest from people of all ages in Portland, where we displayed them in company with the reproduction of Anne’s diary.

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first panel of exhibition

“When I write, I can shake off all my cares.”

photo Cris Toala Olivares

photos and text © Anne Frank House/Anne Frank Fond

The Anne Frank Travelling Exhibition Australia has been an outstanding success this year. As Boyd Klap mentioned, all museums broke their own records. The Gold Museum in Ballarat had 33,503 visitors, to be precise and so far has been

the record breaker in Australia. We still have to beat the museum in Wellington, New Zealand. They attracted 40,000 visi-tors. This was the first year of, we hope, many years to come. As shown on page 5 it has been booked till April 2015. By then we only had Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT, not even half of Australia. We have had many requests from other states and we are in contact with different museums who are interested in holding this exhibi-tion. Stay tuned!

Anne Frank would have turned 85 on June 12, 2014, a celebration that will never happen. She died at the age of 15 in Bergen-Belsen. She and her family, along with four others, spent over two years during World War II hiding in an annex of rooms above her father’s office in Amsterdam.Since it was first published in 1947, Anne Frank’s diary has become one of the most powerful memoirs of the Holocaust. Its message of courage and hope in the face of adversity has reached millions. Anne Frank’s story is especially meaningful to young people today. For many she is their first, if not their only exposure to the history of the Holocaust.After being betrayed to the Nazis, Anne, her family, and the others living with them were arrested and deported to Nazi concentration camps. In March of 1945, nine months after she was arrested, Anne Frank died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen. Her bravery and legacy live on, however, and she is frequently cited as a model for today.

Project Manager iet Fuijkschot

For more information about the Anne Frank Travelling Exhibition Australia, to book the exhibition or to become a sponsor please contact

iet FuijkschotT: 03 9751 2795M: 0419 465 516E: iet@annefrank.org.au PO Box 169Olinda Vic 3788www.annefrank.org.auwww.facebook.com/AnneFrankExhibitionAustralia

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