Anne Frank's Diary

[GEEMAC]

Did any of you see the final episode this evening?
I hadn't seen any of the previous episodes but my 10 year old daughter has been studying it at school and I watched it with her.
Even though I knew what was going to happen, I found it very powerful. The fact that the Nazis weren't sharply dressed SS officers but ordinary Germans in scruffy uniforms just doing their job, the fact that it was so close to the end of the war, the fact that it happened in my parents lifetime and the fact that it is still happening somewhere in the world today tripped a switch inside me. My daughter said it was the first time she had seen me cry. Damn you and well done the BBC.

[Mattk]

no,its not the same 'story' (not the best word to choose). its a continuation of her tragic life.

as stated above watch 'anne frank remembered' (i did) and you will see what i mean.

[smudge]

My husband is a Jewish descendant & finds programmes like this extremely upsetting to watch.

However, like your husband & daughter, I would like to go to the house/musem too chinadog. Maybe I will one day, but I'd have to go with my daughter/s, as I don't think my husband could face it.

All very sad, but we must keep the memory alive.

[smudge]

I do understand what you mean Matt & as I say, I'm going to watch 'Anne Frank Remembered' on bbc iplayer.

As an aside, I've been waiting for play.com to send me the DVD "The Boy in Striped Pyjamas". You probably already know, but it's about a young boy in concentration camp.....

[smudge]

You can watch a preview on here:

http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/5440127/-/Produ ct.html?searchstring=the+boy+in+striped+pyjama s&searchsource=0

Sorry GEEMAC - just passing info on & wish you well..

[tiggerblue10]

I watched it and it completely moved me to tears. I also watched Anne Frank Remembered on BBC4 which I think was narrated by Kenneth Branagh and also moved me to tears.

I also remember watching Otto Frank when he appeared on Blue Peter back in the 70's. I didn't realise the significance at the time as I was quite small.

I'm reading The Diary of Anne Frank at the moment and I'm sure I'll need to buy another box of tissues by the time I finish.

[Rosetta]

I have also visited the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam. As well as the atrocities of the Holocaust it showed me the claustrophobia of living in those conditions. The series captured that.

The Museum is well worth a visit, not for enjoyment, but to realise the depth of the atrocity, and yet how humdrum was Annes experience.

What a waste.

[BenDToy]

I watched Jerry Springer's "Who Do You Think You Are?" last night and it had a similar effect. Both his grandmothers died as a result of the inhumane and horrific "resettlement" of German Jews, one in a gas truck and the other in a ghetto. We must never ever allow all the stories like these to be forgotten, and certainly not mocked by ignorant ABers.

[Mr Veritas]

I thought you might like to see a copy of my answer to Jenna's question in History,as it is relevant here.

I don't think very few (if any) Jews,Gays,Disabled or Gypsies new what was awaiting them in the Concentration Camps.
Some had heard of these camps,but even those that did thought they were (as they were told) just "work Camps" where they would be "safe" from the agressive nature of the Non Jews/Gays/Disabled/Gypsies.
Indeed many Germans (at the start) thought that too.It was to begin with only the people that lived near the camps that new the awful things that went on there.It only started to filter out into the general population as the war progressed,but people looked away and thought "The Fuhrer must know what he is doing,and there must be a reason for it"
When the war ended and the scale of the slaughter was revealed some (brave) Germans admitted to it,but many denied what had happened or just ignored it altogether.
There are STILL older Germans who say the Holcaust was an American (Jewish) invention,hence the law in Germany making denial of the Holcaust illegal.
My Wife's Mother was Jewish,and she and my wife survived the camps,but most of her family did not.
She was completely unaware of just what lay instore for her in them.
My wife and I married (in Germany) in 1948,and I brought her back to the UK.She did experience some prejudice,but after the camps it was a holiday to her!

[tiggerblue10]

There is still a lot of denial that Anne Frank actually wrote the diary to this day and say that it couldn't be the work of a girl that young.

A lot of people didn't believe she existed until she was identified by the arresting Nazi SS officer from a picture in the 60's. These are the people that denied the Holocaust.

Very sad.

[GEEMAC]

Wow, that was more responses than I was expecting.

Hi Smudge, I'm surprised nobody else has mentioned 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'. I took my daughter to see it at the cinema, not the kind of film I would normally take her to see but she was studying the book at school. It was the first non-childrens film she had seen and it was a stunning piece of film making. Although you sort of think you know what is going to happen at the end, it still takes you by surprise. The final 20 minutes or so are probably the most powerful I have ever seen. It is the first time I have been to a film where you could literally hear the entire audience gasp. And it is also the only film where the entire audience and I mean everybody sat in stunned silence all the way through the end credits until the house lights went up. I understand this also happened after 'Schindlers List' but I never saw that film. Inevitably, I'm sure some of the impact will be lost on the small screen but nonetheless, I thoroughly recommend it.

[Bathsheba]

I'm also looking forward to watching the dvd of Boy in Striped Pyjamas, GEEMAC and Smudge. I found the book incredibly thought provoking x

[Whickerman]

I went to see Auschwitz and Birkenau and I don't think I'll ever ever forget what I saw there.

I have to say I only saw the last episode of this show too, and I'm not ashamed to say that even this 6ft /14st man was teary eyed as the names rolled up at the end with their fate underneath. Damn, that was a savage time. Makes me wonder about life these days - so many horrific things going on. As a race we've learned very little.

[smudge]

Back again - Hi GEEMAC & all, it's nice to know that there are so many caring people in this world!

I think it's good that you sat wth your daughter to watch The Diary of Anne Frank & that you took her to see The Boy in Striped Pyjamas GEEMAC. I know some people would be against raking up the past, but I think parents & schools should make youngsters aware of the heartache the war/s brought & that the people who died & suffered during it/them, including the men & women who fought for us, should never be forgotten.

I saw Shindler's List at the cinema when it first came out & it was again, a very thought provoking & moving film. If you do get the chance, I think you will appreciate watching it on DVD. The acting throughout is absolutely fantastic, so get the tissues ready & for the ending.

Sweet dreams all. -xx-

[smudge]

P.S. I've said to my husband & daughers in the past that I would like to visit Auschwitz & Birkenau too Wickerman. I can just imagine your thoughts & feeling when you were there.

I will do it one day....

[smudge]

Hi Bathsheba - I'll be thinking of you & all when I watch The Boy in Striped Pyjamas again. -xx-

[chinadog]

I remember how Jerry Springer turned his back to the wall and sobbed against a wall near the train wagon. So very very sad. One things about Schindlers List, it proved not all the germans were evil. He cried because he could have saved more Jews had he not wittled away his money.

[smudge]

I watched the Jerry Springer episode of 'Who Do You Think You Are' too - it was indeed very moving.

I'm sure as in all walks of life, the good German people, far outweighed the 'bad' ones during the war/s. It's just a shame that there were a minority, mainly Nazis, who wanted to eradicate subnormal human beings (in their eyes), & thought that they could one day, take over & rule the world!

Such a cruel waste of energy & life!

[GEEMAC]

Hello again Smudge. Interesting phrase, 'raking up the past', in my day we called it history : )

I must admit I was a bit surprised that my 10 year old was studying the 2nd world war and the holocaust but in many ways it was no more brutal than the history I did at school when I was her age, ie the Viking pillages, Romans feeding Christians to lions, medieval torture etc. but there is something painfully recent about ww2 that makes it much more relevant. I even went on a school trip with them to Newhaven Fort, which is about 10 miles from where we live, they had an air raid experience where we went into an underground bunker while air raid sirens sounded and 'bombs' dropped around us. Scary stuff. But I would like to re-iterate the point that I made in my original post that people are still living under those conditions today, which is what I think made the Anne Frank programme even more emotional. As a species we don't seem to have learnt anything.

Let me know how you get on with 'The Boy...'

Gx

[rabbitygirl]

It's good to see The Silver Sword by Ian Serrailier mentioned (by naomi).

This is a wonderful book, first read as a school read many years ago.

I was once at a Jim Davidson show and he mentioned the book and recommended it be read......to no response. I felt like shouting out and backing him........

Also, any who didn't go on to see Anne Frank Remembered should see it. A marvellous programme which answers most remaining questions about her and her family.