ANNE FRANK Q & A with Marisa Kilgallen Part Four

Guest Article

SS: Currently, does the AF Center outreach to Prisoners of war in other countries?

MK: What we have here at the AF Center is a prison diary program in which we provide prisoners with a journal and a copy of Anne Frank’s book. A lot of prisoners read her diary and gain not only emotional support, but some skills and knowledge about writing. Then, the prisoners are asked to record their thoughts and send their journals back to the Anne Frank Center. Once we have received the journals, we try, and I even have done this, to see if we can detect a character arch-a change in thought process leading to a development in perspective-like Anne’s change in maturity (depicted in her diary). The prison diary program at the Anne Frank Center, however, does not reach out to prisoners of war in other countries. The program mainly reaches out to prisoners in American and Canadian prisons.

SS: Are there any special awards offered through the AF Center?

MK: We have the “Spirit of Anne Frank Awards” which is given to students, citizens, and educators who have done work to combat discrimination.

SS: What kind of books does the bookstore sell?

MK: We have plays written about Anne Frank and books about her and her family. We also have accounts from Holocaust survivors, such as Alicia’s Story, Eva’s Story (written by Anne Frank’s stepsister), and Steal a Pencil for Me-the story of the meeting of Jack Polak (the chairman emeritus of The Anne Frank Center) and his wife during their imprisonment in concentration camps.

SS: How is the AF Center supported?

MK: We have a lot of sponsors: “The AFC is a nonprofit organization that relies on a variety of funding sources for its activities.” There are many ways to give to the AF Center such as making a donation, applying for membership, volunteering, and doing an internship. “Contributions to the organization are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law”: Random House, Maxim, and Merrill Lynch (“Support The Anne Frank Center” and “Sponsors”).

SS: What do the proceeds go towards – does it get filtered back here?

MK: Yes, pretty much. Parts of the proceeds go towards maintaining the exhibition, educational programs, and making sure that Anne Frank’s legacy is upheld here at all times.

SS: What would Anne Frank have done with her life if she had lived?

MK: I think that she would have continued to write. She did want to be a journalist. She did say that she wanted to travel the world and visit many places – preferably London and Paris. She wanted to learn several languages and art history. She also wanted to have the opportunity to see beautiful gowns and meet interesting people.

SS: Didn’t she have movie star pictures on her wall?

MK: She did and she also had art pictures on her wall as well (A replica of her bedroom wall, with her pictures, is on display in The Anne Frank Center’s media exhibit).

SS: Last year you loaned me some of Anne’s stories that she wrote, in separate notebooks, other than the diary.

MK: She wrote fictional stories, reminisces, and theories. Her father included some of those works in the diary, but not all of them. They’re nice to read, too. When you read her storybook, Tales from the Secret Annex, it’s kind of a nice, light read because, for a while, she forgets the chaos and horror of the world in which she lived. She writes about taking walks in the woods, fictional places, her life before going into hiding, giving to others, and other things.

SS: So, was it Anne’s wish that she would go on to the university and become a writer?

MK: Her wish was to become a writer and to live on after her death. All those dreams came true for her. Her book has kept her alive– spiritually.

SS: So you think that she learned more by being in the annex than she would have in her local schools if she was not in hiding?

MK: In this situation, I think that she learned more about herself and who she was while she was in hiding.

SS: Who would tutor her, Margot and Peter?

MK: Otto Frank would tutor them. A lot of times Anne would have a lesson and do what she had to do. Sometimes her books came from the library so she had to read them before they had to be returned. She loved getting books from the library. Everyone in the annex did because it was kind of a way to escape their difficult situation and obtain an essence of the outside world they missed. In terms of her writing ability, she taught that to herself. Her extensive reading enabled her to perfect her writing. When she heard the announcement on the radio that they would be collecting diaries after the war, she began to rewrite her diary because she knew that she would have an audience. She edited it. She changed some of the names of the people she talked about in the diary. I believe Anne was going to give her and her family the last name, Robin. Her sister was going to have the name, Betty. Betty was Margot’s middle name. Edith was going to be Nora. Otto, I believe, was intended to be called Frederik. The van Pelses were going to be the van Daans. Hans was going to be Herman’s (van Pels) fake name. Auguste van Pels was going to be Petronella van Daan and Peter van Pels was going to be Alfred van Daan. (Frederick) Fritz Pfeffer’s fake name was Albert Dussel. Not every person’s name was changed entirely. The Franks’ names were kept the same, only the last names of Herman and Peter van Pels were changed, Fritz Pfeffer and Mrs. Auguste van Pels were the only people whose names were changed. Now being that people know who the secret annex members really were, editions of Anne’s diary are printed with the secret annex members’ actual names.

SS: So she (Anne) kind of “Hollywoodized” her diary with the names?

MK: Well, she didn’t want so many controversies or hurt feelings because a lot of her entries about some of the secret annex members were not flattering. But I do know that some controversies arose over Fritz Pfeffer because his fiancée, who survived the war, didn’t like how he was portrayed in the book.

SS: Think of it this way – they were all in hiding and were scared and wouldn’t have been on their best behavior.

MK: I think that explains some of the behavior of the secret annex members. Sometimes the stress and strain of hiding, along with a new life, caused most of them to be short-tempered with one another.

SS: How did they know about these bits and pieces of what happened in the concentration camps?

MK: People who were friends with the Franks in the camps often retold stories of their experiences. I forget who the woman (one of the Brilleslijper sisters) was who told Otto Frank what happened to Anne and Margot. She gave him a testimony of what happened so he would know the fate of his daughters. Otto, as you know from Eva’s Story, found out about Edith’s death from a woman who had been with her (Edith) at Auschwitz. Edith had died in that woman’s arms. He knew Herman van Pels was dead because he had seen him being taken to the gas chambers. I don’t know how he found out about everyone else.

SS: Did he go investigating through towns?

MK: I’m not sure. Basically what I know about the others’ deaths is based on what I’ve read. I don’t know where that information is from. Since Peter’s death is known, it must have been recorded. Anne and Margot’s deaths weren’t recorded as systemized as the Nazis were. The dates of death were probably recorded, then lost. Pfeiffer’s date of death is known, so it must have been recorded. Auguste van Pels is believed to have died while on a transport to Theresienstadt--a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. So, that’s pretty much all I know.

SS: Thank you very much Marisa.

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Works Cited

Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl. New York: Bantam Books, 1993. 262. Print.

The Anne Frank Center USA. “About The Anne Frank Center.” Mission Statement. Beak. n.d. Web. 5 Jul. 2012.

The Anne Frank Center USA. “Sponsors.” Support The Anne Frank Center. Beak. n.d. Web. 5 Jul. 2012.

The Anne Frank Center USA. Support The Anne Frank Center. Beak. n.d. Web. 5 Jul. 2012.

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