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Anne Frank display at Blackburn Cathedral
2:51pm Thursday 24th April 2008
Comments (1)SCHOOLS can visit Anne Frank's bedroom without leaving the country, thanks to an exhibition at Blackburn Cathedral.
Visitors to the Anne Frank and You exhibit will be able to experience a life-size replica of Anne's bedroom, where she wrote her celebrated diary while hiding from the Nazis.
Already some 73 schools - just under 5,000 children - have booked slots to visit the exhibition which will include the "secret annexe" above business premises in Amsterdam where the Frank family, and four other Jews, spent more than two years in hiding before 1944.
To reach the replica secret annexe room, visitors must pass through a multi-media display exploring the themes that dominated Anne's life and a tunnel on the Holocaust.
The exhibit shows how the themes of Anne's diary - prejudice, racism, freedom and democracy still apply in the 21st Century. Alongside excerpts from her diary, examples of present day issues will also be displayed.
The cathedral's dialogue development officer, and chair of the Anne Frank in Blackburn Committee, Anjum Anwar, said: "We are thrilled so many young people will come. The fact it is offered free to the people of Lancashire is an opportunity that should not be missed.
Let us hope that what emerges from this experience is a determination to ensure diaries like Anne Frank's do not have to be written again, because the attitudes that led to her suffering have begun to be transformed."
Anne Frank and You is presented by exChange, the interfaith development agency of Blackburn Cathedral from May 1-28.
The exhibition will be open Monday to Friday 9.30am-5pm, Saturdays 10am-3.15pm and Sundays 12.30-3.30pm.
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Mandy Moore, Lancashire says...
1:05pm Sat 24 May 08
First thing you come to is a large section of boards filled with information on how Devout Muslims helped Jews in Hiding. This seemed to be a very popular theme of the exhibition. I have to say i wasnt impressed with this. as it was the first time id ever heard about it and i know alot about the subject of the Holocaust. I think it was due to the fact Lancashire has a very high Muslim majority. Schools have been coming to the exhibition and it would educate them about their own religion.
Youd think it was abit biast how id go to this and not be happy with the whole "muslim theme". But it was mainly the fact that if we had wanted help going into hiding (being gay) these people would most certainly turn us away! to follow on parts of the exhibition mentioned the persecution of Homosexuals.
I wanted to see Anne Frank. that is what i came for..
So i was relieved when i came to the life size replica of Anne's bedroom. the walls where the same with the wallpaper and the pictures of film stars on the walls.. in the centre behind a glass case was a Fascimile of Anne's Diary. the most true to life replica of the actual diary you will see.
On leaving her bedroom there is a short history of the Holocaust... a "child friendly" version compared to what we saw at the War Museum in London.
There is a video of Persecuation through the ages since the Holocaust.
Leaving this section there is a Bust with lots of black fabric thrown over it where a class had been making full Veils.
Across the other side of the Catherdral is another part of the Anne Frank Exhibition. this part is about YOU.
Lots of video film from the Muslim comunity about racial hatred.
After this, there is the Fairtrade tables full of items for sale and FREE samples. so we had a bottle of water and an orange.
Now.. last is the gift shop area. comprising of lots of versions of Anne's diary. Also Eva Scholls Diary... She was Anne's step sister. but she survived the Holocaust even after being sent to Auschwitz. I have this book and its very good!
I bought a note book, its a replica of Anne's Tartan diary with the lock and all.