Anne Frank Lives

It’s the third grade book report. They had to read a biography and then dress up as the person and give a presentation in front of the class. We’ve done tons of book reports over the years, but the other two girls never had to dress up as a character.

When we were thinking of which book Lauryn should read, she was adamant that she wanted it to be a girl/woman. She wasn’t about to dress up in boy clothes. So we thought about all the interesting women she could read about. There were many, obviously. When we took a look at the biographies in the book store, she was drawn right away to Anne Frank. Maybe because it was one of the few “girl” books they had. Most likely it was because Anne was a young girl… like Lauryn herself.

So we read the book together. It wasn’t the actual “Diary of Anne Frank” book that I read in school, but it was an actual child’s biography, written to help kids understand who the people really were. Reading a book like this was informative, but it wasn’t really all that interesting to Lauryn. When she finished the book, I suggested she sit down and watch the movie. The original “Diary of Anne Frank” was on Netflix and I sat down to watch it with her. And then it took on a whole new meaning.

As Jews, we have always touched on the Holocaust and what it meant for our people as a whole, and our families. The kids heard about concentration camps, Hitler, the war… but history is only words. Something needs to set the spark… to make it come alive. I think for the first time, the movie did it for them. Let’s just say many questions were asked. And answered. And I think my kids have a new appreciation for the fact that we are here at all.

So, it came time to get her outfit together for the presentation. I went to Goodwill and found a plain navy skirt with a plain gray sweater. I also bought her a pair of simple black school shoes and knee socks. The outfit looked right, but it was missing something. I went back and looked at photos of the time period, and suddenly I knew what was missing.

I drove over to Joann’s and purchased a single cut of yellow felt. And I went home and did some cutting and sewing.

And when it was done… I sat and cried. I cried because I thank God every day that my children don’t know what it’s like to be isolated from their friends. They get to go to school and talk about lighting Hanukkah candles. They wear their Star of David necklaces proudly in public. We get to live anywhere we want, work anywhere we want, and celebrate anything we want.

That star is our past. But it is never forgotten. To see my daughter wearing it made me happy we live in a society that is accepting. But I also know that history tends to repeat itself, and there are too many people on this planet who aren’t allowed to live freely. Had we lived in Eastern Europe in the 1930’s, the family in hiding could have been us. Or, we could have been some of the first to leave by train. Anne Frank could have been my Temera. Or my Amanda. Or my Lauryn.