Dear Veronika, could you share more about the center’s beginnings, particularly the impact of the first Anne Frank exhibition in Berlin?

“The World of Anne Frank 1929 to 1945” was the title of the exhibition with which the history of the Anne Frank Zentrum began in 1994. This exhibition of the Anne Frank House Amsterdam tells the story of the Frank family in a historical context on 77 panels. It shows examples of contemporary references: current forms of antisemitism, right-wing extremism, and racism. After reading through the exhibition catalog, I noticed the layout is a little dated. The social challenges mentioned are highly topical.

Thirty years ago, a group of committed Berliners got together to organize a tour of this exhibition with six presentations. Four years after the reunification of East and West Germany, they wanted to try something new in Berlin: Based on the life story of Anne Frank, they wanted to remember the victims of the Holocaust and encourage people to think about history – as equals, beyond political intentions and top-down historiography.

The Anne Frank Zentrum e.V. emerged from the support association for this exhibition tour in 1998. The Anne Frank House entrusted the association with all of the work in remembrance of Anne Frank in Germany. After several relocations, the Zentrum found a suitable place in 2002 at Rosenthaler Straße 39, a historic location. It was here that the small factory owner Otto Weidt offered protection from Nazi persecution to mainly blind and deaf Jews. The Museum Blindenwerkstatt Otto Weidt commemorates their fate and their form of resistance at the authentic site.

What do you consider the most significant accomplishments of the Anne Frank Zentrum over the past 30 years?

The Anne Frank Zentrum in Berlin has hosted exhibitions continuously since 2002: first another international travelling exhibition by the Anne Frank House, and today a joint exhibition by the Zentrum and the House entitled “All about Anne”, a biographical, interactive and inclusive exhibition. More than half a million people have visited the Berlin exhibitions to date.

The Zentrum grew and prospered over the years, expanding its radius and working nationwide with various traveling exhibitions. Today we can look back on around 500 travelling exhibition projects, last year we were in 10 federal states, 20 cities and had 15.500 visitors. We bring historical and political education to places where it is most lacking and have placed a special focus on working with the traveling exhibition in prisons.

How have the center’s educational programs evolved to inspire younger generations to engage with Anne Frank’s story and lessons?

In 2012, we developed the Anne Frank Ambassadors project from our work with local young people, who we train as peer guides in our traveling exhibitions. Over the years, more than 450 young people have been honored as Anne Frank Ambassadors and are now part of a nationwide youth network that a separate department at the Zentrum manages.

The Zentrum continuously expanded its field of activity with projects such as the development of various learning materials, whether for children in primary schools, on the topic of flight, or on the subject of antisemitism in the past and present. The materials follow the biographical approach, which combines learning about history with learning about oneself and one’s own scope of action. The development of new learning formats is anchored in a separate department at the Zentrum.

In 2017, the first Anne Frank Day took place as a nationwide school campaign day against antisemitism and racism, centered around Anne Frank’s birthday. Today, more than 600 schools and more than one hundred thousand children and young people across Germany take part. Every year, Anne Frank Day has its own thematic focus that emphasizes different links between the past and present, for example, the themes of freedom, friendship, and resistance. Next year, the first inclusive Anne Frank Day will take place with materials for students with learning disabilities.

Over the years, the Anne Frank Zentrum has facilitated different learning opportunities for children and young people. It also networks and qualifies adults on topics relating to historical and political education critical of antisemitism. The Zentrum organizes seminars, large conferences, and specialist events.

How has the Anne Frank Zentrum’s collaboration with other organizations in civic education and antisemitism prevention shaped its educational efforts and outreach?

Working in networks has been an important feature of Anne Frank Zentrum’s work from the beginning. We are convinced that this is the best way to achieve our goals. The Zentrum maintains large networks such as the aforementioned youth network, the network of partners in the traveling exhibitions, and the “Erinnern vor Ort” network with 100 institutions and individuals who work with young people nationwide on local history. It also maintains networks in the digital space on Facebook and Instagram.

However, the Zentrum is also integrated into various networks and benefits greatly from its strong partners. Some examples are the Competence Network on Antisemitism, the ENCATE network, the “Arbeitskreis deutscher Bildungsstätten”, the Berlin Museums Association, the recognised educational institutions of the Federal Agency for Civic Education and the network of international partner organisations of the Anne Frank House.

What are the center’s key goals for the next decade, especially in light of rising antisemitism globally?

Looking to the future, the following is particularly important:

1) The Zentrum should remain a lively place in the future. It is a place with lots of good ideas that can adapt its content and methods to constantly changing circumstances and build on what has already been achieved. A good mix of change and the continuation of successful approaches is important in order to continue to achieve our goals: To facilitate learning opportunities to remember Anne Frank’s story and to commit to a democratic present and future.

2) The Zentrum should remain an effective place. A place that continues to be supported by highly committed and competent employees. People who approach their work with thoughtfulness, sensitivity for the target groups of educational work, and great respect for each individual. People who constantly reflect critically on themselves and their own work. The team should continue to be surrounded by a strong network of other organizations with which to cooperate.

3) The Zentrum should receive adequate funding that is designed for the long term. In the early days, the Zentrum’s small team worked on the edge of the financial abyss. Small project funds were painstakingly used to build up reasonably continuous funding from federal and state programs, which the team had to keep trying to obtain. After 30 years, the Zentrum receives a great deal of idealistic appreciation for its work, but so far, no funding has given this work a lasting perspective and reliable continuity. Working exclusively on a project basis keeps people alert but can also be demoralizing if fundraising puts too much strain on scarce resources and if staff have to fear for their jobs at the end of the year.

Short videos produced as part of the anniversary celebrations offer lively insights into the work of the Anne Frank Zentrum: https://www.annefrank.de/30-jahre/videos/ausstellung (for subtitles in English, please select the appropriate setting on YouTube).