The Diary of Anne Frank has become a classic in the literature of the Holocaust. It has drawn young people for several generations to “feel” the results of the international indifference which resulted in the Holocaust in Europe in the 1940’s, but which could be applied to the consequence of other Holocausts in Cambodia, in Armenia, in Bosnia, and in Uganda. In her Diary, Anne Frank delivered a universal, powerful and poignant message for future generations of students, a message that has no temporal, ethnic, religious, or cultural boundaries. The following student responses are those of current students, who share their feelings about events in which they were present, ranging from a classroom Holocaust lecture, an international gathering of Holocaust survivors and liberators, a YomHashoah lecture, and as participants, in Holocaust memorial activities. Hopefully their messages will likewise affect future generations of students to learn about, and through the release of their feeling, assure the world of the future that empathy will overcome the indifference to human activities that result in holocausts.

The Hangman Poem With Sketches by the art class at
Kearsarge High School 2003

Erica Blum, a student in New London, New Hampshire
Kearsarge Midle School

Sean Weeks-Earp, as student in Bard College

Students of the German “Rotkreuz” (Red Cross) in Weimar, Germany

Michael Passarini, a student in Lexington, Massachusetts

Courage in Jr. High

Portsmouth High School

Pemi Baker Academy (10 students)

We invite teachers, or students of whatever age to submit their own reflections and feelings about Holocaust studies they have had, in the past, or in the present. They will be sending powerful messages to future generations of young people, in much the same way that Anne Frank has done.