Castille vaults host Anne Frank
The vaults of the Auberge de Castille in Valletta have stepped back seven decades and been transformed into wartime Amsterdam, detailing the short but significant life of Jewish Holocaust victim Anne Frank who went into hiding to escape the Nazis.
Huge information panels with photos of the young girl’s smiling face and her family document her life and the political events that led to World War II in a detailed timeline in English and Maltese.
One of over one million Jewish children who died in the Holocaust, the girl’s name stands out in history for the detailed diary she kept during the two years she went into hiding from the Nazis.
In the first half of July 1942, when the Germans invaded Amsterdam, Anne and her family moved into a secret annexe built behind their apartment. But two years later, they were discovered by the Gestapo (the German secret state police) who were tipped off by an anonymous Dutch caller. The family was arrested, split up and Anne and her sister Margot were sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Both girls died a year later from typhus fever – Anne was 16 years old.
Anne’s story touched Karl Borg, the mind behind the exhibition, who read her famous diary in 1996 and visited Anne Frank House in Amsterdam where he saw the annexe where the Franks hid for two years. Before leaving, he took a little leaflet with information and contact details about the Anne Frank roaming exhibition. Years later, he blew the dust off the leaflet and started working on bringing it to Malta.
At the launch, schoolchildren also had the chance to ask questions to a Holocaust survivor who, in a live video link, told his story.
The exhibition has been extended by a week and will remain open until February 25 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekends and public holidays. Entrance is from Merchants' Street.
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John Paul Fenech
Feb 13th 2011, 17:42
Tried visiting the mentioned exhibition today at 12:10 pm. We were refused entry by the AFM guard who told us that the last person allowed to enter is at 12.00. The website clearly indicates that the exhibition should close at 13:00. Shame that in this country we cant seem to do things right.
Jesmond Micallef
Feb 5th 2011, 15:37
Anne Frank and her photograph here are immortal. There are other stories which are equally relevant. Sophie Scholl and her brother Max. They too were part of the hitler Youth and were critical of the nazi regime. So critical they were that together with others they formed the White Rose resistance group. The rest of the story is up to the readers to find out.........but surely a very tragic one too, on all counts.
Her famous words in her native german language are immortally inscribed - "Ich würde es genauso wieder machen" - I would exactly do the same again !!
Personally, I do not want to take this subject matter any further and so will leave it at just that. The disciplined and systematic extermination of human beings is beyond my comprehension and everybody has to be reminded, though, forever and ever, amen.
Raymond Sammut
Feb 5th 2011, 13:58
The topic here is not Jews and Palestinians. This exhibition is about a small child who, in most difficult and extraordinary circumstances, chronicled the tragedy of her family and herself. The severity and harsh nature of the conditions she was in would not have been known was it not for her discipline and her genuine concern for humanity.
If political leaders in Israel and elsewhere, such as in Egypt right now, have not learned from these recorded experiences, then of course this is also a tragedy. The fact that Anne Frank was Jewish, however, is totally irrelevant. The yellow hexagram on her clothing could have been, and could presently be, any other symbol --a grim reminder for everyone.
Jesmond Micallef
Feb 4th 2011, 22:34
J.Mifsud and L. Borg. I agree with your comments regarding the Palestinian people.
J.Mifsud
Feb 4th 2011, 17:38
I agree with Mr Borg, although what happened to the Jews in the past is dispicable, we cannot turn our backs on what is happening to the Palestinians in the present day. The Jews out of all people should act more humanely towards less fortunate nations. We should learn about the past so as not to do the same mistakes again.
l vella micallef
Feb 4th 2011, 16:42
yesterday we decided to go and visit and arrived there at 6.00 pm, but when we tried to go in they said that they are open till 6.00 and that it was closed. Can you please confirm the right time because it was very disappointing to go and find it closed when it is suppost to stay open till 7.00pm.
louis borg
Feb 4th 2011, 15:07
yes i was also touched by the anne frank story and also visited her house in amsterdam
however i also was touched by the story of a 7 year old palestnian girl killed by the israeli army by firing at her with a tank while cycling in gaza near a jewish settlement
the usa tank can even spot a mouse let alone a girl on a bike
anne frank died because she was jewish and the palestnian girl died because she was not
we cannot change the past but we know what is now happening to many children all over the world in the present time so we must more worry about what is happening now
Kleaven Maniscalco
Feb 4th 2011, 13:28
Good Job Karl.
Will visit it tomorrow most probably.
P.Grima
Feb 4th 2011, 12:06
A great exhibition mounted in a most professional manner. The restored Castle vaults by themselves are well worth a visit. The whole experience adds value to the tourist trade. With the Piano project completed, exhibitions of this standard on show and the restoration drive sustained, will undoubtedly make a visit to Valletta an even more uplifting experience than it already is.