Let Me Be Myself – The Story of Anne Frank

Let Me Be Myself – The Story of Anne Frank is a travelling exhibition currently being held at the National Jewish Memorial Centre  in Forrest.

The exhibition documents Anne Frank’s life, from when she was born in 1929, to when she died, aged 15, at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.

From the Anne Frank House in the Netherlands, this is a new exhibition that is  aimed at young people with a clear message of tolerance for all people, which is echoed throughout the displays.

Yvette Goode, a guide at the exhibition, says that it “looks at reasons why people might become prejudiced”.

“We hope this will help prevent future atrocities,” she said.

The exhibition starts with a 25 minute film, The Short life of Anne Frank, that provides some context to Frank’s story as well as readings from her diary.

It contains the only known video footage of Frank, where she leans over a balcony observing a neighbour’s wedding.

The film shows the progression of the Nazi regime’s hatred towards Jews and how each new progression impacted Frank and her family.

Then there is an upstairs area where the main exhibition is on display.

You can be guided along this display or peruse at your own leisure. The guides are very knowledgeable of Anne Frank and the history surrounding the time she lived in, with some even having their own personal stories of experiencing prejudice.

There are many panels documenting the timeline of events, from when Anne was born and growing up to when the Second World War was over.

Photos of Frank and her family are displayed along with photos and descriptions of events in the War that show the treatment of Jews and anyone the Nazis did not deem fit for life.

Along with the images are physical artifacts such as a Star of David patch that Jews were forced to wear to identify themselves as Jewish, and a replica of Frank’s diary.

There is also a model of the house Frank and her family hid in when it became too dangerous for them to live a normal life, and two large photo displays placed in a way to give you an idea of what is was like to live in such a small space.

After the main exhibition is a smaller display showing many different young people of various ethnicities, religions, abilities and cultures.

This is accompanied by videos of these people telling their stories of being different and having experienced some form of prejudice as a result of that.

The responses to the exhibition have been very positive, with many school students gaining worthy insight.

“The more able and older students often said they had learned a lot from the exhibition,” Mrs Goode said.

“This of course makes us here at the ACT Jewish Community feel that [our] time has been well spent, for even if we can positively influence one young person, we will feel we have achieved a great deal,” she said.

But it is not only school students who come to see the exhibition.

Rosemary Brassil, an exhibition goer, said that it is “very valuable”.

“We can see a lot of similarities with how we treat people today,” she said, while questioning whether we have changed our treatment of people since then.

The comment book for the exhibition is filled with comments like, “Highly relevant to all ages”, “Important to never forget”, and the most common statement, “Very moving”.

Let Me Be Myself – The Story of Anne Frank is on display until 31 March 2015, after which it will travel to other areas of Australia.

The exhibition is open Sunday, Monday and Wednesday from 10 am – 5 pm, Tuesday and Thursday from 10 am – 8 pm and Friday from 10 am – 2 pm and has a $5 per person entry fee.