Some Thoughts About Anne Frank

I scanned a play last week that I was digitally filing today based on The Diary of Anne Frank. This play, by Meyer Levin, was basically banned (suppressed) by Anne Frank's father, influenced by his legal advisors. I read the introduction to the play, which is only available in print for libraries and literary discussion, written by Levin, about how the play was suppressed in favor of the more commerical version by a pair of Hollywood writers. I think this story is fascinating but, due to a legal agreement made by Mr. Frank and Mr. Levin, hardly ever told. Thinking about this fascinating story and Anne Frank's experiences in general got me thinking about a few different things.

First of all, one of my best friends in elementary school was a girl named Sasha. She and I bonded over a shared love of reading. One of her favorite books was The Diary of Anne Frank, which, inspired by her, I promptly bought. But my mom thought the book was too mature for me, and I still have not read it. I'm going back to L.A. this weekend, where my copy of this book lives, and I'm definitely taking it back to New York with me to finally read this classic. However, I'm not entirely certain where in my room and extensive book collection it is to be found. I can picture it exactly in my mind, out of my sun porch, but that mental picture is from way back in elementary school, when the book was still a pressing subject in my life. I have no idea where it is now, but I think it's so interesting how people can have these incredibly detailed snapshots of the past stored in their memories.

The other thing I got to thinking about was Holocaust deniers. While I find conspiracy theories really interesting, I cannot stand the thought of Holocaust deniers. In fourth grade we read "Number the Stars," about a little girl who lived through krystallnacht (spelling??), and Mrs. Roman showed us an episode of "7th Heaven" (the only episode of that show I've ever seen, actually), in which the little blonde boy is learning about the holocaust but a boy in his class says that his father told him that's all a lie. The little blonde boy then meets his neighbor, who has a concentration camp serial number tattooed on her arm, and brings his new friend into class to tell them about the realities of the horror she survived.

Some conspiracy theories are funny (most involve UFOs), some are fairly absurd but you can understand why they are believed (the JFK assassination -- yeah, I'm pretty sure it was Oswold, but there's just enough uncertainty for the conspiracy theory to thrive). But with holocaust deniers, I just don't get where it even started. I mean, the images themselves speak volumes, but the stories from not only survivors but even some on the Nazi side are just too numerous to be denied. I just don't get where the delusion comes from and how it has been perpetuated at ALL, even though of course it is NOT a very "popular" theory as far as conspiracy nuts go. And it's not even really conspiracy nuts who buy into this one, it's a much more disconcerting brand of crazy people.