📔 A NJ college is hosting an Anne Frank exhibition

📔 It highlights the idea that her diary has been translated many ways

📔 The exhibition is on display until spring


BRANCHBURG — A traveling exhibition honoring the life and legacy of Anne Frank is now on display at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg.

The “Anne Frank in Translation,” presented by the Institute of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at RVCC will be on display at the college’s library until May 15.

The Exhibition

The exhibition highlights the idea that Anne Frank has been translated in many languages, in many formats, whether it’s been in her book, or it’s been in a play, or it’s been in a film, said RVCC program specialist, Michelle Edgar.

“Her story has resonated over decades with people from all over the world, across many generations,” Edgar said.

This exhibition is meant to highlight how this has unfolded, who is involved in making Anne Frank the iconic figure she is, and the exhibition is also supplemented with copies of Frank’s diaries in multiple languages, she said.

Netherlands Anne Frank
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Those languages include Spanish, Dutch, Hindi, Hebrew, Korean, and French.
The memorabilia on display is The Diary of Anne Frank in multiple languages. The exhibition is informational so people will see various screens and panels about the history and the people involved, Edgar said.

“They’ll be seeing various standing screens and panels with information. Each panel, there are about 8 of them in total, walking us through her story. There will be multiple copies of her book, and we’ll be showing a little film that also reflects the universality of Anne Frank’s story,” she said.

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RVCC acquired the diaries themselves but the actual panels from the exhibition are from Kennesaw State University in Georgia.

People are allowed to peruse the books and diaries in various languages available. Edgar said there are about 10 copies of the diary on display, plus a graphic novel that has also been translated into French and Spanish.

“The exhibit provides a reflection of Anne Frank’s story and understanding more in-depth the people, and the different groups involved in making her story come to life from when she was writing while she was in hiding to where we are today in our world and how her story still resonates,” Edgar said.

Learning more about Frank, her story, plus seeing the different languages that her diary is available in, plus accounts of others who have gone to see the annex in Amsterdam, brings everything together in many different ways, and can resonate with many different people, she added.

The exhibition is open to the public and free to attend. Registration is required, however.

Sapling of Anne Frank's original chestnut tree at RVCC (Michelle Edgar, RVCC)
Sapling of Anne Frank's original chestnut tree at RVCC (Michelle Edgar, RVCC)
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The Sapling

Aside from the Anne Frank exhibition on display until May 15, RVCC has another piece of Anne Frank history located in the main quad of the campus.

A sapling from Anne Frank’s chestnut tree outside the annex in Amsterdam has taken root at the college.

In June 2024, RVCC was honored to receive one of the saplings from the original tree in front of the Annex, where Frank and her family had remained hidden for more than two years. The chestnut tree was a point of inspiration for Anne, which she wrote about in her diary.

Sapling of Anne Frank's original chestnut tree at RVCC (Michelle Edgar RVCC)
Sapling of Anne Frank's original chestnut tree at RVCC (Michelle Edgar RVCC)
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Edgar said the tree gave Frank hope. Whenever she looked outside from inside the secret annex and looked at the tree, it gave her the drive and inspiration to keep going, that one day she would get out, and live her life to the fullest. Unfortunately, Frank died at age 16 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany.

RVCC applied for a sapling. In the application, Edgar explained that New Jersey resident, Margit Feldman, was a Holocaust survivor, and who was instrumental in creating the Institute of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at RVCC. She also helped create The Holocaust Commission in New Jersey.

Feldman was born on the same as Anne Frank, June 12, 1929.

Both women were sent to Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. Feldman survived. Frank did not. So, RVCC asked to have one of Frank’s tree saplings to honor Feldman.

Margit and Harvey Feldman (Michelle Edgar)
Margit and Harvey Feldman (Michelle Edgar)
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Margit was from Hungary but came to New Jersey to live with relatives. She died at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic on April 14, 2020, in Franklin Township, Somerset County. She was 90 years old.

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Beyond the Exhibition

After seeing the exhibition at RVCC, folks are encouraged to check out the exhibition at The Center for Jewish History in New York City. This exhibit, opened until the end of April features a replica of the annex where Anne Frank and her family were holed up in Amsterdam.

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