Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial

The Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial is a .81 acres (0.33 ha) cenotaph complex and educational park in Boise, Idaho near the Boise Public Library and the Greenbelt, the centerpiece of which is a statue of Anne Frank; it is jointly maintained by the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights and the Boise Department of Parks and Recreation, and is the only human rights memorial in the U.S.[1] Designed by Idaho Falls architect Kurt Karst, a sapling of the Anne Frank Tree and quotations from some sixty notables and unknowns (including poets, activists, politicians and diplomats, those who survived the Holocaust, and those who did not) are prominent installations.[2] It also features one of the few installations where the full text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is on permanent public display. The park been recognized and accepted by the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.[3] It was thoroughly renovated in September 2018, with an outdoor classroom and a new sculpture, "The Spiral of Injustice." [4]

Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial
Anne Frank is depicted looking out of her family's hiding place, famous diary in hand, having drawn an invisible curtain. The flowers were left in homage after the vandalism of May 2017.
TypeCenotaph complex and educational park
LocationNear the Boise Public Library
Nearest cityBoise, Idaho
Coordinates43°36′35″N 116°12′31″W
Area.81 acres (0.33 ha)
The first plaque of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in monumental form was the first item subjected to vandalism

Museum researcher Brigitte Sion has written that in seeking to use Anne Frank as a symbol for various universal and parochial issues, the memorial offers a sanitized version of Anne Frank that denies the reality of her history. Sion writes "Nothing in the Boise memorial's mission statement, its official literature, or at the site itself directly identifies Anne Frank as a Jewish victim of the Holocaust or explains the reason for her hiding, let alone for her arrest, deportation, and death in a Nazi concentration camp".[5]

The site not only serves as a convenient staging area for rallies, marches, and protests (and more generally as a contemplative spot), it is where the Boise Police Department takes their newly commissioned officers before field training.[6][7]

Vandalism

In early May 2017 the plaque featuring the beginning of the complete Universal Declaration of Human Rights was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti in red marker; more generally two different areas of the site were also defaced over the next few days with racist slurs against black people and Jews causing $20,000 in damage, due in part to the botched initial attempts at repair.[8][9] The vandalism, the first since the memorial's dedication in 2002, is being investigated as a potential hate crime, and numerous donations for repair have poured in.[10]

In December 2020, the memorial was defamed with pieces of paper reading "we are everywhere" and depiction of a swastika.[11] This prompted Mayor Lauren McLean to say, "Bad actors who use racist and violent rhetoric are not welcome in this community."[11][12]

See also

Notes
  1. Webb, Anna (2017-06-01). "Bieter urges crowd to 'stand up to power' at anti-hate Anne Frank Memorial ceremony". The Idaho Statesman.
  2. "Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
  3. "International Coalition of Sites of Conscience". Wassmuth Center for Human Rights. Archived from the original on 2017-05-14. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
  4. Berg, Sven (2018-09-20). "With racist graffiti in the past, Boise celebrates new day for Anne Frank memorial". The Idaho Statesman. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  5. Brigitte Sion (2012). "Chapter 6: Anne Frank as Icon, from Human Rights to Holocaust Denial". In Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett; Jeffrey Shandler (eds.). Anne Frank Unbound : Media, Imagination, Memory. Indiana University Press. pp. 183–185. ISBN 978-0-253-00661-5.
  6. Kyle, Zach (2017-05-11). "Anne Frank Memorial hit with another act of vandalism: 'It's a cowardly act, it's a criminal act'".
  7. Martin, Steve (2018-12-21). "Building Bridges in Boise". Pride Foundation. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
  8. Shaver, Natalie (2017-05-12). "Woman donates $20,000 to repair Anne Frank Memorial". KTVB.
  9. Morlin, Bill (2017-05-10). "Anne Frank Memorial in Idaho Vandalized". Southern Poverty Law Center.
  10. Sowell, John (2014-05-13). "Donations pour in to repair Boise's Anne Frank Memorial after vandalism". Idaho Statesman.
  11. Press, REBECCA BOONE, Associated. "Idaho Anne Frank memorial defaced with swastika stickers". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
  12. "Idaho Anne Frank Memorial Defaced With Nazi Propaganda". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
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