Notre Dame will be hosting the traveling Anne Frank exhibit, giving students and the wider community a chance to engage with the story of one of the Holocaust’s more enduring figures. 

The exhibit, organized by the Anne Frank Center at the University of South Carolina in collaboration with Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, has not previously been displayed in Wisconsin. 

The opportunity came through a personal connection. 

The exhibit coordinator, who is a friend of NDA teacher Jaime Danen, knew the state had not hosted the exhibit and reached out when another school canceled. 

“She called right away and offered to bring it to NDA” said Danen who has been a United States Holocaust Teacher Fellow since 2016. 

The exhibit  will be housed in the NDA library and will be open to the community during two weekends, with additional field trips planned for schools. 

About 20 students will serve as guides, with others assisting in marketing the event. There will be two mandatory all-day training sessions to be a tour guide January 20-21. Guides must be in grades 10-12th grade. A sign-up form in students’ email is due December 18. 

“The story behind this exhibit is important,” said Danen, and every NDA student will get the chance to attend sometime during a class. 

Anne Frank and her story is well known and compelling. While the Holocaust was going on, she and her family hid in an attic  above a friend’s house so they could hide from the Nazis in Amsterdam. The Jewish family was eventually found and sent to Auschwitz where everyone except the father died. Mr. Frank brought Anne’s diary everywhere to keep the story alive.  

January 24 will be a Community Day where anyone who wants to experience the exhibit can come.

“I hope all people who are involved get the chance to not only learn about Anne Frank and the Holocaust but to see the value of coming together as a community,” said Danen. 

By bringing  the traveling exhibit to NDA students and community members alike will have the opportunity to reflect on history and the lessons it continues to teach about empathy and the importance of preserving stories.

Ella Hoeppner contributed to this story.