Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial
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".
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.
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. 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.
In December 2020, the memorial was defamed with pieces of paper reading "we are everywhere" and depiction of a swastika. This prompted Mayor Lauren McLean to say, "Bad actors who use racist and violent rhetoric are not welcome in this community."
Gallery
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A brief video clip of the memorial's Quote Walls
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A brief video clip at the memorial's centerpiece
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Running water
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Cenotaph detail
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Orchids left in homage
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One of the only 11 Anne Frank saplings in the United States
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An Antifa sticker placed on the representation of Anne Frank's diary
See also
Notes
- ^ Webb, Anna (2017-06-01). "Bieter urges crowd to 'stand up to power' at anti-hate Anne Frank Memorial ceremony". The Idaho Statesman.
- ^ "Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2017-05-13.
- ^ "International Coalition of Sites of Conscience". Wassmuth Center for Human Rights. Archived from the original on 2017-05-14. Retrieved 2017-05-15.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Kyle, Zach (2017-05-11). "Anne Frank Memorial hit with another act of vandalism: 'It's a cowardly act, it's a criminal act'".
- ^ Martin, Steve (2018-12-21). "Building Bridges in Boise". Pride Foundation. Retrieved 2018-12-23.
- ^ Shaver, Natalie (2017-05-12). "Woman donates $20,000 to repair Anne Frank Memorial". KTVB.
- ^ Morlin, Bill (2017-05-10). "Anne Frank Memorial in Idaho Vandalized". Southern Poverty Law Center.
- ^ Sowell, John (2014-05-13). "Donations pour in to repair Boise's Anne Frank Memorial after vandalism". Idaho Statesman.
- ^ REBECCA BOONE (10 December 2020). "Idaho Anne Frank memorial defaced with swastika stickers". STLtoday.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 2020-12-10.
- ^ "Idaho Anne Frank Memorial Defaced With Nazi Propaganda". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-12-10.