A message from Anne Frank Ambassador, Natalie Flaherty
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October 30, 2024
This week, we invite you to read this message from an 11 year old named Natalie Flaherty from Minnesota. Natalie has made it her mission to put a stop to hate in memory of Anne Frank. We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
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When I was 7 years old I was struggling with a lot of things in my life, I wasn’t sure exactly who I was or where I was going to end up in life. I had a lot of fear and anxiety -- as many kids do these days. Winter and the Pandemic had impacted Minnesota hard and there was a lot going on. One day I walked in on my mom watching a documentary on Anne Frank and I instantly connected to her. I felt her pain, her fear and her intense love for those around her all in one moment and I begged my mom to get me her diary so I could understand even more of her. After many months of begging, and many talks about the atrocities of the Holocaust and how my fear and anxiety may be increased -- my mom finally got me “The Diary of a Young Girl.”
Natalie Flaherty at the dedication of an Anne Frank sapling, College of St. Mary, Omaha, Nebraska, April 26, 2024. Below photo shows Natalie with Dr. Lauren Bairnsfather, CEO of Anne Frank Center, at the same event.
Upon many hours of reading and rereading, I realized that in many ways what was happening in my life could be changed just as what had happened to Anne and her family could have been. I realized that Hate is a driving factor in wars, bullying, and even the most basic of differences. People have been trained to hate when a simple conversation could have changed an entire world. I have long had the opinion now that babies were not born hating each other, that it is taught to them by the very people who are supposed to teach them unconditional love. I have learned the hard way though, that not everyone sees the world through my 11 year old kid eyes. Did I mention I’m 11?
Anne Frank has inspired me in many ways. She showed strength, and she took action by documenting what was truly happening at a time that many people were afraid to stand up and protect each other out of fear. I was so inspired by her that I decided to jump into action. I think there is a path for our world to live in peace -- and maybe that starts with the kids. When I was 10 I dressed up like Anne for Halloween and instead of getting candy, I purchased bracelets with my own money that say “I stand with Anne. Put a stop to hate. “
I have continued this mission and now my bracelets reside in many businesses including the Florida Holocaust Museum and The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I have also given over 64,000 bracelets to people in all 50 states and 47 countries to date. These are just the ones we know of. I was recognized with an award from the Florida Holocaust Museum and even received a letter from the President of the United States. I had the wonderful opportunity to speak about Anne, when one of her saplings was planted in Omaha, Nebraska and I got to travel to California this last summer and meet amazing people and make more progress towards my goal of ending hate.
I someday hope to develop a curriculum that teaches children at an even younger age how to spot hate and how to stop it. I truly think this is possible if we all work together. YOU can be the cure to a shattered world. Join me in my mission to Stand with Anne and Put a Stop to Hate
With Love,
Natalie Flaherty
Age 11 – Minnesota
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The Sapling Project began in 2009 with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam’s efforts to preserve the original chestnut tree by gathering and germinating chestnuts and donating the saplings to organizations dedicated to Anne Frank’s memory.
Over the last 10 years, Anne Frank Center USA has awarded saplings to sites across the United States, including the U.S. Capitol, the United Nations Headquarters, and others. Taken together, these trees form a living memorial with branches reaching from coast to coast.
Read more about the planting in Omaha where Natalie was a speaker by following this link ([link removed]) .
Learn more about the Sapling Project ([link removed])
We rely on your generous support to bring
Holocaust education to areas that need it most.
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Learn more about Anne Frank Center USA
About Anne Frank Center USA
The Anne Frank Center USA provides a powerful catalyst for social change by promoting Anne Frank’s timeless message of hope to young people. We bring programs and experts into schools and communities across the country, offering an affordable, high-impact educational model. Our vision is to grow communities across the United States that prevent bigotry, antisemitism, racism, and discrimination.
About Anne Frank
Born on June 12, 1929, Anne Frank was a Jewish teenager from Frankfurt, Germany who was forced to go into hiding during the Holocaust. She and her family, along with four others, spent over two years during World War II hiding in an annex of rooms on Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, today known as the Anne Frank House. After being betrayed to the Nazis, Anne, her family, and the others living with them were arrested and deported to Nazi concentration camps. In March of 1945, seven months after she was arrested, Anne Frank died of typhus at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. She was fifteen years old.
About The Diary of a Young Girl
Since it was first published in 1947, Anne Frank's diary has become one of the most powerful memoirs of the Holocaust. Its message of courage and hope in the face of adversity has reached millions. The diary has been translated into more than 70 languages with over 30 million copies sold. Anne Frank's story is especially meaningful to young people today. For many she is their first, if not their only exposure to the history of the Holocaust.
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