Anne Frank exhibition opens in Rotherham

The free show, called Anne Frank + You, opened at the Riverside Library Gallery last Thursday. 

It aims to allow residents and school groups to learn more about the terror of Nazi occupation as described by Anne, a teenage Jewish girl whose diary — written as she spent two years in hiding above an Amsterdam house during World War Two — became famous. 

The national exhibition is returning to Rotherham after first visiting in 2016

England rounders star Dana Abdulkarim, who is also a PE teacher at Dinnington Comprehensive School, was the guest of honour.

Dana was the first Muslim woman to play rounders for England and described her own experiences of discrimination.

Anne Frank + You draws on themes from Anne’s diary — like racial hatred and the value of freedom — to take visitors on a journey of self-exploration.

It includes photographs of the Frank family, replica artefacts from the Holocaust and imagery of the social ills afflicting modern Britain.

Admission for schools is 9.30am to 3pm, Monday to Friday. 

Specially-trained teenage ambassadors will assist as guides. 

The public is welcome from 3.30pm until library closing time — see www.rotherham.gov.uk/libraries for details.

The exhibition is also open to all on Saturdays from 9am until 4pm and during school holidays during library opening hours.

Cllr Taiba Yasseen, Rotherham Borough Council’s cabinet member for cultural services, said: “This is a great opportunity to learn more about the history of Anne Frank and how the messages of the past still apply today.”

On Sunday, March 18, Holocaust survivor Arek Hersh will be giving a talk at Riverside House Cafe. 

For more information, and to book a place, go to www.rotherham.gov.uk/events.