Anne Frank’s message speaks to teenagers across generations

Pupils at Notre Dame High have been reading the Diary of Anne Frank and studying the lessons of her life as part of Glasgow’s preparations for Holocaust Memorial Day, which takes place on 26 January.
An Anne Frank exhibition has toured the city, and Communities Minister Fergus Ewing visited the West End girls school to hear head girl Mariah Ali and her deputies, Lynsey Doran and Zoe McKibbin, talk a party of pupils through the displays which paint a vivid picture of the German-born Jewish teenager’s life, her experiences in hiding in Amsterdam and the ideology that led to her death in a Nazi concentration camp.
Afterwards, the Minister, who was accompanied by Glasgow City Council Executive Member for Education, Jonathan Findlay, said: ‘I think every child should have the chance to learn the story of Anne Frank, and so we’re very pleased that so many schools are providing just that opportunity.
‘What was particularly valuable today was that the schoolgirls were explaining to their peers what happened. So, they studied it, they recounted it, and the fact that there was the exhibition with extracts from the diary translated it for pupils today from an abstract story to something very real, something very concrete.’
He added: ‘In the discussion sessions, the children who were leading and describing the events in Anne Frank’s diary then asked the girls what lessons were to be drawn and it is interesting that one comment was that we should appreciate what we’ve got, because they realise what a tremendous life they have compared with the horror that was Anne Frank’s short life.’
Headteacher Philomena McFadden believes the diary of a teenage girl from Amsterdam who lived and died nearly 70 years ago struck a chord with her pupils and lends immediacy to the message of remembrance of the dead and tolerance of others that lies behind Holocaust Memorial Day.
‘We felt it would be a very powerful experience for the pupils and for a long number of years we’ve had pupils visiting Auschwitz, coming back and making presentations to assembly, so our girls have been used to hearing from pupils who have been there personally giving them information about how they felt when they were there.
‘The exhibition has really brought to life what they have been reading. Anne Frank, a young person, 13 years of age and the fact she wrote that diary not realising how powerful the message would be after her death.
‘Within the diary there are everyday occurrences, but there’s also the message about what was happening to Anne and her family.’