https://www.chateaudeprangins.ch/fr/expositions/temporaire/2024/anne-frank/anne-frank

Temporary exhibition - Anne Frank and Switzerland

22 March to 29 September 2024

The Diary of Anne Frank shocked the world after the Holocaust. Chronicling 735 days of fear and hunger in the daily lives of eight Jewish people trapped in a hideout in Amsterdam to escape the Nazis, this chronicle is famous the world over. Little is known, however, of the link between the Frank family, the circulation of the diary and Switzerland.

Anne, her mother Edith and her sister Margot, along with four other Jewish illegal immigrants, perished in the Nazi camps. The only survivor, Otto Frank, returned from Auschwitz in 1945. A stateless man, he chose to settle in Switzerland, and from then on devoted all his energies to making his daughter's writings known. A true plea for greater humanity and tolerance, Anne Frank's diary is part of the world's literary heritage.

The story of the Frank family symbolizes the fate of countless Jewish families during the Second World War: emigration, flight, deportation, murder. The exhibition links the flight of Anne Frank's family to Amsterdam and the exile of the other members to Basel. The parallel histories of the two branches of the family highlight the specific threats faced by Jews in these two European states. The exhibition also shows how the memory of the Holocaust intensified from the mid-1990s onwards.

The exhibition presents a facsimile of Anne Frank's Diary, and describes the conditions under which it was written, as well as the historical significance of this testimony. Thanks to collaboration with the Anne Frank Fonds in Basel and the Familie Frank Zentrum in Frankfurt, which holds numerous archives, the life of the Frank family is illustrated not only by photos and documents, but also by ordinary and very moving objects. Based on sources and personal effects, the exhibition presents the Frank family's daily life and Switzerland's refugee policy during the Second World War.

Open Tuesday through Sunday from 22 March to 29 September 2024

Musée national suisse
Château de Prangins
Avenue du Général Guiguer 3
1197 Prangins
022 994 88 90
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