Anne Frank exhibition opens at War Museum

RIGA (LETA) - A new exhibition, "Anne Frank - A History for Today," opened at Riga's War Museum May 5. The exhibition was organized in conjunction with the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam.

The Jewish girl Anne Frank left a diary that later became world-famous. In the diary, Frank describes the 25 months her family spent hiding in a house in Amsterdam during World War II.

In 1944, Frank's family was arrested. Anne was sent to the Auschwitz Concentration Camp, and then to Bergen-Belsen, where she died in 1945, one month before the prisoners were set free.

Frank's diary was made public in 1948 and has been read by millions of >people all around the world. A new Latvian translation of the diary by Amanda Aizpuriete is now available, with a previous one published in the early 1960s.

The Anne Frank exhibition has been shown in 30 countries since October 1996 promoting both tolerance and democracy. The exhibition has already been visited by 7 million people, almost half of them youths and school children.

The visitors learn about the history of the Holocaust, and are challenged to think about the significance of such concepts as tolerance and human rights.

Guided tours are part of the exhibition, as are courses for teachers, a cultural program and educational materials.

The exhibition will later be shown in Daugavpils, Liepaja, Valka, Jelgava, Rezekne and Talsi.