Anne Frank museum defends Bieber

Justin Bieber has courted criticism for a comment left in a guestbook at the Anne Frank House museum. Photo / AP

The Anne Frank House museum has come to the defence of singer Justin Bieber after outrage regarding a note he wrote in which he said he hoped the teenaged Frank, who died in a Nazi concentration camp, would have been his fan.

Bieber on Friday visited the secret annex where Anne Frank lived in hiding during World War II and wrote her famous diary.

The 19-year-old Canadian wrote in the guest book: "Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl. Hopefully she would have been a belieber," referring to the term that fans of the teen pop idol are called.

His message triggered angry reactions on the museum's Facebook page.

The Anne Frank House, however, posted on Facebook: "We hope that his visit will inspire his fans to learn more about her life and will hopefully encourage them to read her diary."

A museum spokeswoman said the commotion over his comments had gone too far.

Anne Frank and her family lived in the house hidden from the Nazis during World War II. But they were betrayed and, in 1944, sent to a concentration camp.

She died in 1945 in Bergen-Belsen at age 15.

The only family survivor was her father, Otto Frank, who later published her diary. Anne Frank gained worldwide fame after the diary was first published in the 1950s and later translated into many languages.

Bieber's Believe tour has been somewhat problematic.

In March, German customs officers seized a capuchin monkey from his entourage at Munich airport, as it lacked documents certifying compliance with animal health and species protection regulations.

- DPA