Rotorua Library hosting inspiring exhibition using Anne Frank's life as gateway

The "Anne Frank - Let me be myself" exhibition at Rotorua Library. Photo / Supplied

An inspiring exhibition about Anne Frank is currently on display at Rotorua Library, ready for the community to visit and learn more about her life and time.

"Anne Frank - Let me be myself" will be on show at the library until October 23.

Created by the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and brought to Aotearoa by the Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, this exhibition looks at what happened in Central Europe during the 1930s and 40s, using the life and diary of Frank as a gateway.

It shows the story of Frank from her birth in 1929 up to her death in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945.

Making use of large-size pictures, the exhibition connects Frank's life story with the present, and makes the fate of the millions of victims of the persecution of the Jews during the Second World War personal and palpable.

Each panel also contains images and texts about the world around Frank, such as the rise of Adolf Hitler, the Second World War and the persecution of Jews and other so-called "undesirables".

One-third of the exhibition is dedicated to stories of young people today. This part also contains several film clips.

The visitors get to know how these youngsters see themselves, but also how strangers respond to them.

This aims to show what the role of prejudice can be and how this can lead to exclusion and sometimes even discrimination.

The exhibition was officially opened by Rotorua Lakes councillor Mercia-Dawn Yates yesterday evening.

Rotorua Library director Laura Marshall is delighted to host the exhibition about the revered book written by a 15-year-old, which has gone on to be one of the top 10 books read in the world, and translated into 72 languages.

The details
- What: Anne Frank – Let me be myself exhibition
- When: Until October 23
- Where: Rotorua Library, Te Aka Mauri
- Free