‘LET ME
BE MYSELF’
The Life Story of
Anne Frank
MANUAL FOR GUIDES © Anne Frank Stichting / 2015
‘LET ME BE MYSELF’ Manual for guides2/14
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION 3
• Anne Frank 3
• The Anne Frank House 3
• Why Anne Frank? 3
• Why a travelling exhibition? 4
• Why peer education? 4
2 GUIDING 4
• What is your role as a guide? 4
• How do you prepare? 4
• What does a tour programme look like? 4
• Tips & tricks 7
3 THE EXHIBITION 9
4 HISTORICAL SECTION 10
5 CONTEMPORARY SECTION 12
‘LET ME BE MYSELF’ Manual for guides 3/14
1 INTRODUCTION
Anne Frank
Anne Frank is a Jewish girl who goes into hiding
during the Second World War in order to escape the
Nazis. Together with her father (Otto), her mother
(Edith), her sister (Margot) and four others, she goes
into hiding in the annex to her father’s business
premises. She is only thirteen at the time. During her
stay in the secret annex, Anne writes in her diary and
gradually turns into a talented writer. For 671 days,
the people in the annex remain hidden, with the
help from Otto’s employees. Then they are betrayed
and deported to various concentration camps. In
February 1945, shortly before the liberation, Anne
dies in camp Bergen-Belsen. She is fteen years old.
Otto Frank is the only one from the annex to survive
the war and to return to Amsterdam. He has Anne’s
diary published, and it strikes a chord in people all
over the world.
Anne Frank’s life story helps us to understand and
empathise with the story of the millions of victims
of the persecution of the Jews during the Second
World War. A story that started with prejudice
and stereotypes - phenomena that still lead to
anti-Semitism and other types of discrimination,
exclusion and persecution today.
The Anne Frank House
On 3 May 1957, the Anne Frank House is founded
in close cooperation with Otto Frank. It is an
independent, non-prot organisation that takes care
of Anne Frank’s hiding place and opens it up to the
public, and that draws the world’s attention to her
life story.
The Anne Frank House develops educational
programmes and products based on Anne Frank’s
life story. The goal is to help young people become
aware of the dangers of anti-Semitism, racism and
discrimination, and of the importance of freedom,
equal rights and democracy. These events are
organised all over the world.
The work of the Anne Frank House is funded by
the revenues from the museum, and supported
by other funds, sponsors and other grant-giving
organisations.
For more information, please visit
www.annefrank.org
‘We cannot change what happened anymore.
The only thing we can do is to learn from the
past and to realise what discrimination and
persecution of innocent people means. I believe
that it’s everyone’s responsibility to ght
prejudice.’ – Otto Frank
Why Anne Frank?
Anne Frank may be the most well-known victim of
the Holocaust, but she was also a family member,
a daughter, a sister, and a talented writer. Because
of the power of her writing, the many photos and
the preserved hiding place, her story provides an
insightful and inspiring way to learn about the
persecution of the Jews.
Anne was an innocent girl, who was only persecuted
because she was Jewish. Personal stories such as
Anne Frank’s and that of millions of others tell the
history of the Holocaust, and can encourage people
to think about its meaning to their own lives and our
society today.
The story of the Frank family reects the history of
the world, during and after the period in which the
Nazis came to power. In order to understand the
impact of the Holocaust, it helps to know something
about Jewish life before the war, about the groups
that were persecuted during the war, and about the
lives of the survivors afterwards.
The historical part of the exhibition illustrates how
the lives of the persecuted people, such as the Frank
family, were aected by the political events of the
1930s and 1940s. In addition, the exhibition aims to
invite the visitors to think about diversity, identity,
prejudice, equal rights and democracy.
‘LET ME BE MYSELF’ Manual for guides4/14
Why a travelling exhibition?
The Anne Frank House has put together a travelling
exhibition to reach as many people as possible in
their own communities. Visitors and schools have
a chance to organise other events connected with
the exhibition. The exhibition ‘Anne Frank – A history
for today’, which was launched in 1996, has so far
been shown in more than 3,000 venues in over 90
countries.
Why peer education?
Anne wrote that we don’t have to hesitate one
moment to change the world; I think that we
only have to make a start. We always have
the opportunity to change something, and
becoming a peer guide is one way to do so.
– Anush (19, peer guide from Argentina)
Guided tours of the exhibition are often given
by young people. It is a type of peer education:
education by people from your own peer group,
for instance people of the same age. The guides are
extensively trained in advance. Through this peer
education, young people are actively involved in
the exhibition, and may encourage others to get
involved too. The Anne Frank House has close to 20
years of experience with this approach.
2 GUIDING
What is your role as a guide?
Guides to the exhibition conduct the tours and
engage the visitors in discussions about the topics
of the exhibition. There are dierent ways of being
a good guide. You will have room to work out your
own ideas, and to help your groups in your own way
to understand the exhibition and to examine the
perceptions and attitudes they bring to the world
we live in.
How do you prepare?
Apart from participating in the training for guides,
you can prepare by reading or re-reading Anne
Frank’s diary and/or by watching a DVD called ‘The
Short Life of Anne Frank’. You can also explore one of
the websites of the Anne Frank House:
www.annefrank.org
www.annefrankguide.net
The Secret Annex online: www.annefrank.org/en/
Subsites/Home/
and the Anne Frank Timeline: www.annefrank.org/
en/Subsites/Timeline
It goes without saying that you’re not a professional
historian, and you don’t have to know every detail.
The important part is to help people reect on the
past, the present and the future, and on their own
role in society today.
What does a tour programme look like?
Of course, it depends on the size of the group
and the time available, but most tours will take
between 1 and 2 hours. Before you start the tour,
you should nd out how much time the group has.
Generally speaking, it works best to have around
10 people in a group. If the group is larger than
that, we recommend splitting up the group. While
the rst group looks at the exhibition, the second
group can watch the DVD on ‘The Short Life of Anne
Frank’ or another lm. Another option would be
for one group to start in the historical section of
the exhibition, while the second group starts in the
contemporary section. Ask the teacher to help you
split up the group.
‘LET ME BE MYSELF’ Manual for guides 5/14
Outline of the one-hour programme (two guides)
Welcome, introduction to the programme,
split up the group into A & B
5 min.
Group A historical section
Group B contemporary section
25 min.
Group A contemporary section
Group B historical section
25 min.
Closing part 5 min.
Outline of the two-hour programme (two guides)
Welcome, introduction to the programme,
split up the group into A & B
10 min.
Group A historical section
Group B contemporary section
45 min.
Break 5 min.
Group A contemporary section
Group B historical section
45 min.
Closing part 5 min.
A guided tour usually consists of three parts:
• welcome
• the tour itself
• closing part
Before starting on the tour, you should try to nd
out how much the group already knows and explain
what you intend to do. To a large extent, guiding is
about working with the key points and themes of
the exhibition. The members of the group should be
focusing on the questions raised in the exhibition,
while you help them to interpret the information
oered.
The closing section of the tour provides opportunity
for reection: the members of the group may discuss
what surprised them in the exhibition, what they
learned about others or about themselves, or what
really struck a chord. Be realistic about the amount
of information you can convey and the discussions
you can initiate. You won’t have time to go into all
of the information provided on every panel. You
have to set priorities. Do what can be done, and
know that you can’t do everything. Take your time to
discuss a few topics rather than touch on too many
topics and leave them unnished. Otherwise, the
tour will become too complicated for the group and
you may lose their attention.
The introduction
: Tips from other guides
A good peer guide is friendly and patient. Most
of all, a good peer guide must show an interest
in their work, as it is the only way for the visitors
to relate to the exhibition and to really learn
from it. – Tanuj (18, peer guide from India)
The more you know about the group before they
arrive, the better. Try to nd out from the organisers
if the Holocaust and the Second World War have
been discussed before, and if so: when and how?
Is there anything in particular you should know
about the group? How old are the pupils? As the
group arrives, have a quick talk with the teacher or
teachers. This is a good time to nd out whether
anything out of the ordinary has happened that
day or that week that may inuence the pupils’
concentration. A brief chat may also convince the
teachers that they can trust you with their class. And
they may be more inclined to help you if the group
doesn’t pay attention.
It is important to give the participants the
opportunity to contribute and to be engaged in
the tour. Try to act natural and be as welcoming as
possible. Prepare a short introduction: welcome the
group, introduce yourself, tell them who you are and
what you do. You won’t usually know the visitors,
and if your introduction is personal, they will be
more likely to listen to you. You could, for instance,
tell them why you became a guide. Discuss what you
expect from the group, and ask them for their wishes
and expectations.
After introducing yourself, you could ask what the
group has done so far today, whether they have
ever heard about Anne Frank, what they think
about her and what interests them about her. You
could ask them how they prepared for the visit –
the teacher may have said something, and you can
get the group to conrm it. Some pupils may have
read the diary and remember something about
it or have questions about what they read. You
can say that you will try to answer their questions
during the tour. You could also ask them if any of
them keep a diary or a (personal) blog themselves
and what it means to them. If they do, how is their
diary dierent from Anne Frank’s? Give them the
opportunity to share their feelings and thoughts.
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: Tips from a guide trainer
Peer guides should not learn the story by heart.
You can give the visitors more by using your
own words and by asking questions to get the
dialogue going, than by delivering a monologue.
– Fanni (peer guide trainer from Hungary)
During the tour, pupils may react in dierent ways:
with interest, surprise, pity, disgust, scepticism,
dismissal or boredom. Do keep in mind that every
tour is dierent and remind yourself of the reasons
you have for doing this work and why you feel
that the exhibition is important. It may help you
to discuss with the other guides beforehand what
the exhibition has to oer and what they feel is
important to get across. The more you practise, the
better you will get at it. Make sure that your use of
words is appropriate for the age and the level of
understanding of the group, and explain dicult
words.
The tour itself
In our experience, a chronological tour works best
if you limit yourself to 10 to 15 photos to show the
visitors. Focus on these photos – unless the group
is particularly interested in certain other photos.
Make the most of these pictures and the text on
the panels. You could, for instance, select a quote
from the exhibition or from Anne’s diary to get the
discussion going. Make sure, however, that you don’t
end up reading to them the whole time. If you want
to pay attention to a quote or a text, invite someone
from the group to read it, and then ask follow-up
questions, such as: What do you think? How do you
feel about it? What do you see?
The cards
During the tour, the guides may want to use a set
of practical cards. Based on the questions printed
on these cards, they can go back to the highlights
of the exhibition. Some questions have been added
specically to invite the pupils to ponder on the
deeper meaning of the pictures and the texts.
: Tips from other guides
Every tour is dierent and has its own
challenges. The responsibility may feel scary at
rst, but you should just speak from the heart,
make sure you know the exhibition well, and
remember that every guide is unique, because
every person is unique. – Anush (19, peer guide
from Argentina)
Keep an eye on the time. Some groups will ask
more questions than others, which means that you
will have less time to talk about specic pictures
or topics, and that more time will be spent on
discussion. The main thing is that you interact with
the group and get them to participate in the tour.
A tour is a success if the visitors comment, ask
questions, give their opinion and participate (briey)
in the discussion.
Try to get the group to discover for themselves
that Anne, Margot and their parents were ordinary
people, living under extraordinary circumstances.
If people discover things for themselves, they will
be more involved in the learning process. Try to get
the pupils to realise that the victims were innocent
people, who were in no way responsible for the
horrible things that happened to them.
Finally, help the pupils to realise that many Nazis
were ordinary people as well, and that many
Germans believed in the Nazi promises because of
their ecient propaganda. You should also point out
that most Germans were not Nazis. Many resisted
in smaller or larger ways, and some Germans took
great risks by helping Jews. They risked their jobs
and even their lives. Frequently come back to what
these historical themes can teach us today. You can
ask the visitors why they feel that this part of history
is important to society today. (This is a particularly
good question to ask them at the end.)
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The conclusion
Hopefully, you’ll have managed to save some
time during the tour for a discussion at the end
of the programme. Some closing statements, no
matter how short, are called for. The visitors have
just learned (more) about one of the blackest
pages in history. They have a lot to think about. To
conclude, you can ask them whether they have any
unanswered questions or comments to make.
It’s great if you can connect the themes of the
exhibition to life in today’s world in your closing
words. This would be a good time to bring up the
relevance of the exhibition to the pupils and their
lives. After thanking the visitors for their attention,
you should also thank the teacher. Some examples
of ways to end the tour:
• A common way to end the tour is to summarise
the main points from the exhibition that the
pupils noticed, and to come back to one or more
comments from the group.
• You may want to emphasise the main lessons
from the exhibition and give them a message to
take away from the exhibition. Be careful not to
get too ‘preachy’.
• You can invite the pupils to return for the rest
of the photos and the information. You could
also invite them to return with their friends and
family.
• It could be nice to give the teacher and the
pupils tips about good follow-up activities to the
exhibition. Communities that host the exhibition
often schedule related events, such as lectures,
theatre performances, concerts or lms.
• Many exhibition venues have a guest book for
people to write down what they thought of the
exhibition.
Tips & Tricks
Connecting with the visitors
• Be aware of your body language, the language
you use and your tone of voice. Depending on
the group, you may sometimes want to sit down
with the group in front of a picture.
: Tips from other guides
To me, being a good guide means being
interested in Anne’s story, and enthusiastic
about guiding. – Patrick (16, peer guide from
Germany)
• Make sure that everyone can see you and hear
you. Speak clearly and slowly, so that the visitors
get the time they need to understand what
you say. Adjust the words you use and keep
it simple if you think that will help the group
to understand you. With younger groups in
particular, it’s best not to use too many dicult
words. For those groups, it may be more eective
to pick simpler themes and focus on the less
confronting pictures from the exhibition.
• The more often you allow the visitors to say
or do something themselves, the more likely
they are to absorb the information. Don’t hold
monologues, but ask them questions. Avoid
asking questions that can only be answered
with yes, no, numbers or facts. It is often more
eective to ask them questions such as: What do
you see? What impact does this photo have on
you? What do you think happened before/after
the picture was taken? Who took this picture and
why? You can use the questions from the cards
in your tours. Feel free to print them out, they are
on the website.
• Encourage brief group discussions; only provide
answers when the visitors can’t. It is not a
problem if there are dierent opinions, but try
to make sure that they get the facts straight. If
you don’t feel comfortable in moderating the
discussions, you can have the group share their
opinions and then come back to the message
you want to get across.
• Don’t be afraid to say ‘I don’t know’ if you don’t
know the answer to a question. Remember that
you don’t have to be an expert. You can ask
others in the group, or the teacher. If they don’t
know the answer either, you can suggest that you
(or they themselves) will try to nd out what the
answer is, and get back to them.
• Stress the fact that Anne Frank and the other
victims were people, with their own roles in life
and their own stories. Don’t let them be dened
by the Holocaust. Everyone has a personal story.
Pay attention to their history, their hopes, their
dreams, and their personalities.
‘LET ME BE MYSELF’ Manual for guides8/14
• Time of visit: every group comes to the exhibition
at a set time. The visitors are inuenced by what
they experienced that day or that week, or by
what they saw on the news. This allows you to
refer to current aairs (in an informative manner,
without presenting your own opinion).
Working with other peer guides
• You can do the tour in pairs if that works better
for you. If you prefer, you can share the work
with another guide. This will give you some extra
support. Make sure that it is clear who will do
what.
• Meet with the other guides and share your
experiences, the good and the bad. Sharing your
experiences will always help you to improve your
own guiding.
• Use your notes and keep your cards handy if you
like. It is ok to use them as reminders.
Dealing with dicult situations
• No matter the intention, you must always address
insulting or discriminatory remarks. Try not to
react emotionally or judgementally, and try
to respond in an honest and straightforward
manner.
• Listen carefully to what the visitors are really
saying, and check by asking back if you are not
sure what they mean. Don’t put words in their
mouths. Ask follow-up questions if necessary.
• Appeal to their empathy and understanding by
asking them questions in return (‘How would you
like it when people showed prejudice towards
you/ discriminated against you?’). By ‘mirroring’
and inviting them to put themselves in other
people’s shoes, you will often get them to show
more understanding.
• Emphasise that diversity is a good thing. People’s
feelings, ideas and opinions dier. Yet people all
over the world share certain values and are alike
in many ways. This is a fundamental aspect of free
and democratic societies.
: Tips from other guides
First and foremost, peer guides should love their
work, be open to learn new things, but assess
them critically. Guides must be very patient,
listen well and love to communicate and work
with the visitors. – Sara (17, peer guide from
Croatia)
• Avoid getting into unpleasant discussions with
one participant in particular. If this happens, you
will lose the attention of the rest of the group,
along with your own focus. When members
of the group don’t pay attention, be sure not
to focus on them, as this will make you feel
uncomfortable and also de-motivate the visitors
who are paying attention. Focus on the majority
and the impact you have on them. It may help to
move on to the next module, or to an assignment
that the visitors can do themselves.
• Dealing with dicult visitors. Once in a while, you
will have a disruptive person among the visitors.
Most guides will ignore their remarks, as long as
they are made quietly and do not inuence the
others in the group. Some remarks, however,
cannot be ignored, just like direct questions that
show a lack of respect to you, other visitors, or
the victims shown in the exhibition. In such cases,
you can always ask for help from the person
responsible for the exhibition venue. If there is a
teacher with the group, you can ask the teacher
for support. This may mean stopping the tour
for a short while to take the teacher aside. Don’t
be afraid to do so if necessary. Treat your visitors
with respect, and ask them to respect you as well.
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3 THE EXHIBITION
The exhibition has two versions with the same
content: a version with separate panels and one
large version.
The separate panel version consists of 34 panels:
25 in the historical part, and 9 in the contemporary
part. The large version consists of 13 panels, 4
showcases with objects and a room.
An overview of the panels
Panel Theme Description
Historical part (The life story of Anne Frank)
Intro panel historical part
1-3 Anne’s birth and life in Germany
1929-1933
The birth of Anne and the rise of Nazism in Germany.
4-6 The Netherlands: a new home
1933-1938
Life in the Netherlands and the introduction of
anti-Jewish laws.
7-9 The Netherlands is occupied
1939-1940
Nazi-Germany occupies the Netherlands.
10-12 The Frank family decides to go in hiding
1941-1942
Anne receives a diary for her birthday. Margot gets a call-up
notice and the family decides to go in hiding.
13-15 The secret annex
1942-1944
Sorrow and despair in the Secret Annex.
A B C
Room
The hiding place
The people in hiding
The helpers
16-18 The betrayal and deportation to the camps
1944-1945
The people in the Secret Annex are discovered and get
separated.
19-21 Otto’s return and remembering the past
1945-present
Otto Frank returns to Amsterdam. Aftermath of the Holocaust.
Reecting on the past in the present.
Contemporary part (stories from young people today)
Intro panel contemporary part
22-23 Who are you? How do you describe yourself? How do others describe you?
(Büşra and Jim)
24-25 Who do you belong with? Which roles do you play? How do others label you? (Michiel and
Kim)
26-27 Dealing with exclusion Sharing experiences and dealing with prejudice and
discrimination (Dylan and Batja)
28 How about you? Which prejudices do you have? What can you do to prevent
exclusion and to take a stand against prejudice and
discrimination?
The historical part section focuses on Anne’s life,
while the contemporary section tells the stories of 6
young people and the way they deal with prejudice,
discrimination and exclusion in society today.
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4 HISTORICAL SECTION
Panels 1-2-3
1929 - 1933
Anne is born in Frankfurt am Main (Germany) on
12 June 1929. The Frank family are Jewish. Edith
and Otto Frank have one older daughter, Margot.
After losing the First World War (1914-1918) and the
economic crisis of the 1920s, the unemployment
rate is Germany is high. The NSDAP support grows
in these dissatised times. The Nazis blame the
Jews for all the troubles. There are around 550,000
Jews in Germany at this point, less than 1% of the
population. Hitler and his party (the NSDAP) come
to power in 1933. They hate the Jews. Another
word for the hatred of Jews is anti-Semitism. Jews
are discriminated against: one by one, their civil
rights are taken away from them. In more and more
locations, signs go up with the words ‘Jews not
wanted’. Anne’s parents decide to leave Frankfurt.
Panels 4-5-6
1933 - 1938
When Anne is four years old, the Frank family moves
to the Netherlands. Anne’s father nds work there.
He starts the Opekta company, trading in pectin,
a gelling agent used to make jam. Other people
working in his rm are Victor Kugler, Johannes
Kleiman, Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl. They become
close with the Frank family.
Anne goes to a Montessori primary school in
Amsterdam. In Anne’s class, there are other Jewish
children from Germany. In Germany, Hitler and his
party determine what happens. Teachers who do not
agree are red. Resistance is extremely dangerous.
More and more Jews want to leave Germany.
The Nazis rage against the Jews. In the night of 9
November 1938, they torch synagogues and Jewish
stores (panel 6, lower picture). 30,000 Jewish men
are arrested and over 100 Jews are murdered.
Panels 7-8-9
1939 - 1940
On 1 September 1939, the German army invades
Poland. This is the start of the Second World War.
In May 1940, the Netherlands is attacked. When
the centre of Rotterdam is bombarded, the Dutch
military leaders surrender. From that moment on,
the Netherlands is occupied territory. Otto and Edith
had hoped that the Netherlands would stay out
of the war (neutral). Anne writes in her diary: ‘After
May 1940, the good times were few and far between:
rst there was the war, then the capitulation and then
the arrival of the Germans, which is when the trouble
started for the Jews.’ In the occupied Netherlands,
more and more anti-Jewish measures are
introduced. For instance, Jews may no longer have
their own companies. This also applies to Opekta,
Otto’s company. He transfers his work to Johannes
Kleiman and Victor Kugler, and to Jan, the husband
of Miep Gies.
Panels 10-11-12
1941 - 1942
In the summer of 1941, Anne is confronted with anti-
Jewish measures as well. Jewish pupils are made to
attend separate schools. Anne and Margot start to
attend the Jewish Lyceum after the summer holiday.
By autumn, more and more areas are ‘not for Jews’:
parks, cinemas, libraries and even the beach. On 12
June 1942, Anne receives a diary for her thirteenth
birthday. Otto and Edith are very worried: there are
rumours that all Jews will be sent to labour camps in
Nazi-Germany. In deepest secrecy, they prepare to
go in hiding. When Margot receives a call-up notice
to report for deportation to a labour camp on 5 July
1942, they decide to move to the hiding place the
very next day. This hiding place is in the annex of the
Opekta oces, at the Prinsengracht in the centre of
Amsterdam.
Panels 13-14-15
1942 - 1944
The Frank family goes into hiding in the annex,
together with the Van Pels family: Hermann, Auguste
and their son Peter. Four months later, they are
joined by Fritz Pfeer, a dentist and acquaintance
of the people in the annex. He tells them about the
raids. The lower photo on panel 13 is one of the
rare pictures of a raid in Amsterdam. It is taken on
26 May 1943, early in the morning. The centre of
Amsterdam is surrounded. Three thousand Jews
are taken from their homes. They are transported
by train to camp Westerbork, and then on to the
concentration and extermination camps. The people
in the annex have to keep very quiet during the
day, because the people working in the company
warehouse do not know about the people in hiding,
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and must not nd out. The people in the annex
usually spend their days reading. Anne, Margot and
Peter have to do homework. In her little room, Anne
often writes in her diary. She misses her friends and
pretends to have a really close friend: Kitty. Anne
writes to Kitty about her thoughts, her feelings, and
about what happens in the annex. She dreams of
becoming a famous writer or journalist after the war.
When her diary is full, Anne continues to write in
notebooks and on sheets of paper. She starts on a
book about life in the annex. A large part of her diary
is dedicated to this project.
Panels 16-17-18
1944 - 1945
In the summer of 1944, they have been in the
annex for two years. As the allied armies are rapidly
advancing to the Dutch borders, Anne hopes that
she will be able to go back to school by autumn.
But then, on 4 August 1944, the annex is raided.
All of the people in hiding are arrested: they have
been betrayed. To this day, it is still unclear who was
responsible. Anne’s diary, notebooks and sheets of
paper are left behind in the hiding place. Miep and
Bep nd them when they go there. Miep keeps them
in a drawer of her desk.
The people from the annex are rst taken to prison
in Amsterdam. Then, the Nazis deport them to
Westerbork, a large camp in the province of Drenthe,
and in September 1944 they are sent on to the
Auschwitz concentration camp, together with over
one thousand Jews from the Netherlands. On the
platform of Auschwitz, the men are separated from
the women. That is where Anne and Margot see
their father for the last time. As the Soviet army is
advancing from the east, they are taken to Bergen-
Belsen, another concentration camp, in October
1944. Here, they die in February 1945, two months
before the camp is liberated.
Panels 19-20-21
1945 - present
Out of the eight people in hiding, Otto Frank is the
only one to survive the persecution of the Jews.
After the liberation, he returns to the Netherlands
in June 1945. Upon his return, Miep Gies, one of
the helpers, gives him Anne’s diary. Otto reads it
and nds out that Anne wanted to publish a real
book after the war. He compiles her notes into a
book: ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’. It is published in
Dutch rst, and eventually in more than 70 other
languages.
The Nazis have murdered over six million Jews
in all. Other groups fell victim too: Roma and
Sinti, disabled people, Jehovah’s witnesses, and
homosexuals. The victims of the Second World War
are remembered all over the world. Otto said:
‘We cannot change what happened anymore. The
only thing we can do is to learn from the past and
to realise what discrimination and persecution of
innocent people means. I believe that it’s everyone’s
responsibility to ght prejudice.’
Panels on the inside and outside of the room
or panels A, B and C
Only the larger exhibition has a room; the exhibition
with separate panels does not have a room. In this
case, the information from the room is on panels A,
B and C. On outside of these panels or on panel A,
you will see a cross-section of the secret annex. You
also get to see the front part of the building, where
the oces of Opekta (Otto Frank’s rm) are.
On the other panel or on panels B and C, you will
nd short descriptions of the people in hiding
and their helpers. Here you will also nd more
information about the role played by Jan Gies.
‘LET ME BE MYSELF’ Manual for guides12/14
Pillars
Only the larger exhibition has pillars; the exhibition
with the separate panels does not come with pillars.
1 Star of David
In this glass case, you see a real Star of David. All
Jews over the age of ve had to wear this star on
their outer clothes.
2 The NSDAP political programme
In this pillar, you will nd the political programme
of the NSDAP, the Nazi party.
3 Prinsengracht 263
This is the entire building at Prinsengracht 263.
You see both the front part of the house and the
annex.
4 Diary (facsimile)
This is a facsimile (copy) of the rst diary Anne
completed.
5 CONTEMPORARY SECTION
This part of the exhibition is about the here and
now. You can use it to discuss your own opinions
and experiences. On the panels, you will get to
meet six young people. They are all confronted with
prejudice and discrimination, like Anne Frank was.
These young people do not live in times of war. By
watching, listening and talking about the young
people on the panels, you will nd out more about
exclusion, prejudice and discrimination, and how
they work. One of the goals of the exhibition is
for you to start thinking about things you can do
to prevent prejudice and discrimination, and how
to discuss this with other young people. For this
reason, the text in the manual contains questions
you can put to the group.
What is the guided tour like?
Start
â introductory panel 21: In this panel, you link the
past to the present
â watch the Identity lm, then discuss panels 22
and 23
â do assignment 2 (before going to panel 24)
â watch the Diversity lm
â guide the tour from panel 24 to panel 28
Assignment for the guide
1 Pick one of the characters (pick Michiel, Kim,
Batja or Dylan) and follow him/her throughout
the exhibition. Pick someone you have things in
common with or the one you can relate to the
most. This will help you to explain things even
better, because you can add examples from your
own life (if you are willing to share them).
2 Collect everything you know about this person
and create a word cloud. Use the text on the
panels, the pictures and the lms.
3 Explain the contemporary section through the
person you picked. Answer the central questions
(see panels).
For instance: Who is Michiel? How do others see
him? To which groups does Michiel belong? In
which groups do others put him? What has Michiel
been through? How does he deal with this? What
would Michiel’s advice be on dealing with negative
prejudice and discrimination?
‘LET ME BE MYSELF’ Manual for guides 13/14
Guiding & using the cards
During the training, you practised giving a tour. You
can practise more to get comfortable giving the
tour. Use the cards as reminders. The cards provide
a short summary of every panel, and oer questions
you can ask the group, in order to make the tour
more interactive. Involve the group as much as you
can, to keep them with the programme. Below, you
will nd two assignments to do with the group.
They may help you to deal with a group that is, for
instance, very lively.
Group assignment 1
at panels 22 and 23, identity
As an introduction to the ‘identity’ theme, you can
use the worksheet that goes with panels 22 and 23.
The Identity lm relates to these same two panels.
Start by lling in the worksheet and then watch the
lm. Both will focus on what identity really is, the
way you describe yourself and the way others see
you. Make sure to complete your own worksheet in
advance.
Group assignment 2
before looking at panel 24 and before watching the
Identity lm
This assignment is meant as an introduction to the
themes of prejudice and discrimination. Print out
the pictures, eight in all. Split up the group into four
small groups. Place picture A of the four people on
the table, and have every group pick a character. You
could, for instance, ask them who they would want
to sit next to on a long bus trip.
When every group has picked one person, you hand
out worksheet 2. Ask them to check all the items
that go with their character. Then hand them picture
B of their character, and ask them to adjust the
answers on their worksheet. Ask them the following
questions:
1 Has your impression of him/her changed by
picture B? If so, why?
2 Do you think we often reject people because of
the rst impression we have of them?
In conclusion, watch the Diversity lm. In this lm,
the four characters are introduced.
‘LET ME BE MYSELF’
My last name is…
My country of birth is…My hometown is… The colour of my eyes is…
After school, I like to…
My kind of music is…There are … people
living in our house.
My religion is…
My mother is from… My father is from…
I am in the
… grade
A boy/girl I really like
is...
I don’t like to…
My zodiac sign is…
I am a boy/girl
My skin colour is…
The name of my school is…
This is me
My hobbies are…
My favourite food is…
A less positive trait of mine is…
How my parents describe me:
How my friends describe me:
My hair colour is…
My rst name is…
My birthday is in the
month of…
My favourite holiday destination
is…
A positive trait of mine is…
1 What are the characteristics you were born with (and
cannot change)? Make them RED.
2 What are the characteristics that can change?
Make them GREEN.
3 Right now, this is very important to me.
Add an ( ! ) exclamation mark to these answers.
4 About which part of your identity do you get positive
feedback?
.......................................................................................................................................................................
5 And negative feedback?
...........................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................................................................................
6 This is what I share with the person sitting next to me.
Circle the words you have both written down.
This is what I share with others
anne frank stichting
Notes on the lm
“Identity” – In this short lm, you meet two of
the characters – Büsra and Jim – who are chatting
on their phones with family members, friends
or strangers. The lm illustrates how someone’s
description of a person depends on the relationship
they have with that person. A mother, for instance,
will usually describe her son or daughter very
dierently from the way a close friend would
describe them. No one can see every aspect of
another person. A stranger bases his rst impression
on what this person looks like.
“Diversity” – In this lm, you meet four of the
characters - Kim, Michiel, Dylan and Batja. They
introduce themselves by talking about their
passions and how they would like to be perceived.
Unfortunately, ‘other people’ – who do not know
them or want to know them – do not see all of
these aspects, and they label them on account of an
outward aspect of their identity. They are confronted
with prejudice about the group they are supposedly
to belong to.
Assignment 1
‘LET ME BE MYSELF’ Manual for guides14/14
How do I deal with disruptive questions from the
group?
If you want to discuss subjects such as prejudice
and discrimination, this may evoke strong reactions.
If you ask the students for their opinions, they may
oer negative comments. Make sure that you are
prepared for this to happen.
• Always react to comments that you feel are out of
order. If you do not react, the group may interpret
your silence as ‘such comments can be made
here’.
• If a comment aects you, it is ok to show it. This
contributes to an open atmosphere in which
comments can be discussed. However, you
should not become abusive or get angry, as this
will hurt the open atmosphere.
• Reject the behaviour of the person making the
comment, but not the person himself/herself.
• Try to listen – summarise – ask clarifying
questions. This method will help you to nd out
why the comment was made in the rst place.
• Always discuss the incident with the person in
charge of the group, as they know the group
best.
• Afterwards, you can talk the incident over in
private with this person, to avoid involving the
entire group and disrupting your tour. Unless
the whole group agrees with the comment, you
could try asking clarifying questions to nd out
what they really meant.
20 things a peer guide should know
1 Identity means describing yourself in dierent
words and images.
2 You describe yourself, who you are (self-image),
who you want to be and how you want to be
perceived (image).
3 A self-description is never nished, you grow and
you change as you grow older.
4 You have some characteristics from the moment
you’re born, they shape you and you shape them.
5 It would be great if your self-description matched
the way others describe you. That would really
feel good.
6 We dene ourselves by the groups we belong to
or feel connected with. We divide others into ‘we’
and ‘they’.
7 Our contact with others determines to a large
extent who we are and how we see ourselves.
© Anne Frank Stichting, 2015
Photography: © Anne Frank Stichting
Design: Skepja/Pieter Mineur
Translation: Henriette Schoemaker
Contact: [email protected]
More information: www.annefrank.org
8 The groups we belong to or identify with will
often change with context and over time.
9 A group you identify with, is called an ingroup.
A group you don’t want to be associated with, is
called an outgroup.
10 You cannot pick all of your ingroups, for
instance if they involve disability, nationality or
background.
11 Some of the groups we belong to, are not groups
we have picked ourselves. You have a certain
background and are judged accordingly; there is
nothing you can do to change it.
12 Prejudices are thoughts in our heads, our ideas
about others. As long as you don’t express them
or act upon them, you won’t hurt others.
13 Discrimination is behaviour towards others; only
by doing, saying or writing something out in the
open can you discriminate against people.
14 Discrimination is the unjust, unequal treatment
of others because of their descent, religion, age,
sexual orientation or gender.
15 Everyone may be confronted with discrimination.
16 Be aware of your own prejudices.
17 Become motivated to change them.
18 Meet someone new and don’t dismiss them
because of some aspect of their identity.
19 We are all equal, yet very dierent.
20 Put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
