GLASGOW.- A thought-provoking exhibition which explores the life and modern legacy of Anne Frank launched last week (6 June) at St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art in Glasgow with Anne’s step-sister Eva Schloss, MBE as guest speaker. It is on display until 30 June 2019.

Anne Frank + You, delivered by anti-prejudice education charity Anne Frank Scotland, in partnership with Glasgow Museums, presents facsimile artefacts from Anne’s life and the Holocaust including a life-size replica of her bedroom in the ‘secret annexe’ where she and her family hid for more than two years in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Historical content is juxtaposed with a contemporary section which highlights themes from Anne’s diary, such as racial hatred and the value of freedom and education.

The event also sees the charity’s Scottish launch of #IstandwithAnne – a social media campaign aimed at encouraging users to show solidarity with Anne’s message of social justice and equality or all.

Anne Frank Scotland – part of the Anne Frank Trust UK - uses the life and diary of Anne Frank to educate and empower young people to challenge all forms of prejudice and discrimination. The charity delivers its education programme in primary and secondary schools in Glasgow each year, training hundreds of exhibition peer guides and nurturing a generation of Anne Frank Ambassadors – young people who are trained to spread Anne’s message of social justice and equality for all in their schools, local communities and online. More than 50 Anne Frank Ambassadors – from 10 secondary schools* across Glasgow - acted as exhibition guides at the launch event and give free interactive tours to primary school children and other visitors throughout June.

Tim Robertson, Chief Executive of the Anne Frank Trust, said: ‘I am thrilled that we are bringing this truly important exhibition to Glasgow – the city where we launched our education programmes in Scotland 11 years ago and where we have nurtured strong and very valued links including those with Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities; Police Scotland and a long-standing partnership with Glasgow City Council.

‘Anne Frank would have been 90 next week - on 12 June. She was murdered in the Holocaust simply because she was Jewish. But her story lives on in her astonishing diary - which has sold 36 million copies, globally - and in the education initiatives she has inspired around the world. The Anne Frank + You exhibition offers a fascinating and moving insight into Anne’s life and legacy. I know it will make people reflect, and I hope it will make every visitor commit to opposing all forms of hate.’

Councillor David McDonald, Chair of Glasgow Life said: ‘We are pleased to host Anne Frank + You at St Mungo Museum in Glasgow. This exhibition enhances the city’s successful partnership with the Anne Frank Trust, supporting initiatives that promote Anne’s message of social justice, equality and challenging prejudice.

‘St Mungo Museum is a fitting venue for the exhibition as its ethos is about promoting understanding and respect between people of different faiths and those of none. Life can be incredibly busy. St Mungos and this exhibition in particular offers an opportunity to simply stop and remember the importance of fighting all forms of prejudice in society.’

Anne Frank Ambassador, Heather from St Roche’s Secondary School: “It’s amazing to have the chance to meet Eva and to learn what it must have been like to be a young girl in a concentration camp as she was a similar age to me. Today people are starting to forget what the Holocaust taught us - we hear about anti-Semitism in the news a lot, from sport to politics, and it’s not right. We learn about these things in school but unless people either change or challenge people who are racist then the problem won’t go away. It is important that society doesn’t turn a blind eye on racism and discrimination in the 21stcentury. We have to learn to be tolerant of people who are different from us and Anne’s story shows us how bad things can get if people don’t speak up for others”

Anne Frank + You is at St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art from 7-30 June. The exhibition, and the Anne Frank Ambassador programme is supported by Young Start, The Robertson Trust, The Gannochy Trust, Glasgow City Council, and Glasgow Life. Museum opening hours apply.

*Secondary schools represented at the launch are Hillhead High, St Roch’s Secondary, St Mungo’s Academy, Shawlands Academy, Notre Dame High, St Andrew’s Secondary, Lourdes Secondary, Bannerman High, Eastbank Academy, Whitehill Secondary.