Courtesy of Hailey Ray
The Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts held the opening reception for its Anne Frank Exhibit this on Friday.
The Exhibit, Anne Frank: A History for Today commemorates the life of Anne Frank beginning with her birth in 1925 and ending with her tragic death at the age of 15 in 1945.
“We were approached by the Anne Frank Center in New York to create the exhibit” says Barbara Goldstein current president if the Holocaust Education Resource Council (HERC) which sponsors the exhibit along with the Florida Department of Education, and helps to bring local schools out.
HERC is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to Holocaust Education, which includes implementing programs in public schools and funding Exhibits like the one held at the Fine Arts Museum.
“The students we get to speak relate to Anne Frank’s story because they are around the same age she was when she died. It’s really a great event everyone should come and see it.”
Robyn Rachin, a founding member of HERC explained how the organization plays a role in the Tallahassee area.
“We are the main sponsors of holocaust education in the Big Bend and surrounding areas,” Rachin said. “We do everything from providing teachers with training and materials to helping with school plays which helps support Florida’s state mandated curriculum to teach Holocaust Education in grades K-12.”
Avi Wygodski is a new member of the HERC board and is also the child of a Holocaust survivor.
“An event like this unusual for Tallahassee so it’s nice to bring an exhibit like this to our town which for me is near and dear to my heart because my mother is a holocaust survivor.”
Wygodski explains that Frank’s story is just one of so many who perished during that time and how grateful it is to have the diary to bring awareness to those victims.
Emily Mccullers-Kelly is a senior at Florida State in the Studio Art program and says she has heard a lot about the exhibit.
“It’s really a more in-depth look at her life than some other things people may have seen an important historical feature and defiantly something you don’t want to miss.” Kelly said.
The Exhibit will be open until February 7 and museum hours are Monday- Friday 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. For more information on HERC and other holocaust events in the city visit holocaustresources.org.