“I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything
I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
Anne Frank
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have
the final word in reality. This is why right temporarily
defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.”
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King and Anne Frank were both born in 1929, barely six months apart. Anne Frank died in 1945 of typhus in Bergen Belson at age 15 and Martin Luther King was shot in Memphis in 1968. Today they would have been 89 years old. Both lived in a period where racism was ubiquitous. For Anne Frank and her family the enactment in 1935 of the Nuremberg Laws, which excluded German Jews from citizenship and prohibited them from marrying Germans institutionalized what was already a world filled with anitisemetic propaganda. Martin Luther King’s world wasn’t all that different – as a black man in the south he was unable to vote, he was segregated in schools, restaurants, on busses and other public accommodations.
As we reflect on the meaning of their lives and work we can look to the words of former Anti Defamation League National Director and Holocaust survivor Abraham Foxman,“In our work over the last 100 years, and particularly in the aftermath of the Holocaust and other incidents of hate, we have always asked the question, ‘What if?’ What if America had been a more tolerant and welcoming society? What if more people had stood up to defy Hitler? What kind of world could we imagine for our children and grandchildren if more people stood up to say ‘no’ to racism, bigotry, prejudice and antisemitism.”
With the legacy of both Anne Frank and Martin Luther King we are reminded of the power of a single individual’s voice. King was able to use his voice to organize rallies and marches to bring tolerance and equality to the American citizens. Anne also had a voice, although of course we never heard it. She wrote in her diary about her desire to live in a world of freedom and tolerance. Today their voices continue to resonate over the decades as beacons of hope and tolerance.
Best regards,
Judy Margles
Director