The Anne Frank Case

Simon Wiesenthal explains how much he suffered during the Holocaust, and how he was able to save his wife, Cyla.  His sole purpose was to expose the crimes of Nazis and defend the honor or Anne Frank, a teenager who kept a diary of her experiences during the Holocaust. Frank was killed and her father, the only survivor, published the diary.  

One of Simon’s friend is attending a performance of The Diary of Anne Frank. Unfortunately, a group of teenagers disrupt the performance and claim that Anne Frank never existed. Simon’s friend immediately calls Simon to notify him.

Days after the event, Simon speaks to a young man that believed the story of Anne Frank was a complete lie. Simon decides to prove to him, that it indeed occur by finding the police officer that made the arrest when Frank’s family was captured. He faced numerous challenges, but did not stop looking. He wanted to prove to those boys that their fathers had been lying to them all their lives.

Surprisingly, on November 11, 1963, a newspaper announced that the officer who had arrested Anne Frank was suspended from his police job because of his involvement in the Anne Frank case. When interrogated, Karl Silberhauer, admitted to being the one who arrested her and her family. Finally, Simon was able to prove to the world that Anne Frank existed and that her story was legitimate.  

This is an excellent book for students to learn about the Holocaust. With the help of the teacher and librarian, students can use the library’s databases and research he heroic lives of Anne Frank and Simon Wiesenthal. Students may also read Frank’s actual diary, and as an extension, students can investigate the journaling of other teen agers who have recorded the oppression of their people.  

If would like to do an in depth study of the life of Anne Frank, they have access to numerous books that provide details about her life: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, Anne Frank Beyond the Diary: A Photographic Remembrance by Ruud van der Rol, and Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation by Ari Folman.

Susan Goldman Rubin is a talented writer and lives in California. As a child, she dreamed of becoming a artist. She had the opportunity to illustrate three of her children’s books. She has also written Magritte's Imagination, Jacob Lawrence In The City, Whaam! The Art and Life of Roy Lichtenstein, Matisse Dance for Joy, Delicious: The Life and Art of Wayne Thiebaud, Searching for Anne Frank: Letters from Amsterdam to Iowa, and several others.

Biography Susan Goldman Rubin. (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2018, from http://www.susangoldmanrubin.com/biography.html

Books by Anne Frank (Author of The Diary of a Young Girl). (n.d.). Retrieved November 6, 2018, from https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/3720.Anne_Frank

Rubin, S. G. (2011). The Anne Frank Case Simon Wiesenthals Search for the Truth. Paw Prints.

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