Monument unveiled in Jerusalem in memory of Anne Frank

The monument has been placed in the Anne Frank Memorial Park in Jerusalem. It was designed by Peter Cohen who as a child was also in hiding during the war.

The monument consists of a frame of rusted steel with a solid wall and a stylized chestnut tree. The image of the tree refers to the chestnut tree that Anne Frank could see through the skylight of her hiding place. Anne Frank wrote about the chestnut tree in her diary .

Picture source JNF

Press Release 20-04-2011

The foundation Support Anne Frank Tree (SAFT) is involved in a business dispute with a former board member and contractor Mr. R. Van der Leij of the building company Van der Leij Bouwbedrijven B.V. dealing with the amount due in connection with the collapse of the support construction for the Anne Frank tree and the tree itself. Van der Leij Bouwbedrijven B.V. has begun a court case against SAFT and its’ board members. SAFT has faith in the results of this case and is surprised by the initiatives that have developed in order to help SAFT reach a positive outcome.

Prof. dr. Helga Fassbinder, Chair

Amsterdam 20-04-2011

The remains of the Anna Frank tree have been seized

The remains of the Anna Frank tree have been seized by the contractor who built the support construction for the tree. The contractor is still demanding money from the Foundation Support Anne Frank Tree who ordered the support structure. However it was precisely this construction which caused the tree to fall because of poor welding. (These welds were done in order to fasten the support construction to a foundation set 24m deep into the marsh ground.)

The contractor now has the remains of the tree in his possession - he has transported the remains to his site and refuses to release them for distribution to the 31 institutions, museums and schools that have expressed interest to use pieces of the wood from the Anne Frank tree as a sculpture of memory.