European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 9, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                By Susan Swartz the new York times this shrine has Many views. From the Back window you can see Trees and three White plastic chairs waiting for a warm afternoon. The attic window frames the tallest Church Steeple in the City and on summer Days allows a peek at rooftop Sun bathers. But were the ghost of Anne Frank to look to the front of the House where eight people lived on tiptoe for two years her most dominant View would be a Long line of visitors. Of All the strangers Anne Frank imagined slipping behind the fake Bookcase Wall and thumping up the Steep staircase they did t include tourists muttering into video cameras. Not that she did t expect to be famous. There were Many things Anne wanted and becoming a celebrated writer was one. But she looked for it to happen Long after she and her family were Able to live free again. Had that been the Case imagine How Many books she would have produced. By now the 64-year-old would be a literary Grande Dame. How Well the world came to know that schoolgirl face above the Blouse Collar with the half smile dark shadowed eyes hair parted on the Side. It is As familiar As the household that contained the amazing secret life she sketched so vividly in her diary. Walking through those rooms empty of furniture through narrow doors and across spongy linoleum floors you easily locate Anne s Refuge. It s the narrow room where she wrote most of her diary which she grudgingly shared with the dentist. It s also where she got to be a dreamy teen Ager almost Normal in an abnormal world. The wallpaper has faded from a possible Rose to dirty Brown but Anne s photo collection remains. Hollywood pinups Rudy Vallee Greta Carbo Ray Milland Cinger Rogers a they All outlived their Young fan. Not Only was Anne Frank Brave and Strong and funny and seemingly Wise beyond her years she was As ornery and romantic As any 14 or 15-year-old. Reading her diary gave us a close up View of a teen age girl we came to know and love and mourn. History tells us that 6 million lives were snuffed out by the nazis. Anne Frank showed us who they were. How do we confess to this Young girl who taught us so much that sometimes we feel we did t learn anything she wrote Quot i see the world gradually being turned into a  it would be hard to read a newspaper today and argue that conditions have improved. We love our martyrs. We Honor their sacrifices. Anne Frank s diary was described As Quot the conscience of a  we study her Story visit Deryoung writer put human face on the holocaust House make ourselves keep remembering Sci it will never Happer Ragain. In the same Way 50 years after the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto the world honoured those who stood against fascism. And again we make a pledge to never forget. Similar vows were repeated this year in Washington d.c., at the opening of the holocaust memorial. But we do forget. How would we explain the worlds impotence today Iri Bosnia and elsewhere to Anne Frank and the Warsaw fighters Anne Frank really believed the War would end one Day. Quot there is nothing we can do but wait As calmly As we can till the misery comes to an end Quot she wrote. The Franks and their friends counted on an Allied invasion to Stop the War. When it did t happen in the autumn of 1943 eve the resilient Anne Sank into a gloom. Quot you Don t hear a single Bird singing outside and a deadly sultry silence hangs everywhere catching hold of me As if it would drag me Down deep into an  by the summer of 1944 Anne was Back to being hopeful. Quot i think that it wiil All come right that this cruelty too will end we know that it did t end in time for Anne. On an August morning police broke through to the hiding place. Alt were arrested a Anne her sister Mother father Boyfriend Peter his parents the dentist a and sent to different. Concentration Camps. Two months before Anne s liberators arrived she died of typhus. Lest someone walk through this House and think history does t repeat itself the tour ends with an exhibit of present Day intolerance. The collection of photos and news stories shows How the fever of nationalism a the attitude of Quot our people first Quot a directs politics and ignites conflicts around the world. Such exclusivity allows some countries to go to War against themselves and others to rationalize staying out of someone else s problems. Anne Frank knew about this kind of nationalism. Quot Nice people the germans to think that i was once one of them too. No Hitler took away our nationality Long  Susan Swart la a columnist Lor the Proa Democrat m Santa Rosa Calif. She la currently Hying in Germany visitors stand by the Anne Frank House left. The Entrance to the House and museum is through the House on the right a photo of the Young Anne Frank above. A amps Michael Abrams december 9, 1993 stripes Magazine