While George Stevens' outstanding film "The Diary of Anne Frank" is very moving and very powerful, it is an artistic product in which professional actors and a robust script bring the darkest days of modern history to life. This documentary, consisting mostly of the words of actual victims of the Nazi Holocaust during World War II, is at times even more penetrating. In Stevens' film, the experience of eight Jews hiding for more than two years in the attic of an Amsterdam spice factory is dramatized very effectively while this very gripping account describes very painfully and sadly what actually happened to Anne and her family after they were discovered and transported from their native Amsterdam, first to a camp in northern Holland and then to even more horrifying facilities of death and misery in Poland. In this instance, we observe and listen to the words of the eyewitnesses who came in contact with the Frank family during their horrific and tragic imprisonment by the Nazis.
Although the statements of the victims are extremely compelling, I was most impressed by the remarkable courage of Miep Gies, as well as her associates, who assisted the Franks and their fellow captors throughout their period of hiding. This woman was a true hero who risked her very life and those of her family so that others might live. There were other "righteous gentiles" throughout Europe who could have easily turned away to pursue a life of complacency during the Nazi occupation, but they chose a different, much more difficult path for the sake of their fellow human beings. In the face of very dangerous circumstances, would I possess the unselfish courage demonstrated by individuals such as Miep Gies? Although the experiences of the Holocaust victims are very troubling to hear, this is a film that must be seen so that history may not be repeated. Unfortunately, the shocking brutality and inhumanity of the past is recurring in Ukraine today. Once again, it will take many bold acts of courage to reverse. Pray and act for peace.
Although the statements of the victims are extremely compelling, I was most impressed by the remarkable courage of Miep Gies, as well as her associates, who assisted the Franks and their fellow captors throughout their period of hiding. This woman was a true hero who risked her very life and those of her family so that others might live. There were other "righteous gentiles" throughout Europe who could have easily turned away to pursue a life of complacency during the Nazi occupation, but they chose a different, much more difficult path for the sake of their fellow human beings. In the face of very dangerous circumstances, would I possess the unselfish courage demonstrated by individuals such as Miep Gies? Although the experiences of the Holocaust victims are very troubling to hear, this is a film that must be seen so that history may not be repeated. Unfortunately, the shocking brutality and inhumanity of the past is recurring in Ukraine today. Once again, it will take many bold acts of courage to reverse. Pray and act for peace.