Anne Frank debuts at the Ned, daughter of Holocaust survivor speaks

The Ned R. McWherter Cultural Arts Center commenced its 2023 spring and summer performances with The Diary of Anne Frank which ran from March 3-7, with a special guest speaker whose father was a Holocaust survivor.

Following the 9:45 a.m. performances on Monday and Tuesday, Ida Eleazer spoke to the audience about the experience of her father, Max Notowitz.

"Once he knew that people wanted to hear his story, once he realized how important it was for school groups or anyone who would listen to hear his testimony, I don't think he ever said no," Eleazer said.

Before passing in 2017, he traveled far and wide to speak to groups about his trials and tribulations. As he got older, Eleazer stepped in to help him share his experience and even commissioned a documentarian to ensure that her father's tale lives on.

"He was an ordinary man and he ended up doing extraordinary things for this community and for his family," she said.

Through a generous loan from The Tennessee Holocaust Commission, the Ned displayed the "Living On" exhibit, showcasing photos and personal accounts of Tennessean Holocaust witnesses, liberators, and survivors. Notowitz's picture was one of many included in the exhibit.

In the story adjacent to his picture, Notowitz recalled that the German implementation of forcibly wearing a white armband represented that he was Jewish and could inherently only work on certain days. He attributed this as one of the things that saved his life as he proved he was a diligent worker.

After his father was killed in Auschwitz in 1941, his mother and two siblings were "unloaded from the train, undressed, marched off into the trenches, and machine-gunned down" following the liquidation of their ghetto, according to Notowitz. Alone at 13, he relocated to Pustkow Slave Labor Camp, later escaped, and hid "in surrounding forests until Russians liberated the area in 1944."

As she shared Notowitz's story after the play, Eleazer's husband, who was also in attendance, assured her that her father would be proud.

"I feel like it's important for these kids to know that there was a real person," Eleazer said. "He was a part of my life, and the Holocaust and effects of the Holocaust were a part of my life."

An opportunity to educate

In association with the Tennessee Holocaust Commission, the production brings informational awareness to both the tragedy of the Holocaust and showcases the unrelenting faith of Anne Frank. The Commission's Education Coordinator, Ken Gluck, spoke about the importance of educating young people and adults alike on the events surrounding the annihilation of six million Jewish people.

Commissioned through the governor's office, it is "the fourth oldest in the nation as far as Holocaust groups", according to Gluck.

"In the situations and what's going on in the world today, not only with anti-semitism, but with anyone south of Texas, with groups in Iran and the Ukraine, genocide doesn't stop and it's the ultimate form of bullying," Gluck said.

A history teacher for 11 years, Gluck emphasized that "history repeats itself."

The star of the show

Abby Weatherford, who plays Anne Frank, watched documentaries and interviews with Holocaust survivors and read Frank's diary in preparation for playing the role.

"Helping people learn about it and showing them what all these people had to live through, this is only a small snippet of what she had to live through, so it's crazy to be able to show it to these people," Weatherford said. "I feel so honored to be able to do this."

The 16-year-old has performed in 23 previous shows and began acting when she was eight years old. Though no stranger to the stage, she described the responsibility of playing Anne Frank as differing vastly from any prior character she assumed.

"It's been very hard to feel like I'm doing what I should be doing and that I'm doing her justice," Weatherford said. "It's been hard to get all the perspective and put it into this play and be able to think about the way she felt about things and think about the place that she was at."

What's coming up for the Ned?

The following performances will be held at the Ned Main Stage throughout 2023:

• Mean Girls, High School Version — May 9-12 (ages 13 to 18)

• Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella — June 13-15 (ages six and up)

• Dreamgirls — Aug. 17-19 & 24-26 (ages 13 and up)

• Roald Dahl's Matilda: The Musical, Jr. — Sept. 7-9 (ages six to 18)

• Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat — Oct. 19-22 (ages eight and up)

• The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! — Nov. 20-21 (ages six and up)

The "Off-Broadway" experience provided through The Theatre Underground at the Carnegie will host the following performances:

• Misery — May 23-25

• What the Constitution Means to Me — Sept. 21-24

• Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some More!) — Dec. 1-3

This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: The daughter of a Holocaust survivor speaks following Anne Frank play.