University of Iowa takes a look at the legacy of Anne Frank. Here's the schedule, and how to attend

Anne Frank hid with her family in the annex of a building in the Netherlands 80 years ago, documenting her experience in a diary that would be read by generations.

Frank’s legacy has been taught in schools, memorialized in museums and depicted in the media. And for the next four months, Frank will be the subject of an extensive series of discussions and events through the University of Iowa’s 2022 Provost’s Global Forum, an annual event centered around international issues.

“Teaching Anne Frank” brings experts across disciplines to explore the educational value and continuing relevance of her story.

The three-day Provost’s Global Forum begins at the end of February, but related events will take place throughout the spring. They include the planting on the UI Pentacrest of a sapling from the horse chestnut tree that grew outside the home where the Frank family hid, an exhibit at the museum in the Old Capitol nearby, an essay contest for students and more.

With Thursday being Holocaust Remembrance Day, here's a detailed look at what is being planned at the University of Iowa this winter and spring.

‘(Her) story speaks to us all in varying ways’: The value of Anne Frank today

In November, the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies at UI hosted the discussion “Why Anne Frank Still Matters.”

Kirsten Kumpf Baele is a lecturer in the Department of German at UI and created a general education course called Anne Frank and her Story.

Professor Waltraud Maierhofer and Kumpf Baele are organizers of “Teaching Anne Frank."

In the Obermann discussion, Kumpf Baele explained why she submitted a proposal for the university to receive a sapling from the tree that grew in the courtyard behind the annex where Frank and her family hid for more than two years.

There are 12 locations in America that host these saplings, according to the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect.

Kumpf Baele said that, based on the interactions with her students and conversations with others, there are large parts of Frank’s story, and the Holocaust, that people do not know.

Kumpf Baele thought about what she as an educator could do to increase awareness.

“A living monument of Anne, a sapling in Iowa City, I think would allow Anne’s story to develop organically, to blossom, to produce new fruit for future students, for faculty members (and) for community members here in this location,” she said.

That proposal was accepted, and UI is set to plant that tree in April as part of “Teaching Anne Frank."

In an email to the Press-Citizen, dean of International Programs Russell Ganim explained that reviewing applications for the Provost’s Global Forum begins almost a year before the event occurs.

Chief criteria for selection “include relevance to current global issues, appeal to a wide variety of audiences and the ability to stimulate meaningful public dialogue around world events,” he said.

Ganim hoped that "Teaching Anne Frank” and its related programming “will inspire people to continue to learn about the dangers of prejudice and discrimination and to recognize we all have the ability to make a difference.”

The global forum invites speakers to discuss how Frank’s life and legacy is taught in multiple disciplines, and Kumpf Baele told the Press-Citizen in an email that she feels Frank’s diary is “the epitome of interdisciplinarity.”

“My teaching is framed by the various lenses through which we can access her text,” she said. “Every student, every reader for that matter, can latch on to something that Anne wrote. In this sense, Anne Frank’s story speaks to us all in varying ways, and it is the discovery of how we connect with her — with her writing — that is the rewarding deeper exercise.”

Kumpf Baele said, while Frank’s diary is thoughtful and eloquent, it is also accessible.

“On the surface, Anne’s text is a personal account, not an academic text, the thoughts of a young teenager — non-pretentious, genuine and heartfelt,” she said. “However, I can attest that her writing leads my students to analytical, existential and thought-provoking discourse. I believe that it is this type of voice that truly inspires students to become better humans.”

‘Let Me Be Myself: The Life Story of Anne Frank’ exhibit Jan. 18-March 2

More than a dozen panels of photos and descriptions depict the life of Frank in an exhibit on display at the UI Old Capitol Museum.

The exhibit explores Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in Germany and the subsequent Holocaust through the lens of Frank’s family: the fear, their life in hiding and their experience in concentration camps.

“Let Me Be Myself” also prompts visitors to examine their own identities and the communities they belong to through a series of panels and questions.

There will be two virtual discussions related to the exhibit. The first is about three Iowans who brought Frank’s story to the state. The second explores the historical context of Frank’s diary and journal-writing in general.

The dates of the two sessions are:

• Feb. 9, noon–1 p.m.

• March 9, noon–1 p.m.

Both can be accessed on the Pentacrest Museums’ website.

“Let Me Be Myself” will be open during the museum's regular hours, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tours of the exhibit facilitated by peer educators are available as well, and can be scheduled online.

Provost’s Global Forum: Teaching Anne Frank, Feb. 28–March 2

These discussions include how Frank is taught across various mediums, the Holocaust and contemporary human rights issues.

Participants in these panels include professors from across the country in disciplines like religious studies and history. Members of organizations like the Anne Frank Center and Refugee Alliance of Central Iowa will also participate in the global forum.

On March 2, there will be a Joel Barkan Memorial Lecture with Ronald Leopold, executive director of the Anne Frank House.

Leopold will present at some of the earlier events of the global forum, including after a screening of “In Line for Anne Frank” at FilmScene on March 1.

Here is the full schedule:

What: WorldCanvass: Teaching Anne Frank

Where: MERGE, 136 S. Dubuque St.

When: Feb. 28

• Part 1: Anne Frank and Public History, 5:30–6 p.m.

• Part 2: Teaching Anne Frank, 6–6:30 p.m.

• Part 3: Anne Frank in History and Human Rights Issues Today, 6:30–7 p.m.

What: Panel Discussions and Film Screening

Where: University Capitol Centre, room 1117

When: March 1

• Panel 1: The Holocaust in Global Context, 9:15–10:45 a.m.

• Panel 2: Holocaust Education, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

• Panel 3: Symbols, Icons and Museums, 2–3:15 p.m.

• Panel 4: Compassionate Activism, 3:30–5 p.m.

• “In Line for Anne Frank” film screening at FilmScene at the Chauncey, 7–8:30 p.m.

What: Joel Barkan Memorial Lecture

Where: Old Capitol Museum inside the Senate Chamber

When: March 2, 5:30–7 p.m.

Anne Frank sapling planting, April 29

The Anne Frank sapling will be planted at the northeast corner of the UI Pentacrest on the day that celebrates tree plantings, Arbor Day.

This is the 13th Anne Frank sapling to be planted in America, with others at the U.S. Capitol, the United Nations Headquarters in New York City and the Holocaust Memorial Center in Michigan, according to the Anne Frank Center.

The sapling planting will take place in front of Macbride Hall at 5 p.m. There will be live music and speeches before the planting.

Part of the planting’s festivities include a poetry and essay contest presented by the Iowa Youth Writing Project, the Obermann Center and the UI German Department.

The contest is open to junior high and high school students, who are asked to respond to the following prompt:

"Write about a time when you felt isolated or trapped. How did you work through that time, and what did you learn from the experience?"

Submissions are due Feb. 27, and some winners will be selected to read at the planting ceremony.

Iowa K-12 teacher workshop, June

The teacher workshop will build on themes from the global forum, Will Coghill-Behrends from the UI College of Education said in an email to the Press-Citizen.

There will be an emphasis on pedagogies "that support teaching challenging topics and facilitating difficult dialogue in the classroom,” he said.

For more information on "Teaching Anne Frank," visit UI's International Programs' website.

Paris Barraza covers entertainment, lifestyle and arts at the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Reach her at PBarraza@press-citizen.com or (319) 519-9731. Follow her on Twitter @ParisBarraza.

This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: University of Iowa's 'Teaching Anne Frank' includes tree planting