pme donates: Anne Frank Center
Every schoolchild in Germany already knows the name Anne Frank. Her diary once made her world-famous and is still required reading in German schools today. With its educational work, the Anne Frank Center in Berlin commemorates the girl who lost her life in the Holocaust in 1945 and promotes the commitment of children and young people to equal rights, against anti-Semitism, racism and discrimination with current projects.
The pme Familienservice donated 12,500 euros to the Anne Frank Center last year. Money that it can put to good use for its future work, as director Veronika Nahm tells us in an interview.
What significance does the story of Anne Frank have for young people in Germany today?
Many children and young people feel addressed by Anne's diary entries. Anne Frank was 13 years old when she went into hiding with her family and had to hide from the Nazis in a Secret Annex in Amsterdam. By studying the diary and Anne's biography, young people today gain personal access to the history of the Holocaust. They are also encouraged to deal with anti-Semitism, discrimination and flight in the present day. They learn how important democracy and human rights are.
The permanent exhibition "All about Anne" gives visitors an insight into the life of the Jewish girl and her family. Anne Frank Center, Photo: Gregor Zielke
What educational programs does the center offer to promote tolerance and intercultural understanding?
The Anne Frank Zentrum presents a permanent exhibition in Berlin and traveling exhibitions throughout Germany that commemorate Anne Frank and make references to the present. It develops digital and analog educational materials and implements projects throughout Germany. These include Anne Frank Day, a nationwide school campaign day against anti-Semitism and racism, which takes place every year on Anne Frank's birthday and in which around 90,000 pupils from almost 600 schools took part this year. We also support young people in their commitment to democratic values and in implementing their own projects against discrimination. We honor them as Anne Frank Ambassadors after successful project implementation. There are currently around 440 Anne Frank Ambassadors across Germany.
In 2024, the Anne Frank Zentrum honored 23 young people for their commitment against discrimination and for democratic values. Anne Frank Zentrum, photo: Ruthe Zunth
How is the Anne Frank Zentrum involved in the fight against anti-Semitism and racism in today's society?
Our educational work strengthens children and young people in their personal development. They learn from history how important it is to take a stand against anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination.
What are the biggest challenges in your daily work and how do you solve them?
The Anne Frank Zentrum is a non-profit organization and is unfortunately not institutionally funded, although we have been successfully carrying out historical and political educational work for 30 years. Our budget consists mainly of project funds. The projects often run for one to three years. On the one hand, we are currently seeing a drastic increase in anti-Semitic attacks and crimes. And on the other hand, we don't know whether we will continue to be able to raise the necessary funds for our work.
Which project from recent years are you particularly proud of?
Of course, I could now name Anne Frank Day as a flagship project, but that would fall short. Great projects are being implemented in all areas of work, most of which have a model character. One example is the "Case not Closed" project. Here, young people from Germany and Turkey researched the question "How did Berlin Jews with Turkish citizenship live during National Socialism?" What were their fates? The project sheds light on a largely unknown group of victims. The intercultural nature of the project was very enriching. The young people from the project are now running their own workshops for other young people.
Around 90,000 pupils from almost 600 schools took part in Anne Frank Day 2024.
Anne Frank Zentrum, Photo: Adam Berry
Which project will the donation from pme Familienservice help you with?
The donation from pme Familienservice will help us to expand our educational services and reach children, young people and teachers in a more targeted way. We are currently taking further steps in the area of inclusion. Our aim here is to really reach everyone with our services and break down barriers for people with disabilities, for example.
What plans do you have for your future work?
In the future, we will build on our successful educational work on Anne Frank and develop it further, especially low-threshold analog and digital offerings. For example, we are planning a new inclusive traveling exhibition.
What is the best way for people who want to support the Anne Frank Zentrum to help and get involved?
We are very happy to receive non-project-related donations, which we can use where they are most urgently needed. A special form of donation is membership of our Circle of Friends. Every new friend and every donation means a lot to us. It shows us that there are other people for whom our mission is important: remember and engage.
Social commitment of the pme Familienservice
Whether in refugee aid, projects for children or the homeless - many team members at pme Familienservice volunteer in their free time. The pme Familienservice also supports social projects in Germany and around the world.
In 2023, the company donated a total of 55,000 euros to five charitable organizations that work every day for disadvantaged people, children and young people or for climate and cultural issues, among others.
All 2000 team members had the opportunity to submit suggestions for social projects that they thought were particularly worthy of support. The associations with the most votes received a donation to enable them to implement their projects.
Cover picture: © Anne Frank Center, Photo: Ruthe Zuntz
