Loyola University New Orleans Hosts International Exhibit “Anne Frank: A History for Today”

(NEW ORLEANS – February 14, 2022) Thanks, in part, to a Mission Integration Grant from the New Orleans Jesuit Community, Loyola University New Orleans’ Department of Languages & Cultures is pleased to be hosting the traveling exhibit, "Anne Frank: A History for Today.”  Primarily aimed at young people 11 to 18 years old, the international teaching exhibition has travelled all over the world and is presented more than 300 times per year.

This 30-panel exhibit tells Anne's story against the background of World War II and the Holocaust; it is designed not only to provide historical facts, but to use peer docents to encourage discussion regarding tolerance, inclusion, racism, and human rights. Copy is bilingual, written in Spanish and English.

Working with trainers from the Anne Frank House in February, Loyola students in the seminar, “In Quarantine with Anne Frank,” will learn to serve as docents for the exhibit, guiding peers in discussions of stereotype, inclusion, tolerance and hate.  In addition, Loyola students will also learn to train younger students as docents, so that the exhibit can continue as an educational presence in New Orleans for multiple years, enhancing empathy and connection in teenagers. the exhibit, guiding younger students in discussions of stereotype, inclusion, tolerance and hate.

“For our students (and many of us), the Holocaust may seem like ancient history.  But what happened is  neither long ago nor far away:  Not only is anti-Jewish hate a continuing presence in our world, as events only last week in Coleyville, TX, underscored, but – in the words of Black, feminist, LGBT advocate and poet Audre Lorde, “among those of us who share the goals of liberation and a workable future for our children, there can be no hierarchies of oppression,” said Dr. Naomi Yavneh -Klos, Rev. Bienvenu SJ Distinguished Chair of Humanities chair and professor of languages and cultures. “We must commit to a world of inclusion, free from hatred, racism, and fear.”

“Anne Frank: A History for Today” exhibit will remain at Loyola for the next several years and is on loan to Dr. Naomi Yavneh-Klos and Loyola from the Anne Frank House in the Netherlands. Dr. Yavneh-Klos had started her Fulbright Year in the Netherlands, working with Windesheim Honors College to research issues of social justice when the pandemic broke out. She returned to the States, looked around at what was happening, and launched an ongoing and popular college course, “Anne Frank in Quarantine,” at Loyola which not only helps students to examine issues of ethnic and racial bias, prejudice and hatred, particularly in light of world events, but also helps them to become servant leaders with open minds and hearts willing to stand up for others.

 As part of the process, Loyola students design a 45-minute class for elementary, middle or high school students designed to help them explore these issues too, against the backdrop of the exhibit.  Teachers who would like to arrange a tour for students, or would like to discuss a future training and exhibit at your school, may reach out to Loyola. Tours will start mid-March.