Some 2,000 German youths journeyed to Bergen-Belsen yesterday to pay homage to Anne Frank, the Dutch Jewish adolescent who died in a Nazi concentration camp. The pilgrimage was part of the observance of Brotherhood Week in West Germany, under the auspices of the Society for Christian-Jewish Cooperation.
The pilgrimage was inspired by the story of Miss Frank, currently being told on the German stage by the Albert and Frances Hackeit play. “The Diary of Anne Frank, based on a diary kept by the girl.
Among the people who addressed the memorial meeting was Hans Hanoch, whose father was a Nazi leader and who was himself at one time a member of the Hitler Youth movement. Since then, Mr. Hanoch has become a Jew and has settled in Israel. He is currently in Germany as a student but plans to return to Israel after completing his studies. Mr. Hanoch served in the Israel Army during the recent Sinai campaign.
A German schoolgirl of 17 told the meeting that “never again must such a diseased and inhuman hatred rise among our people” as that which had attempted to destroy the Jews. Other speakers were clergymen and German youth leaders and a representative of the Hamburg Jewish community.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
