A 150-year old tree in Amsterdam has won a last-minute reprieve from a felling order, issued by the city's council. It is not any old tree. It sits outside the Anne Frank house, where the Jewish teenage girl by that name hid for 25 months during World War II until her arrest in August 1944. She was taken to Bergen Belsen concentration camp, where she succumbed to disease in 1945. Anne wrote a diary during her time in hiding, a diary that was found after the war and published in print. It makes for painful reading, particularly as we all know the outcome. The tree was a symbol of hope for Anne Frank, as it was always there, outside the one window open to the outside world. It is now disease-ridden with fungus, and in danger of falling down in high winds. Amsterdam City Council did order it to be cut down, but a legal move has opened a window of opportunity to explore other avenues for it to be preserved.
The Anne Frank House has NOT opposed the felling of the tree, saying that the safety of its neighbours and hundreds of thousands of visitors each years is paramount. More on this story here.
It is a shame 'all things must come to an end'.I hope they get seeds or sprout some limbs or graft some,but alas-it is not the same but the spirit of what it stood for should live on.....
ReplyDeleteI hope they find a solution for the stricken tree Guido but I think it will be hard. I visited Anne Frank`s house last year. It made me shudder to think that German jackboots once walked upon the very floors where we stood. It was impossible to be there without shedding a tear. Very moving.
ReplyDeleteLove Sandra xx
Oh Guido I hope they can save the tree ,or find a suitable solution ,..love Jan xx
ReplyDeleteI hope that they can safely save the tree, but if not, I hope that it can be memorialized somehow and appropriately so.
ReplyDeleteLori
Although heartbreaking, Anne Frank's Diary is a favorite read of mine when I was younger. Thanks for this tidbit of information. (Hugs) Indigo
ReplyDeleteI wish they took care of the tree earlier when they could have stopped the disease maybe... how sad.
ReplyDeletebe well,
Dawn
http://journals.aol.com/princesssaurora/CarpeDiem/
I had to cut down a tree that I have pictures of my Mother in front of when she was a teen. I cried for days & it took me a year to make up my mind to do it, in the end it was the safest thing. I'm so glad they are putting effort forth to save Anne's tree~ I've read that book several times. ~Mary
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