?Anne Frank ? A History for Today? is now on in the main gallery of the Bermuda Society of Arts at City Hall.

The exhibition features narrative text and photographic reproductions displayed on back-lit panels, and depicts the life story of a 15-year-old Jewish girl who kept a remarkable diary while hiding with her family and friends for two years in the cramped, secret attic of a building in Amsterdam, Holland during the Nazi occupation.

In August 1944 the Frank family and friends were betrayed and deported to the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp. Anne was subsequently sent to Bergen-Belsen, another infamous concentration camp, where she died of typhus in March, 1945. Of the eight people who hid in the attic, only Anne?s father, Otto, survived. His daughter?s diaries, saved by one of his loyal employees, were returned to him after the war, and eventually published in what has become one of the most widely-read books in the world. In the City Hall exhibition, Anne?s biographical narrative is enhanced by testimony from Holocaust survivors and helpers, and historical context about the period in which she lived. There is also a small ?room? created by Will Collieson to evoke a sense of the cramped attic space in which Anne Frank wrote her diaries.

Today, the brave teenager?s name is synonymous with the triumph of the human spirit over bigotry, terror and unspeakable brutality. Her diary, and this exhibition, serve both as a message of hope, and as a challenge to ensure that society never again permits denial of basic human rights and freedoms.

Guided tours are available most hours, but groups must be scheduled by contacting Jean Rosenthal at jeanbbsr.edu or ( 291-1785.

The ?Anne Frank ? A History for Today? exhibition was developed by the Anne Frank House. For further information see website www.annefrank.com

linked to the Anne Frank exhibition are speaking engagements and a workshop being presented by Mrs. Sally Frishberg, a Holocaust survivor, and Dr. Leon Bass, a black former US Army soldier who witnessed the liberation of Buchenwald, an infamous Nazi concentration camp.is on the Island this week speaking to students in private and public schools about her experiences. Born in Poland in 1934, her country was occupied by Germany in 1939, and she lived with Germans until ?resettlement? of Polish Jews in 1942. Thereafter, she lived in the fields of her native farm community for some time until she was hidden, along with 15 members of her family, by a Polish Catholic in the cramped attic of his farm house ? an area without plumbing, electricity or room to stand up, until 1944 when she was liberated by the Russians. Under threat of death by locals, Mrs. Frishberg wandered through Europe from 1945 until she arrived in the US in 1947.

Today, she is a volunteer gallery educator at the Jewish Heritage Museum, and speaks extensively on the Holocaust wherever she is invited because she is convinced that when young people know the truth they will make the necessary effort to build a better world.

Mrs. Frishberg is also expected to participate in a workshop at the Bermuda Youth Library on Saturday, which the United Nations has declared ?Day of the Family?.

arrives next week to fulfil speaking engagements on the topic, ?Racism, Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust?. He will address students at CedarBridge Academy and Whitney Institute. The public will have an opportunity to hear him speak next Wednesday, May 19 at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute (BUEI) auditorium, beginning at 7 p.m. Admission is $10 per person. An optional buffet ($45 including gratuities) will follow at the adjoining La Coquille restaurant. Tickets for the talk and the dinner are available at the Bermuda Society of Arts gallery at City Hall, Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and also at Grand Central Deli, 4 Washington Street (across from the bus terminal) Monday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Payment is in cash or by cheque made payable to ?JCB? or ?Jewish Community of Bermuda?.