Luuk and Juka, both 11, planted a sapling of the Anne Frank tree.
These two youngsters are from the Son youth town council. They planted it in Vroonhoven Park on Tuesday afternoon. They did so together with Mayor Hans Gaillard.
“Anne Frank is the most famous child from World War II. That’s why I volunteered to plant the tree,” Juka says. The world-famous white horse chestnut tree from 1850 stood in Amsterdam.
Storm blew old tree over
It was in Anne Frank’s Achterhuis (Secret Annexe) courtyard garden. She wrote about this tree three times in her diary. In 2010, a storm blew the old tree over.
The ElemenTree and Wereldboom (Global Tree) Foundation collected approximately 150 chestnuts from this tree. The Van den Berk cultivated them. And one of these saplings has now been planted.
Mayor Gaillard is grateful that he and the two children could plant this remarkable tree. “Anne Frank brings the idea of war very close to home. This tree commemorates her and all the other victims of the war.”
‘Can now see tree’
“Many school children have visited the Anne Frank House. They can see that tree up close.” Luuk also thinks that the tree will draw people’s attention.
“At school, we write a poem about Remembrance Day every year. This tree now takes on a special meaning. We can’t forget the war,” he says.
Juka finds Anne Frank extraordinary. “She wrote a diary and was betrayed. Being in hiding really touches me. Anne Frank couldn’t go outside at all during all those years. It makes me quite sad,” she says.
Source: Studio040
Translator: Bob
Editor: Melinda Walraven
