I've posted before about my experience of "The diary of Anne Frank". Although I knew Anne's story from my school days, it wasn't until my thirties, living in England, that I appreciated the full grace and horror of her life. I saw a Brighton theatre production of The Diary of Anne Frank, read the Pan edition of her diary, and visited the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam.
In 2018, I wrote a blog post about this experience, commenting:
Anne's diary is a reminder of the barbarity of war. And of the courage of those who risk their lives to protect others. But most of all, of the observations of a teenage girl who never had the chance to fulfil her potential, let alone live a long and full life!
Recently I watched A Small Light on Disney+, the courageous story of Miep and Jan Gies, who risked their lives to shelter the Franks and other Jewish families from the Nazis. I won't lie: I needed a big box of tissues to get through the tears of the last episode.
A Small Light is based on conversations Miep Gies had with Alison Leslie Gold, which resulted in Anne Frank Remembered - The Story of the Woman Who Helped to Hide the Frank Family (Simon & Shuster 1987). And after watching the series, I bought the book (Kindle version). Fittingly, it opens with this humble Prologue by Miep:
I am not a hero. I stand at the end of the long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did or more—much more—during those dark and terrible times years ago, but always like yesterday in the hearts of those of us who bear witness. Never a day goes by that I do not think of what happened then.




