Anchor intro History came alive today at the ned theater in jackson- students watched the diary of

3/6/23

JACKSON, TENN (WNBJ)-

History came alive today at the NED theater in Jackson- the audience watched "The diary of Anne Frank" and heard from the daughter of a Holocaust survivor.

All of it was made possible by a partnership between the NED and the Tennessee Holocaust Commission.

“We make it our mission to go everywhere, in anywhere within the state of tennessee that will have us to help spread the information, education about the Holocaust," the Education Coordinator for the Commission Ken Gluck said.

The show is based on the autobiography by Anne Frank that details how she and her family hid from the Nazis in Holland during the Holocaust.

“It's been very interesting just to see things from other people's point of view. I have like read the diary to get ready for this, and I watched lots of holocaust survivor videos,” said Abby Weatherford who plays Anne Frank.

“She just got thrust into some terrible circumstances, and it's just it's cool to be able to portray a just a normal teenager. All she wants is to be normal. And I think people don't think about that sometimes. They don't think about how this historical character, she is not just a character and she's not just like a larger-than-life person. She was a normal girl," she added.

Anne Frank, along with 7 Million other Jews, died during the Holocaust, but some survived.

“As a child of a survivor, it's important more important for us because we know what our parents went through," Ida Eleazer said.

Eleazer’s father, Max Notowitz survived the holocaust as a teenager- today, she shared his story.

“We're seeing hatred so much in the world right now that, you know, every little thing that we do can help to temper the temper, the hatred and teach tolerance," she said.

The Tennessee Holocaust Commission brought an exhibit featuring the stories and photos of Notowitz and other survivors and liberators from Tennessee, titled “Living On.”

“That's the whole purpose, I think, is that kids understand this isn't easy. It's not light and fluffy. It's going to be hard to hear. It's going to be hard to understand. But that's what makes it worthwhile because they have to see the reality of what these things are,” Gluck said.

Ken Gluck is the son of a survivor and he and the team at the NEd are doing everything they can to make sure we never forget the Holocaust.

The final production of Anne Frank at the NED will be tomorrow.