On 16 June 2025, the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme brought together Permanent Representatives, delegates and United Nations staff to remember the life and legacy of Anne Frank.
The solemn event took place in front of the Anne Frank tree that grows in the United Nations Garden. The tree is descended from the horse chestnut tree that stood outside the annex where Anne and her family had sought refuge from the Nazis. The tree, visible from the attic of the annex, provided Anne with solace and hope.
At the remembrance event Ms. Melissa Fleming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications invited all to a moment of quiet reflection and remembrance. Her Excellency, Mrs. Bahia Tahzib-Lie, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations and His Excellency Mr. Brett Jonathan Miller, Deputy Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations emphasized the importance of learning from the past to counter hatred in today¡¯s world.
¡°Let us remember our responsibility to the memory of Anne Frank, and the over a million children who, like Anne, victims of antisemitism, were killed because they were Jewish. Let us remember the countless other children maimed and murdered in the name of racism,¡± concluded Under-Secretary-General Fleming in her closing remarks, with a reminder for all to counter the misuse of words to incite acts of hatred and to build a world in which children today and tomorrow live in peace, free and able to fulfill their dreams and potential.
Permanent Representatives, delegates and United Nations staff stand in front of the Anne Frank Tree at the special remembrance event on Anne Frank.
Credit: The Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme
In tribute to Anne Frank and the 1.5 million children who were murdered during the Holocaust, 8 young people read the diary entry that 15-year-old Anne wrote in her Diary while in hiding, weeks before the family was betrayed and arrested.