Columbia is the new home of this country’s first Anne Frank Center chronicling the life and death of the Dutch teenager who has become a Holocaust icon. But the new facility, one of just four in the world, also brings in some ties to local history.
According to the Post & Courier, “Given it’s Southern location, USC’s center reveals connections to the American Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights movement, referencing the 1936 Berlin Olympics performance of Black track and field legend Jessie Owens, who won four gold medals.
The tour at the Anne Frank Center will mention the story of Emmett Till, a Black teen lynched in Mississippi in 1955 who was the same age, 14, as Frank when she was captured by the Nazis. As with the Holocaust, the gruesome photos of Till’s body shocked the conscience of the nation.”
To see the entire Post & Courier article, CLICK HERE. (Non-subscribers will encounter a paywall.)
More Links:
Anne Frank:
THE SECRET ANNEX (A virtual tour by AnneFrank.org)
THE DIARY (Anne Frank House)
Emmett Till:
EMMETT TILL IS MURDERED (History.com)
THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL (Library of Congress)
Jessie Owens:
More Than Gold: Jesse Owens and the 1936 Berlin Olympics (NBCSports.com)