FAIRMONT, Minn. – When Anne Frank was hiding from the Nazis in a secret annex in Amsterdam, she dreamed of freedom.
One symbol of that longing: An old chestnut tree, growing outside the annex, which she could see through a window.
In the decades since the Holocaust and Frank’s death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, her diary, and legacy of youthful hope in the face of militant antisemitism, has inspired millions around the world.
That legacy is now on display in southern Minnesota at the Fairmont Junior/Senior High School — in the form of a sapling descended from Frank’s favorite chestnut tree, provided by the Anne Frank Center USA.
“Planting this tree isn’t just about honoring the past, it’s also about shaping the future,” said 11-year-old Natalie Flaherty during a public unveiling of the sapling on May 29 at the school.
A full auditorium held various elementary and middle school classes, as well as families and people of all ages from Fairmont and the surrounding communities. The 5th and 6th grade choir performed. And representatives of Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, and U.S. Rep. Brad Finstad, were also present.
Other guests included Joe Eggers, the interim director of the Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota, and members of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas.
“As [the tree] grows taller and its roots go deeper, it will foster Anne’s ideals,” said Susie Greenberg, the JCRC’s director of Holocaust education and programming, in comments during the event.
“By educating our future leaders, they too will grow and spread their roots,” she said. “They’ll gain the ability to understand the effects of stereotyping, indifference and bigotry. It is our communal obligation to assist our young people to grow into responsible citizens who can recognize and prevent injustices.”
The driving force behind the tree planting wasn’t an adult, but Flaherty herself.
She idolizes Anne Frank, and received media attention last year for handing out green bracelets that say, “I stand with Anne. Put a stop to hate.”
The tree “will remind us every day that our words, our choices and our actions matter,” Flaherty said.
“So when you walk past this tree in the years to come, I hope you remember Anne. I hope you remember what she taught us. And I hope you ask yourself, what kind of world do I want to grow?”
The tree
The original chestnut tree in Amsterdam is now gone, blown down by a storm in 2010 after years of disease.
But historians and researchers saved seeds from the tree, and grew new saplings.
The chestnut tree at Fairmont Junior Senior High School is a sapling descended from Anne Frank’s favorite chestnut tree, provided by the Anne Frank Center USA. (Lev Gringauz/TC Jewfolk)
Some of those went to the Anne Frank Center USA, which planted those trees at places like the U.S. Capitol and the 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York City.
The center then started growing its own batch of saplings in Indiana to continue offering tree plantings as a Holocaust memorial across the country.
Flaherty, invited to speak at a tree planting in Omaha last year, decided to bring the same to Fairmont. The Fairmont tree is now 21 of 22 planted in the U.S.
“Rarely do we have an auditorium full of students when we dedicate these trees, and it’s really for all of you,” said Dr. Lauren Bairnsfather, CEO of the Anne Frank Center USA, at the unveiling event.
“Being here, I can see how the young people are leading, and the adults are supporting the young people, and there’s a reciprocity here,” she said.
“It’s the kind of community where change happens, where beautiful and positive things grow.”
Bairsnfather later told TC Jewfolk that the center is the only place in the world still growing new trees descended from Anne Frank’s chestnut tree. They get requests for planting from around the world.
The message
Speakers at the event recalled Anne Frank’s legacy, congratulated Flaherty for her work to bring the tree to Fairmont, and impressed on the audience the meaning of planting the chestnut tree.
“We say that a metaphor, a word for the Bible, is Eitz Chaim in Hebrew — Tree of Life,” said Steve Hunegs, executive director of the JCRC. “And what have you done? You brought a tree of life, maybe the ultimate tree of life, from the Anne Frank [Center].”
Hunegs recalled the Minnesotans — including several figures from Martin County who died in action — who fought in World War II against the Nazis.
“These were your neighbors, your relatives, your friends doing their part to secure democracy and make life safer for us and protect our freedoms abroad,” he said.
“Natalie, you’re a direct descendant of those efforts with everything that you’re doing.”
The Fairmont mayor declared May 29 “Stand with Anne” day, and members of the school administration also spoke to commemorate the planting.
“Thank you to all those who have worked up front and behind the scenes to bring this reminder of hope, of kindness, in the importance of our choices and the things that we can do to end hate in our world,” said Andy Traetow, Fairmont Area Schools Superintendent.
After the event, speakers, guests, and the press went behind the school to see the sapling and take photos with it.
Speaking to TC Jewfolk after most had left, and a gauntlet of other interviews, Flaherty reflected on her success.
“I can’t even figure out the right word,” she said. “It’s so so [memorable]. And makes me so joyful, because people are coming together for this, and that just makes me so happy to see.”
Flaherty still has her high school career ahead of her — during which she’ll get to see the tree grow and become a fixture of the community.
