History

A Tree.

Sunday, March 11th, 2007

I come home slightly drunk from a birthday party and find this:
Anne Frank’s chestnut tree faces ax
Maybe it is because I have had a few but this deeply saddens me. I mean, I haven’t even read Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl since it was part of the curriculum.
But I remember the tree.

I can’t exactly put my finger on the reason but to me cutting down that tree seems like a horrible idea. Yes, I know it is dying. I know they say it is a danger. I know they say it is going to fall. It doesn’t comfort me. It almost feels like a piece of important history will be gone forever. I think that is it is going to die anyway, they might as well let it go on it’s own. This may sound stupid and sappy but since her life got cut so short at least let the tree she found solace in live out it’s time and go when it is ready.
As a young child I pictured that tree while reading her diary. I didn’t just picture the tree though, I pictured myself along side her looking at the tree. I tried to understand what she was feeling, what she was going through. I wanted to help her. I wanted to look at that tree with her.
I don’t claim to know what she went through but while reading that book I felt for her. The holocaust was something I had heard of but didn’t understand. I knew that it was bad and that many people died but I didn’t really understand. Then I read that book and somehow something in my brain clicked. By knowing the story of just one young girl I realized exactly what a horrible event it was. I saw how evil people could be. In some ways I would almost say that this book made me realize how fucked up the world could be. That is something that I think no one should be allowed to forget. I am a believer in the old saying “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it”.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I have always wanted to go there, to where she hid. See the annex. See the tree. Even then I knew I wouldn’t fully understand what is was like, but I don’t think it is possible to understand unless you were there. I think her life and her story are important to remember. Through her writing you catch a glimpse into the lives of everyone else and you can understand on a more personal level what was really happening and that makes it imposable to forget. If there was some way to lobby to have the tree dug up and replanted in my lawn to live out it’s time I would do it. But I have to wonder if it would count. Sure, it is the same tree, but it is not in the same spot. Would it matter? Would the tree even survive the trip?
I think what is really important is that people do not forget what happened. Do not let anyone forget. Not even Mel Gibson.