Anne Frank Educational Centre

The Anne Frank Educational Centre, known in German as Bildungsstätte Anne Frank, is a nonprofit educational organisation based in Dornbusch, Frankfurt am Main, the district associated with Anne Frank's birthplace. Established in 1997, it uses Anne Frank's life and diary as an entry point for teaching about National Socialism, the Holocaust, antisemitism, racism, discrimination and the consequences of exclusion. The organisation is supported by the Anne-Frank-Fonds in Basel and operates as a civic education institution rather than as a commercial consumer brand. The centre's origins reach back to a wish expressed by Otto Frank in 1950 to create an educational institution in his daughter's name. That idea took several decades to develop. The association Jugendbegegnungsstätte Anne Frank e.V. was formed in 1994, and the educational centre opened on 15 June 1997 in the former Haus der Jugend, close to Anne Frank's former home. Its location connects local history with broader European remembrance of the Holocaust and the persecution carried out under Nazism. A major turning point came in 2003 with the opening of the multimedia permanent exhibition Anne Frank: A Girl from Germany. Developed and produced with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and the Anne Frank Zentrum in Berlin, the exhibition presents Anne Frank's biography within the wider history of Nazi Germany. It is designed for visitors to explore at their own pace and is accompanied by seminars, training courses and educational projects for young people and adults. Since the 2010s, the centre has broadened its mandate beyond a primary focus on Anne Frank and Holocaust remembrance. Its work increasingly combines historical education with human rights education, anti-discrimination work and facilitated dialogue among people of different backgrounds, social positions, lifestyles and migration histories. The organisation's programmes address German society broadly, including Muslim communities and other groups with personal or family histories of immigration. During Meron Mendel's tenure as director, beginning in 2010, the centre expanded its educational infrastructure and support services. These developments included a multimedia learning laboratory for young people, temporary exhibitions such as projects addressing the Holocaust in comics, and two counselling units for people affected by right-wing violence. The centre also produces surveys, teaching resources and materials for educators and parents on contemporary antisemitism, racism and political conflict. Its educational response to debates surrounding the Gaza war following 7 October 2023 illustrates the institution's effort to connect historical learning with current challenges while supporting teachers and families. The Anne Frank Educational Centre therefore combines remembrance culture, museum-style interpretation, workshops, professional training, youth work, counselling and public dialogue. Its central positioning is not simply the preservation of Anne Frank's legacy, but the use of that legacy to encourage democratic participation, tolerance, human rights and resistance to antisemitic and racist ideologies. It remains headquartered in Frankfurt and is described in reference material as having substantially increased its staff, budget and international visibility over time.

The Anne Frank Educational Centre emerged from a long-standing ambition to establish an educational institution in Anne Frank's name. In 1950, shortly after the Second World War, Otto Frank expressed the wish to create such a centre. The project was not realised immediately, but the idea remained connected to Frankfurt, where Anne Frank was born and where her former family home became an important point of local remembrance. The organisational foundation was laid in 1994 with the establishment of the association Jugendbegegnungsstätte Anne Frank e.V. Three years later, on 15 June 1997, the Anne Frank Educational Centre opened in the former Haus der Jugend in Frankfurt's Dornbusch neighbourhood. Its initial work centred on youth encounters, historical learning and the use of Anne Frank's biography to explain the persecution of Jewish people, the functioning of Nazi rule and the human consequences of discrimination and racism. The centre received support from the Anne-Frank-Fonds in Basel. In 2003, the institution opened the permanent multimedia exhibition Anne Frank: A Girl from Germany. The project was developed and produced in cooperation with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and the Anne Frank Zentrum in Berlin. Rather than presenting Anne Frank's life as an isolated personal story, the exhibition places her diary and biography within the political and social history of National Socialism. Visitors can follow different aspects of the story according to their interests, while the centre supplements the exhibition with seminars, training courses and educational projects for both young people and adults. The institution's remit expanded during the 2010s. It increasingly linked Holocaust remembrance with contemporary human-rights education, anti-racism work and dialogue across differences in background, social status, lifestyle and migration history. This widening of scope reflected the centre's understanding that remembrance education must also address present-day forms of exclusion and prejudice. Its programmes came to include the general German public, including people from Muslim and other immigrant-background communities. Meron Mendel became director in 2010. During his leadership, the centre developed a multimedia learning laboratory for young people, mounted temporary exhibitions including work on the Holocaust in comics, and established two counselling units for people affected by right-wing violence. These additions extended the organisation from a remembrance venue into a broader civic-education and support institution. The centre also became involved in preparing surveys and teaching materials for educators and parents, including material related to contemporary antisemitism and the educational implications of the Gaza war after 7 October 2023. Over time, the Anne Frank Educational Centre expanded its staff and budget and gained recognition beyond its local setting. Its continuing model combines an exhibition and place of remembrance with workshops, teacher training, youth learning, public dialogue and assistance for people targeted by right-wing violence. Anne Frank's story remains the centre's principal interpretive resource, but the organisation's present mission is broader: to promote tolerance, human rights and democratic engagement while explaining how antisemitism, racism, discrimination and authoritarian ideologies affect individuals and societies.

1. 2023Educational materials respond to post-7 October debates

   The centre provided surveys and educational resources for teachers and parents concerning the Gaza war and related educational issues.

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2. 2010Meron Mendel becomes director

   Mendel began serving as director, during a period in which the centre broadened its programmes and support services.

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3. 2003Permanent multimedia exhibition opens

   Anne Frank: A Girl from Germany opened as a permanent multimedia exhibition developed with partner institutions in Amsterdam and Berlin.

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4. 1997Educational centre opens in Frankfurt

   The Anne Frank Educational Centre opened on 15 June in the former Haus der Jugend in Dornbusch, near Anne Frank's former home.

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5. 1994Founding of Jugendbegegnungsstätte Anne Frank e.V.

   The association that preceded the educational centre was established in Frankfurt.

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6. 1950Otto Frank proposes an educational centre in Anne Frank's name

   Otto Frank expressed the wish to establish an educational institution dedicated to Anne Frank, beginning a project that would be realised decades later.

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A remembrance, human-rights and civic-education institution that uses Anne Frank's biography and diary to connect Holocaust education with contemporary work against antisemitism, racism, discrimination and right-wing violence.

• Anne Frank: A Girl from GermanyPermanent multimedia exhibition2003

  A permanent multimedia exhibition opened in 2003 that presents Anne Frank's biography and diary in the broader context of National Socialism, persecution and the Holocaust. Developed with the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam and the Anne Frank Zentrum in Berlin, it allows visitors to follow different personal and historical narratives and serves as a foundation for related seminars and educational programmes.

• Multimedia learning laboratoryYouth education

  A learning environment for young people supporting interactive exploration of antisemitism, racism, discrimination, human rights and historical remembrance. It reflects the centre's shift toward participatory education that links the history of Anne Frank and Nazism with contemporary social questions.

• Seminars and training programmesProfessional and civic education

  The centre organises seminars, training courses and educational projects for young people and adults. Topics include Anne Frank and the Holocaust, antisemitism, racism, discrimination, human rights and dialogue across social and cultural differences.

• Counselling units for victims of right-wing violenceCounselling and support

  Support services for people affected by right-wing violence, added as the organisation expanded its anti-racism and human-rights work. These units complement the centre's museum and educational functions with practical assistance for affected individuals and communities.

• Educational surveys and teaching materialsEducational publishing and resources2023

  Resources prepared for teachers and parents on antisemitism, racism and current political conflicts. The centre has also produced or supported material addressing educational questions arising from the Gaza war after 7 October 2023.

• 2010Expansion from remembrance education toward human rights and dialogueStrategy

  The centre reassessed how Anne Frank's biography and the history of Nazism could inform responses to contemporary antisemitism, racism and social exclusion.

  What changed. Under director Meron Mendel, it broadened its programme portfolio to include human-rights education, dialogue, a youth learning laboratory, temporary exhibitions and counselling for victims of right-wing violence.

  Aftermath. The organisation developed into a broader civic-education and support institution with increased staff, budget and international visibility.

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• 2003Launch of the permanent multimedia exhibitionProduct launch

  The centre sought to make Anne Frank's story and the history of Nazism accessible through a permanent visitor experience.

  What changed. It opened Anne Frank: A Girl from Germany, produced in cooperation with the Anne Frank House and Anne Frank Zentrum.

  Aftermath. The exhibition became the institution's principal permanent public offering and a platform for associated seminars and projects.

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• 2023Educational resources address the Gaza war after 7 October 2023

  The centre supported teachers and parents with surveys and educational materials addressing debates and educational challenges connected with the Gaza war following 7 October 2023.

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• 2010Anne Frank Educational Centre broadens its work toward human rights education and dialogue

  Under director Meron Mendel, the centre expanded beyond its earlier emphasis on Anne Frank and Holocaust history to include human rights education, dialogue across social and cultural differences, a youth multimedia learning laboratory, temporary exhibitions and counselling for victims of right-wing violence.

  Leadership change
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1. Anne Frank Educational Centre
2. Anne Frank Educational Centre official website