On February 4, 2013 the travelling exhibition ‘Anne Frank, A history for today’, was officially opened in the Jewish Holocaust Museum and Research Centre in Elsternwick, Melbourne. It is a message to the young people of today, written by a 15 year old Jewish girl that has become a worldwide symbol for the millions of Jewish victims of the Holocaust. The exhibition will be held till April 28, 2013 and then travel to the Gold Museum in Ballarat and then around major cities and regional towns throughout Australia in this and the coming years.

To prevent that the family will be taken captive by the Nazis, Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in an inconspicuous canal house on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, on 6 July 1942. Their hiding place, of which the entrance is hidden behind a bookcase, is known worldwide as ‘The Secret Annex’. On her thirteenth birthday Anne Frank receives a diary, in which she meticulously writes what is happening around her and what she and her family have to endure. In August 1944 the hiding place of the Frank family and their friends was betrayed by an unknown person. They were separated from each other and sent to different concentration camps. Anne dies, aged 15 years, in Bergen-Belsen. Only her father survives the war. He decides that his daughter’s diary should be shared with the rest of the world.
The exhibition
Quotations from Anne Frank’s diary and photos of her family form a thread throughout the exhibition. To emphasise the chronological order of events, almost every panel contains a time line. Below the time line is the personal story of Anne Frank and above the time line the visitor is confronted with the ‘big historical events’ of that time.
Message
The worldwide tour is coordinated by the Anne Frank House and is directed at young people from 11 to 18 years old. “The diary of Anne Frank is a book with a strong message which is still relevant for all young people throughout the world: ‘learn to live together with other communities and respect each other’s culture and habits.’ And that is what we want to explain in this exhibition,” according to Ronald Leopold, general director of the Anne Frank Foundation. “We want to pass on the message to the younger generation. Therefore supplementary material such as a catalogue, a DVD and instructions for guides and schools will be part of the exhibition.” The Anne Frank Exhibition travelled through New Zealand from 2010 till 2012 and was a huge success. The expectations for Australia are very high too.

For more information and Travelling dates / Places, go to the Anna Frank website

ERASMUS FOUNDATION

Presents a "Dutch Film Day" on Sunday 21 April 2013
(Dutch language - English subtitles)
at ACMI Cinemas, Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Federation Square, Melbourne

Film 1: The Lie, starts at 3:30pm, followed by
Film 2: The Heineken Kidknapping, starts at 5:45pm

Admission: Single session $17, concession $14
Double Session Pass: $30, concession $25
Bookings from 11 March: Phone (03) 8663 2583 (10am - 6pm), or in person at the ACMI box office, or online www.acmi.net.au/film. (web and phone bookings incur a small booking fee).

De Molen puts Wind in the Sails of Te Awahou – Nieuwe Stroom

A permanent national home in Foxton for the culture and heritage of the Dutch community in New Zealand is the joint vision of Michael Feyen, Chairman of De Molen Trust and Ben Vanderkolk, Chairman of Te Awahou – Nieuwe Stroom Trust (TANS).
Their recent conversation, about greater collaboration between the two Trusts, occurred as TANS is set to present a radically refined plan to the Horowhenua District Council for the redevelopment of the former Mitre 10 building in Foxton, next to the 17th century replica Dutch windmill.

The TANS concept involves a raft of activities that is offered to the public, tourists, visitors and the local community – in a coordinated way. It is acknowledged that de Molen is doing this already, but currently on its own. Through better planning and joint activities, both De Molen and TANS will benefit from increased patronage and visitors to the planned Dutch museum centre, the Maori Arts and Crafts Gallery, a library and community service centre, an I-Site visitor information centre and a kiosk for river activities – which can all be housed by TANS within the existing Mitre 10 building.
The authentic, working Dutch windmill is a key component of the project. With some 30,000 visitors annually, it is a landmark and a destination of considerable interest – now being augmented by the Dutch Market on State Highway 1 and plans for a Dutch bakery and an authentic Dutch café.
“We now have more comfort that we can protect De Molen and work with TANS to make a shared vision for Foxton a reality,” said Mr Feyen. Mr Vanderkolk confirmed that de Molen Trust believes that the refined plan for TANS is sustainable and can be done because it is much less ambitious and less complicated than earlier versions presented to Council.
Both Trusts will consider urgently the appointment of cross-trustees to ensure that clear communication and full disclosure occurs more effectively. Moreover, both Chairmen are convinced that this initiative is capable of strengthening the support for the project by the local and national Dutch community, and will build an asset that brings pride and employment opportunities to the Foxton community.
Together with another settler of the TANS Trust, the Dutch Connection Museum Trust, the parties to the discussion over the weekend see key elements of a Dutch village in a Dutch landscape – with a wide river and plenty of Friesian cows in the paddocks – emerging in Foxton, centered on de Molen.

For more information, contact Kees Zegwaard on k.izegwaard@xtra.co.nz or visit the websites www.dutchconnection.org.nz or www.tans.org.nz