I saw this video in a film on Anne Frank at the Holocaust Museum in DC, but it's now been posted online. Anne Frank's diary had a huge impact on me, influencing my writing from the very beginning.
Remarkable. I often am in the Netherlands on business. There was a period about 15 years ago where my clients put me up in a hotel very near the church down the street from the Anne Frank hiding place. I would hear the bells toll the hours and think of her hearing the same chimes in her shelter. I have friends in Holland whose parents were Christian clergy who ran a network that hid Jews and dissidents. The Dutch and the Norwegians were, as a generalization, much more aggressive in their resistance to the Nazis than the other occupied countries of Western Europe. The Dutch, however, had none of the natural advantages that the Norwegians had (mountains, forests, vast uninhabited areas).
It's amazing how that fleeting image can bring on an avalanche of pathos for a little girl caught up in something so evil and horrible and so beyond her responsibility. Then one multiplies the situation by millions. It's enough to completely crush the spirit. The human condition is indeed rotted through with cruelty and violence. Christ provides a beacon and a Way in all of this, but we are all really such rotters at the core. The concept of Grace is all the more awesome when one reflects on how vile we can be.
BB - you do a great job with your selection of clips, whether music or others. Keep up the good work.
3 comments:
Remarkable. I often am in the Netherlands on business. There was a period about 15 years ago where my clients put me up in a hotel very near the church down the street from the Anne Frank hiding place. I would hear the bells toll the hours and think of her hearing the same chimes in her shelter. I have friends in Holland whose parents were Christian clergy who ran a network that hid Jews and dissidents. The Dutch and the Norwegians were, as a generalization, much more aggressive in their resistance to the Nazis than the other occupied countries of Western Europe. The Dutch, however, had none of the natural advantages that the Norwegians had (mountains, forests, vast uninhabited areas).
Scout
Thank you so much for posting your story, Scout!
bb
It's amazing how that fleeting image can bring on an avalanche of pathos for a little girl caught up in something so evil and horrible and so beyond her responsibility. Then one multiplies the situation by millions. It's enough to completely crush the spirit. The human condition is indeed rotted through with cruelty and violence. Christ provides a beacon and a Way in all of this, but we are all really such rotters at the core. The concept of Grace is all the more awesome when one reflects on how vile we can be.
BB - you do a great job with your selection of clips, whether music or others. Keep up the good work.
Scout
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