Miep Gies’ Interview http://teacher.scholastic.com/frank/tscripts/miep.htm EQ 4: What does it take to act courageously in times of extreme adversity? Is this a characteristic of a hero or a morally responsible citizen?
Partner Pre-reading question: Define a hero.
A courageous, selfless being who provides help to others, especially to those in need, when no one else will.
Individually, read and annotate Miep Gies’ Scholastic interview from May, 1997. Answer the questions at the bottom of the document and be prepared to share out in a small group.
Hiding the Franks
How did you react when you heard that you were going to be taking in Anne Frank? Did you agree right away or did it take time to convince you to do this?
I agreed right away…show more content… Many others were indifferent to the fate of the Jews and preferred to look away from it. If other Jews than the Franks had asked for help, I would, of course, helped them too. Actually, my husband did such in several cases.
How has Holland changed since the end of World War II?
I hope and believe that many Dutch people will be more helpful in the future than they were during the Holocaust. Only 11,000 Jews were safely brought through the war. The others, about 105,000, perished and that could have been a considerably lower figure if all Dutch people understood their responsibility to help.
What message should the young people of today pass on about Anne's story?
The message to take from Anne's story is to stop prejudice and discrimination right at its beginning. Prejudice starts when we speak about THE Jews, THE Arabs, THE Asians, THE Mexicans, THE Blacks, THE Whites. This leads to the feeling that all members of each such group think and act the same. That results in prejudice. Lumping entire groups of people together is RACISM, because it denies the fact that everyone is an individual. Even our own brothers and sisters or parents are not exactly like we are. So how do we dare to lump entire groups of people together? If any German had ever asked Anne to tell something about herself, I think she would be still with us today. However, nobody asked: she was just a Jew! Therefore, never base your opinion about anybody else on the color of that person's skin, or on the passport that a person carries, or on the family that person comes from, but only on what the person says and does and on NOTHING
