Since it was first published in 1947, Anne Frank’s “The Diary of a Young Girl” has been read by tens of millions of people in dozens of languages. Her story is taught to each new generation of American school students as an entry point to the history of the Holocaust. It has also been depicted in stage plays and, starting in 1959, major motion pictures. The life and death of Anne Frank may be the most well-known of the millions of Holocaust tragedies.
After the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands began in 1942, the Frank family – Otto, his wife, Edith, and their two daughters Margot and Anne – were hidden in a secret annex in Amsterdam by Miep Geis, a young Dutch woman who worked for Mr. Frank’s business. And now Geis’ story is being told in a limited TV series produced by NatGeo, “A Small Light.”
In this episode of History As It Happens, three people who befriended Otto Frank and Gies years after the war compare the people they knew in real life to the dramatized characters they watched in the TV series (streaming on Hulu). Despite some inaccuracies or dramatic license, they say they are grateful Geis’ story was brought to life on screen.
“One of the things I learned from Otto Frank, when I asked him if he knew who had betrayed [his family in 1944], he just said, ‘It doesn’t matter.’ I had to repeat that during this series because there were so many things that didn’t happen… but does it matter? Does it matter? I was just so grateful that the story was being told, especially now because there is so much antisemitism,” said Cara Wilson-Granat, who auditioned to play Anne Frank in the 1959 film (Millie Perkins got the role). Ms. Wilson-Granat was inspired by her friendship with Mr. Frank and Ms. Geis to become an inspirational speaker and author.
Ms. Wilson-Granat is joined in this episode by Father John Neiman and Ryan Cooper. The three became friends after they had each traveled to Europe to meet Otto Frank and Geis in the 1970s.
SEE ALSO: History As It Happens: When America failed the Jews
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