Just a few days ago, Madame Tussauds in Berlin (opened since 2008) unveiled a new wax statue.
The latest addition is a figure of a young girl in an attic, who appeared to be mid-writing, looking up expectantly from her desk, surrounded by some of her favourite things – magazines about the latest trends in the cinema and theater, a copy of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, a hand-sewn dress.
Quite frankly, the display looks pretty “old school” normal.
But the item to truly hold the key to this exhibit is a modest casket on the girl’s wooden writing desk. It contains her most precious possession of all – the key to her diary.
Yes, Madame Tussauds latest work is the depiction of none other than the 13-year-old Anne Frank, whose diary describing her Jewish family’s experiences hiding from Nazi persecution in Amsterdam has become one of the truest documentations, and most popular books in the world.
Based on the last photographs taken of the famous little girl before she went into hiding, Madame Tussauds’ spokeswoman, Nina Zerbe said, “We even consulted experts who could tell us how the hair and skin would have changed in the time that had elapsed since the last available photography.”
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“Anne Frank should be a figure of hope, not despair. Anne Frank was such a hopeful person. It’s that sense of optimism that we want to convey in this figure. It’s important to let the story continue.”
And we agree. All’s fair and well in the depiction. The wax work is definitely an uncanny resemblance plus, the museum did put some extreme thoughts, painstaking research and development into this project, after all.
But uh, did they really need to place the smiling and somewhat hopeful-looking Anne Frank just a few feet away from the Nazi leader responsible for the persecution, imprisonment, and death of millions of Jews? Including Anne Frank and her family?
Creepy is creepy, that is all.
