I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, on whose branches little raindrops shine, appearing like silver, and at the seagulls and other birds as they glide on the wind. As long as this exists…and I may live to see it, this sunshine, these cloudless skies, while this lasts I cannot be unhappy. —Anne Frank, February 1944
MEDIA
Press Release
Press Coverage
“Iowa celebrates planting of Anne Frank Tree on Pentacrest” — Iowa Now, May 2, 2022
“I teach about Anne Frank because she teaches us about ourselves” — Kirsten Kumpf Baele, Iowa City Press-Citizen, February 24, 2022
“UI prepares for Anne Frank tree sapling to arrive on campus” — The Daily Iowan, February 13, 2022
“Keeping Anne Frank’s story alive in Iowa” — The Daily Iowan, February 8, 2022
“University of Iowa takes a look at the legacy of Anne Frank” — Iowa City Press-Citizen, January 27, 2022
“Planting Hope: The Anne Frank Tree Arrives in Iowa” — Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, October 11, 2021
“Anne Frank tree to be planted at UI’s Pentacrest” — Cedar Rapids Gazette, July 5, 2021
“UI instructor leads initiative to bring sapling from Anne Frank tree to campus” — Daily Iowan, June 21, 2021
Photos/Video/Audio of Past Events
5/2/22 — Photos: Iowa celebrates planting of Anne Frank tree on Pentacrest, courtesy University of Iowa Office of Strategic Communication
4/29/22 — Video: Anne Frank Tree Planting Ceremony, courtesy of University of Iowa Office of Strategic Communication
4/29/22 — Photos: Anne Frank sapling ceremony (Daily Iowan)
3/30/22 — Obermann Conversation, “Dear Kitty: The Act of Keeping a Diary,” featuring
- High school teacher Ali Borger-German
- Playwright Emma Silverman
- Author Jennifer New
3/30/22 — “A sapling from Anne Frank’s beloved chestnut tree will take root in Iowa“
On this episode of Talk of Iowa (Iowa Public Radio), host Charity Nebbe talks to Kirsten Kumpf Baele of the University of Iowa and Ali Borger-Germann, who teaches at City High in Iowa City, about the life and legacy of Anne Frank and the trees that are a powerful symbol of hope and help keep her legacy alive.
2/3/22 — “How literature can teach young readers to build empathy and resilience”
On this episode of Talk of Iowa (Iowa Public Radio), host Charity Nebbe speaks with Dr. Elke Heckner (Department of German, University of Iowa) about the literature of the Holocaust and the importance of reading books written about the Holocaust by those who witnessed the atrocities. Heckner teaches courses on how the Holocaust is portrayed in literature and film. She discusses the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic memoir Maus by Art Spiegelman, which chronicles the experiences of Spiegelman’s father, a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. Other works of literature Heckner mentions are Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi, Ghetto Diary by Janusz Korczak, Night by Elie Wiesel, and Still Alive by Ruth Kluger.
10/18/21 — Obermann Conversation, “Why Anne Frank Still Matters,” featuring
- Kirsten Kumpf Baele, Department of German (CLAS)
- Mallory Hellman, Director, Iowa Youth Writing Project
- Rabbi Esther Hugenholtz, Agudas Achim Synagogue
- Meghan Maleri, UI business major
Poster
