BOISE, Idaho — The Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial located in the heart of downtown Boise celebrated its 20-year anniversary Tuesday, August 16.
To this day, the Idaho Anne Frank memorial is one of the only memorials of its kind in the United States.
The idea for the memorial stemmed from a traveling exhibit that came through town in 1995. So many people came to see the traveling Anne Frank exhibit, that it inspired the creation of a permanent home for the Idaho Human Rights Education Center.
20 years ago on August 16, then governor Dirk Kempthorne commemorated the opening of the Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial along the Boise river. The sentiment then, as it still is now, is that while the memorial shows progress, the work is not done.
"These are reminders that maybe our history is not done; that the work is not done and that's what today is about for us," Dan Prinzing, the Executive director of the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights said. "Marking and celebrating 20 years, but also acknowledging there's more work to do."
The memorial's emerald anniversary was celebrated by local government officials, law enforcement and a small crowd. But for those just casually stopping by, the memorial's impact can still be felt.
It is a reminder that despite the evil in the world, there are still people with good in their heart. Something that Dan also believes.
"This is a milestone moment for the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial. Today we mark the 20th anniversary," Prinzing said. "More importantly though, of how important the place is today."
Maggie Ebben is a mother living in the Boise area. She said she brought her kids to the memorial because she believes "human rights and kindness are important."
"I think it's beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time, it shows both the fragility of our own selves, but the beauty and strength in humanity," Ebben said.
The area is nearly an acre in size, covered in a garden of statues and stone that are etched with quotes; one of which comes from former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, and reads: "we've become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams."
"We recognize that the memorial is not a Holocaust monument," Prinzing said. "Anne is there as a reminder, as she so captured in her diary, what happens in a community when there are members that are targeted. When they have been deemed the other marginalized and demeaned within a community."
It is important these lessons are not forgotten. For ensuring a better world now and in the future.
"Our goal is that we learn from history so they become a guide for our actions in the future," said Prinzing. "Where will we as a community, as a state, as a nation be 20 years from today?"
Parents like Maggie are ensuring their children learn from history and do not repeat the mistakes of the past.
"Remembering what happened, but remembering that kindness can change the world," Maggie said, "and that you have to have empathy and understanding of what other people went through so you can truly understand other people."
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