Anne Frank Tree

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The Anne Frank Tree in 2006

The Anne Frank tree was a white horse chestnut ( Aesculus hippocastanum ) in Amsterdam , which was described in detail in Anne Frank's diary . This big, thick tree was one of the few pieces of nature that the young girl could see from the Secret Annex, where she and her family hid during the occupation of the Netherlands by German troops. It fell over on August 23, 2010 after a severe storm.

In her diary, Anne Frank said that the sight of the tree filled her with hope and gave her consolation. The tree, estimated to be 150 to 170 years old, was probably one of the oldest chestnut trees in Amsterdam. The tree had to cope with both a fungal and a moth infestation for several years .

Anne Frank and the tree

The tree is mentioned a few times in Anne Frank's diary. Her feelings for the tree are summarized in the diary entry from February 23, 1944:

“Almost every morning I go up to the attic to blow the stuffy air out of my lungs. From my favorite spot on the ground, I look up into the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, on whose branches tiny drops glisten like silver. And I see the seagulls and the other birds sliding in the wind. As long as this exists, I thought, I will like to live to see this, this sunshine, this cloudless sky. As long as this continues, I cannot be unhappy. "

Otto Frank , Anne's father, described his thoughts while reading the diary for the first time in a speech in 1968. He described his surprise when he learned of the importance of the tree to Anne as follows:

“How could I know how much it meant to Anne to see a piece of blue sky, to watch the seagulls in their flight and how important the chestnut tree was to her, when I think about the fact that she had never been interested in nature. But she longed for it when she felt like a bird in a cage. The very thought of the great outdoors gave her consolation. But she had kept all these feelings to herself. "

Rescue efforts for the tree

Anne Frank Tree

Concerns about the health of the tree had existed since at least 1993, when a soil analysis revealed that leakage from a nearby underground fuel tank threatened the tree's root system. The city of Amsterdam spent 160,000 euros on a soil remediation program to save the tree. Until recently, the tree was attacked by the rather aggressive type of fungus Flat Lacquer ( Ganoderma applanatum ), which causes the wood to rot and thus severely affects the stability of the tree. In addition, the horse chestnut leaf miner infestation causes premature brown discoloration and leaf fall. On May 26, 2005, the treetop was severely cut back after a six-month investigation by the tree expert in the Centrum district of Amsterdam had shown that this was the best way to ensure the stability of the tree. The disease continued, however. An investigation in 2006 found that an estimated 42% of the wood was now rotten - an investigation that has been questioned by other tree experts. The administration of the Centrum district then said that the tree's death was inevitable. She recommended that the landowner seek permission to fell the tree to avoid the risk of this large tree collapsing. In the meantime, however, further investigations including two tensile tests had shown that the tree still had sufficient stability. Even with wind force 11 it would not fall over.

For the time being, the Anne Frank tree was rescued by local residents and sympathizers who, together with the Bomenstichting (tree foundation), formed a working group in 2006 and obtained in court that the tree was not felled. They set up the Support Anne Frank Tree Foundation to take responsibility for him. After long arguments with the administration, they managed to get the tree to stand and transfer it to the foundation. However, a support structure had to be built for the tree. On February 1st, 2008 the foundation took over care of the tree. The support structure was completed in April 2008, with numerous construction companies working on it free of charge. An international team of renowned tree experts looked after the chestnut on behalf of the foundation until the end.

On August 23, 2010, the tree, one meter above the ground, broke in two after a storm and toppled along with the scaffolding. On August 26th and 27th it was sawn up and taken away.

Branch of the tree

Today there are offshoots of the Anne Frank tree that can be purchased. In 2019, for example, representatives of the UN planted an Anne Frank tree in front of the UN headquarters in New York . In autumn 2019, an Anne Frank tree will also be planted in the Eifel town of Uedelhoven as a “symbol against racism and anti-Semitism”.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Press release - Anne Frank Center  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 84 kB) Anne Frank-Kastanienbaum fell over .@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.annefrank.de  
  2. ^ Anne Frank Organization ( Memento of October 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) - Sick chestnut archive version
  3. ↑ a b Press release - Anne Frank House ( Memento from March 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) - Horse chestnut tree diseased from November 17, 2006 (archive version)
  4. ↑ Press release - Anne Frank House - Felling request for the Anne Frank tree of November 18, 2006 (no longer available online)
  5. ^ Anne Frank Baum , accessed on January 28, 2011
  6. ↑ Commemoration of her 90th birthday: UN plant trees for Anne Frank. Retrieved October 16, 2019 .
  7. ^ Anne Frank Baum Uedelhoven - Signs against anti-Semitism. Retrieved October 16, 2019 (German).

Coordinates: 52 ° 22 ′ 31 ″  N , 4 ° 53 ′ 5 ″  E