Laser projection on Anne Frank House was ‘despicable’, says mayor

Queues outside the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Photo: Depositphotos.com
Queues outside the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam. Photo: Depositphotos.com

Police are investigating the laser projection of an text on the facade of the Anne Frank House earlier this week, which suggested the girl did not write her diary, the Parool reported on Friday.

The projection, which took place on the night of February 6, was part of a video shown on extreme right wing Telegram channel calling itself the ‘Laser Nazi Bunker’. The video, seen by the Parool, shows the angry reactions of people who are pointing in the direction of the text.

The text, which read ‘Anne Frank, inventor of the ballpoint pen’ harks back to long debunked conspiracy theories based on pages covered with ball point pen writing, which were left in the diary by a researcher.

An Anne Frank Foundation spokesman said the incident is ‘a hate crime’ directed at Anne Frank whose diary is ‘one of the most important witness accounts of the persecution of the Jews during World War II’.

Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema spoke of ‘a cowardly and repulsive deed’ and said she hoped the perpetrators would soon be tracked down.

‘The projection refers to a conspiracy theory about the denial of the Holocaust,’ she said. ‘This is an act of uncut anti-Semitism, and an attack against Anne Frank’s legacy, our international symbol of the fight against anti-Semitism. This is painful for the survivors, relatives of the victims of the Holocaust…and anyone who is aware of the consequences of hate, racism and intolerance.

‘The remembrance of Anne Frank should not be disgraced by the loathsome malice of extremists.’

‘It is a despicable act that tries to cast doubts on the experiences of the witnesses of the Holocaust,’ said Eddo Verdoner, national coordinator for the campaign to combat anti-Semitism.  ‘The intent is to inflict direct hurt on the people who survived the Holocaust. People return to these old tropes to be used in the current landscape.’

The incident comes weeks after another extremist group projected white supremacy slogans on the Erasmus bridge in Rotterdam during the New Years Eve celebrations. A group calling itself White Lives Matter said it was behind the projection at the time. Police are still investigating.

Amsterdam police told Dutch News they are investigating this latest incident.

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