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Anne Frank The Exhibition re-creates The Annex, furnished as it was during the time of the Frank family's hiding. 

Anne Frank The Exhibition: The Basics

Anne Frank The Exhibition displays far more than the tiny Annex that provided refuge to Anne Frank, parents Otto and Edith, sister Margot, and four other Jewish refugees from 1942-44. While the re-creations of their sparse living quarters take up a significant portion of this 7,500-square-foot exhibition, the overall presentation provides context to Frank's life and the events leading up to and following the family's capture by the Nazis.

Through multi-media presentations, archival photographs, and family artifacts—many on display for the first time—visitors are transported from the rise of the Nazis to the liberation of the concentration camps following their surrender.

One display in Anne Frank The Exhibition lays out the sites of the Holocaust's atrocities as you walk across a map of Europe. 

The subject matter is as difficult as you'd imagine to take in—particularly the gallery which discusses the concentration camps and atrocities committed therein. You'll enter this gallery just after exiting The Annex. While poster-sized images of the camps adorn the walls, guests traverse over a glass floor. Its striking presence—a sharp change from the dark Annex floors—almost leaves you afraid to step into the gallery. Everything feels fragile. As you walk, you find yourself treading atop a map of Europe with multi-colored flags punctuating the spots where mass killings, graves, and concentration camps were located. It was a poignant, impactful distraction from the images on the wall and a good way to redirect the attention of kids (or yourself!) if the gallery images are too much.

At the end of the gallery, however, is a remarkable photo of Anne's kindergarten class, and one-by-one images of her and her classmates, who were killed in concentration camps, are illuminated as their names, ages, and locations of their deaths are read aloud. It's a powerful moment, and really unavoidable, but it speaks to the larger mission of the exhibit, which is to put Anne's story into a historical context and remind visitors that while her powerful words make her a well-known victim, there are 1.5 million other children not unlike her who suffered a similar, tragic fate.

The story at Anne Frank The Exhibition begins with displays on the rise of Hitler. 

Should You Bring Your Kids to Anne Frank The Exhibition?

The recommended age minimum for the exhibition is 10 years old, and that's probably about right. I'd have no reservations about bringing my daughters—ages 11 and 15—to the exhibit. While my older daughter has read Frank's diary, my younger one has not. Before a visit with her—or children who aren't familiar with Frank's story—I'd suggest doing a little homework.

Education is really the heart of the exhibition, which even before its opening has sold thousands of tickets and booked field trips for more than 250 school groups from as far away as California. Indeed, generous benefactors have ensured all New York City public schools can experience the exhibition for free. A partnership with The Anne Frank Center at the University of South Carolina provides a rich curriculum for school groups to study before they visit.

Parents can share the resources on the Anne Frank The Exhibition website with their kids, which provides a good, brief overview of Frank's story and the political climate surrounding it. It's valuable context that would enrich your visit.

 
Visitors enter The Annex through a door hidden by a bookshelf just as the refugees and their helpers did.

The Annex portion of the exhibit is perhaps the most kid-friendly part of the experience, from stepping through the bookshelf that acted as a hidden passageway into the space, to noticing the details that made life in the sparse rooms bearable. A looped audio recording in these rooms details the day-to-day limitations the refugees had to adhere to to ensure their safety.

The final gallery reflects Otto's quest to have Anne's book published—an idea she heard on the radio during a wartime broadcast, which led her to rewrite and refine original diary entries. Dozens of published copies are on display creating a visual testament to how far her story has traveled. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl is one of the most translated books in the world.

Anne's sparse room and writing desk are a highlight of your tour through The Annex.

Know Before You Go to Anne Frank The Exhibition

• Anne Frank The Exhibition is currently scheduled to run through Wednesday, April 30, 2025, at the Center for Jewish History.
• All visitors must pass through airport-like security before entering.
• Travel light or plan to check your belongings before you step into the exhibition; only small purses may be carried inside.
• Book your tickets online to guarantee entry. A special family pack is available and provides a slight discount.
• Public programming coincides with the exhibition. Keep an eye on the Center for Jewish Heritage website for announcements.

Photos by the author