History of the Anne Frank Trust UK

 How we started

The Anne Frank Trust UK came into existence following a very successful visit of the first Anne Frank touring exhibition, known as Anne Frank in the World 1929-1945, to Bournemouth College of Art and Design in April 1989.  The exhibition was at that time run directly from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, whose historians had created it in 1986. 

The Bournemouth Anne Frank Exhibition Steering Committee was chaired by Rabbi David Soetendorp, whose late father had been a close friend of Otto Frank after the war. Gillian Walnes, the Trust’s founding and current Executive Director, was also on the committee. 

After the Bournemouth exhibition, Rabbi David, Gillian and Eva Schloss, Otto Frank’s step daughter, decided to create a British charity to ensure that the exhibition continued touring the UK. 

The Anne Frank Educational Trust

The charity was founded in 1990 and continues to operate under a licence agreement with the Anne Frank House. The Trust is also a company limited by guarantee. The Anne Frank Educational Trust, as it was first known, received charitable status in 1991 and was launched at the House of Commons in November of that year. 

Mrs Bee Klug, who had been a friend of Otto Frank, became its Life President, enabling her to carry out Otto Frank’s wish, expressed to her in the 1970s, that one day there would be an educational organisation in Britain in memory of his daughter. In 2002, Mrs Klug received an MBE in the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Honours for her role in helping to found the Anne Frank Trust UK. 

Prominent Supporters

The Trust’s supporters have included Otto’s late second wife, Fritzi Frank, film director, Steven Spielberg, and the late Audrey Hepburn. 

Move to London

The Trust moved from Dorset to London in 1992 and, thanks to support from the Pears Foundation, moved into its current home at Star House in north London in August 2004.

The Trust’s key achievements:

1993
The Anne Frank Children to Children Appeal for Bosnia, in which the Trust (only 18 months old) linked up with UNICEF UK, the People newspaper and GMTV. 100,000 letters of support and hope, along with small gifts as token of friendship and caring, were sent by UK children to their counterparts in war-torn Bosnia, attracting huge publicity. 
 
1996
The introduction of national Anne Frank Day on her birthday of 12th June for schools to mark with assemblies and lessons on the moral implications of Anne's story. Britain is the only country in the world to do this.

1998
The Anne Frank Tree planting project in which more than 500 cities, towns and individual schools planted trees in prominent sites to honour children killed in wars and conflict in the 20th century.

1998-1999
The Anne Frank Declaration for the Millennium, which incumbent world leaders such as Kofi Annan, Nelson Mandela, Tony Blair and Bill Clinton signed. 

2003
The introduction of the Anne Frank Awards, given to young people and educators whose exemplary values and moral courage have made a difference to the lives of others.

Gillian remains the Trust’s Executive Director, Eva remains a trustee and Bee is still its Life President.