This past Monday, March 15th, Sandra Craine with the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust spoke to our club about her organization.

Their mission is to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and promote public understanding. The museum she handles ensures that we all have an accurate picture of the Holocaust. It is an important part of the education of all citizens. We all must be encouraged to reflect upon the moral questions raised by this unprecedented event and our responsibilities of citizens in this great democracy.

The Commission was established by Executive Order by Governor Joe Frank Harris in 1886. It consists of fifteen members appointed equally by the Governor, Lt. Governor and Speaker of the House.

Sandra spoke at length about Anne Frank and her propensity for writing. Anne received a diary on her 13th birthday. In it, she described her day-to-day life from 1942 until 1944 living in Amsterdam during Nazi occupation. Because her writing was elegant and thoughtful, it fell under suspicion that it all could be propaganda. However, these suspicions were unfounded. Her diary has been studied for authenticity and its legitimacy has been confirmed.

Anne Frank’s family had tried for years leading up to the war beginning in 1940 to immigrate to the US but was unsuccessful. At that time, the US government had passed legislation limiting immigration. The reason for this was the ongoing depression and fear of Americans losing jobs to immigrants.

After the family was discovered in hiding and taken away, the Belgium government found and gathered many of the diary’s pages. By the end of the war these pages were used to chronicle life during the occupation of Europe.

In the end, less than 25% of Dutch Jews survived.

In Photo: John Neill, Rotary Club of Sandy Springs President for 2020-2021 and Sandra Craine, Education Coordinator for the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust

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The Rotary Club of Sandy Springs appreciates the dedication and work of Mrs. Craine and the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust.

More information about the Anne Frank museum in Sandy Springs can be found here:
https://holocaust.georgia.gov/exhibits/anne-frank-world-1929-1945

More information about Sandra Craine can be found here:
https://sandyspringsrotary.org/newsletter/show/1397
And here:
https://holocaust.georgia.gov/sandra-craine