Anne Frank: Jews in Hiding

 Created by Miles K., Sam B., Eli B., Chase R. &  Andrix S.

The true story of a teenage girl and others who hid from the Nazis to survive, showing courage and hope, even while hiding (1942-1945)

Clinging to Faith

Artist Statement  

Our topic is Anne Frank and Jews in Hiding in German occupied cities or towns. During World War II, many Jews went into hiding so that they escape Nazi persecution. They had to hide in horrible conditions while also, for many people, not being able to see their loved ones. Most people didn’t have enough food or resources and lived in very cramped conditions. There was also a constant threat of being found and killed. About 62,000 Jews went into hiding in World War II; some hid in houses, while others fled to the forest. However, even through these hardships, the Jews managed to hold on to their faith and their hope and resist the Nazis by doing so.  

The goal of our artifact, “Clinging to Faith,” is to imbue hope into our viewers while simultaneously evoking a melancholy feeling. The core message we chose was to show how the conditions were for Jews in hiding and to inform people about this topic. Our artifact represents Jewish people hiding from the Nazi’s while performing silent acts of resistance. For example, despite pressure and suppression from Nazis, Jewish people still performed religious ceremonies as families. We want to communicate the message of the continuation of faith no matter the difficulty of the circumstances. We are communicating how their humanity was ripped away from them, yet how they gained it back through perseverance and staying true to their religion to find the courage they needed to survive.

We used many symbols in the work of our artifact. One of the many symbols we used was a Menorah. We chose this symbol because it is a essential part of Jewish culture and religion helping to convey the message that the Jews resisted the  Germans by holding on to their religion even though the Germans were actively trying to exterminate it. The Menorah also works as a symbol of community as it gives a beacon of hope for the Jews in hiding to gather around. It represents Jewish tradition, as well as hope and defiance since it is connected to the history of Chanukah, another time in history where Jews survived through faith. The second symbol was the eyes. The eyes symbolized the Nazis searching for the Jews. In the same sense, the eyes also symbolized the permanent fear of being hunted.  

Symbols weren’t the only things we used to portray meaning. We also used principles of design like negative space and emphasis. We created a focal point of the people and symbols of resistance through color, light, and contrast. The people in our project, the Menorah, Torah and books were all white to make sure they popped out from the black background. Smaller forms of resistance were books and pillows, which are important to the survival of those in hiding.  We used lights around the bookshelves and quotes to symbolize a “light in the dark”, and to emphasize these aspects of our piece. The negative black space around the outside of the artifact with only the eyes represents how they were living in a constant state of fear with Nazis constantly hunting them down.. This is a tremendous burden to have on top of struggling with food, water, illness, space, and many other factors. Similarly, the teddy bears represent the childhood being lost of so many Jews who had to live in hiding.    

This memorial matters because it will show the significance of Anne Frank and others that went through this horrific experience.. We hope that viewers without knowledge of this event leave feeling moved by the subject matter. We hope that viewers will have a solemn understanding that even in the darkest moments a small light of faith may still shine through.