Overview

Anne Frank exhibition in renovated Jewish Museum Curaçao

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May 15, 2025 — A new Anne Frank exhibition, Longing for Freedom. The World of Anne Frank, will open at the renovated Jewish Museum Curaçao on Sunday, 18 May. The museum is located next to the Mikvé Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, which is the oldest synagogue still in use in the Western Hemisphere.

Curaçao schoolchildren will receive an educational programme and be able to visit the Anne Frank exhibition free of charge.

The exhibition Longing for Freedom. The World of Anne Frank exhibition centres on Anne Frank's life story. Large photographs and accompanying text provide an insight into her life, from her birth in Frankfurt am Main in 1929 to her death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in February 1945. The exhibition also covers the publication of Anne's diary, which was posthumously fulfilled by her father, Otto Frank. Anne Frank's personal story is complemented by photographs and texts about the era in which she lived, including the rise of National Socialism, the persecution of Jews, and World War II.

Stories of Today

The exhibition also explores themes from Anne Frank's life story, such as identity and discrimination. Four videos feature young people from Curaçao talking about their experiences with discrimination. Through sharing their stories, they encourage their peers to consider what it's like to be rejected by others and how they can combat prejudice and discrimination. The exhibition, with audio tour, and the videos are available in four languages: English, Dutch, Papiamentu and Spanish.

George Maduro

Alongside the Anne Frank exhibition, the Jewish Museum Curaçao presents a display exploring the history of the Jewish community in Curaçao within the context of world history. This exhibition traces the journey of the first Jews who arrived in 1634, and showcases the vibrant Jewish community that exists on the island today. The museum also features an exhibition on George Maduro, who was born in Curaçao in 1916. He moved to the Netherlands in 1926, joining the army and the resistance when Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940. Aged just 23, Maduro led a courageous attack on German troops in The Hague. He was subsequently captured, escaped, recaptured and eventually deported to the Dachau concentration camp. He died there in February 1945, just a few months before liberation.

‘In Curaçao, Jewish history lives on in the streets, the language, and the people. George Maduro is part of this legacy. Anne Frank's life story is now also part of the island, as can be seen in the beautifully renovated Jewish Museum Curaçao. Anne Frank and George Maduro: two young lives full of promise, cut short by hatred and war. Yet their voices remain. We hope that their stories and their voices will inspire young people to make the world a better and fairer place.’