On Thursday, May 30, 2024, the Anne Frank Initiative (AFI), an International Programs affinity group, welcomed 250+ eighth graders from Clear Creek Amana (CCA) Middle School. A strong mission of the AFI is to create outreach opportunities to share Anne Frank’s story, spirit, and her humanitarian message with our youngest generation. Some CCA students have read portions of Anne Frank’s diary during the spring semester. The AFI is directed by Kirsten Kumpf Baele, lecturer in the University of Iowa (UI) Department of German.
“As part of the English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum at CCA, Tollie Lancaster and I were able to teach the students about the Holocaust,” said Lindsay Herr, eighth grade ELA teacher and one of the organizers of the event. “We are honored that Dr. Kirsten Kumpf Baele partnered with us and took the time to teach our students about Anne Frank, and we are excited they were able to meet with and learn from other University of Iowa professors and current University of Iowa students.”
The middle school students began their day with an introduction to Anne Frank, her legacy, and her special connection with Iowa. Throughout the morning, students were divided into breakout sessions which ranged from a virtual reality tour of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and Little Free Library design, to artificial intelligence, writing and identity, and learning about German/Jewish heritage in Iowa City. They also had a tour of the Iowa campus.
At the end the day, students gathered at the Anne Frank sapling on the Pentacrest where Andrew Dahl, the head UI arborist, talked about the white horse chestnut tree, the 13th sapling to be planted in the United States.
“This annual engagement with Clear Creek Amana brings eighth grade students face-to-face with pieces of history that most of them have only encountered through educational texts,” said Mallory Hellman, director of the Iowa Youth Writing Project and AFI advisory committee member. “By visiting the Anne Frank sapling, walking a path of significant locations in Iowa City's Jewish history (and present!), and learning of Anne Frank's Iowan pen-pal, students cement a lived connection between Anne's story and their own.”
The AFI is committed to investigating Anne Frank’s literary contributions, her ongoing legacy, and all that she represents in a more globalized, international, and contemporary context.
“Iowa has a special connection to Anne Frank and her story,” remarked Natoshia Askelson, associate professor in the UI College of Public Health and AFI advisory committee member. “The AFI works to highlight and strengthen that connection. It is vital that Iowans understand how interconnected all our stories and lives are, so that we can prevent violence.”
Organizers of this event included AFI Director Kirsten Kumpf Baele; Lindsay Herr, CCA eighth grade ELA teacher; AFI Advisory Committee members Natoshia Askelson, Carl Follmer, Mallory Hellman, Shereena Honary, and Ana Laura Leyser; and other UI faculty, staff, and students including Andrew Dahl, Glenn Ehrstine, Colleen Kollasch, and Kevin Zihlman.
International Programs (IP) at the University of Iowa (UI) is committed to enriching the global experience of UI students, faculty, staff, and the general public by leading efforts to promote internationally oriented teaching, research, creative work, and community engagement. IP provides support for international students and scholars, administers scholarships and assistance for students who study, intern, or do research abroad, and provides funding opportunities and grant-writing assistance for faculty engaged in international research. IP shares their stories through various media, and by hosting multiple public engagement activities each year.