Paris inaugurates Anne Frank Park

The Anne Frank Park in Paris was inaugurated in a ceremony attended by several hundred people. The park is located just behind the Jewish Museum in central Paris.Hosting Wednesday’s ceremony were the historic district’s mayor, Pierre Aidenbaum; Paris Mayor Bertrand Delano; and the director of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, Hans Mestra. Also on hand were Israeli Ambassador Daniel Shek and Lucien Khalfa, culture department director of the United Jewish Social Fund, which co-organized the event with the district.”I want Paris to adopt Anne Frank as one of its children,” Delano said. “When parents give their kids ‘The Diary of Anne Frank’ to read, they are preparing them to be better citizens. And Paris can only be the beautiful city everyone says it is if we bring a message of civilization and we are able to talk about barbaric events of the recent past,” he added, referring to the collaborationist French government of the Nazi era.Aidenbaum said that “Anne Frank represents the shattered innocence of all the children deported because they were Jewish.”A sapling from the famous chestnut tree next to the Anne Frank House was planted near the entrance to the park.