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6 months ago
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An influencer has sparked outrage online by claiming Anne Frank 'lived better than we do' during a visit to Amsterdam.
Chilean influencer, Naya Fácil, 26, who has been enjoying a trip around Europe, headed to the Anne Frank House in the Dutch capital.
She was apparently taken aback by the size of the 17th-century canal house where Anne hid from the Nazi persecution during WWII after comparing the façade of the whole museum with the size of nearby homes.
But Anne and her family hid in only the rear of the building, known as the Secret Annex, for two years before being caught by the Gestapo in 1944. Anne died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in early 1945 aged 15.
During a recent visit to the museum dedicated to the Jewish wartime diarist in Amsterdam, Fácil told her 2.4 million Instagram fans: 'I'm shocked by Anne Frank's house. She had half the place to herself. She lived better than we do.'
Chilean influencer, Naya Fácil (pictured), 26, who has been enjoying a trip around Europe, headed to the Anne Frank House in the Dutch capital
The attic of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, pictured
During the livestream to her Instagram stories, Fácil also filmed the other homes surrounding the museum and said: 'Look, that's her house and that's the other houses.'
Her post on her social media page, which is now private, sparked outrage online and even prompted a response from the Jewish Museum of Chile.
The museum published detailed images of the house at the time, correctly contextualising the story of Anne Frank and the true nature of the site Fácil visited.
The organisation also urged Fácil to receive the information with 'empathy and respect'.
Writing in a post on Instagram, the museum said: 'The influencer Naya Fácil uploaded to her Instagram story, a video from Amsterdam, where she refers lightly and without adequate information to Anne Frank.'
The post, when translated from Spanish to English, added: 'The influencer jokingly says "Anne Frank lived better than us" and "she had half the house."
'However, what her video really shows is the façade of the museum of Anne Frank’s House, opened 64 years ago today, in which visitors can walk through the history of Anne, her family and Nazism in Amsterdam.'
It continued: 'We make a call to verify with empathy and respect the information that will be disseminated, before delivering incorrect data that confuse and disrespect.'
Naya (pictured) was apparently taken aback by the size of the 17th-century canal house where Anne hid from the Nazi persecution during WWII after comparing the façade of the whole museum with the size of nearby homes
During a recent visit to the museum dedicated to the Jewish wartime diarist in Amsterdam, Fácil (pictured) told her 2.4 million Instagram fans: 'I'm shocked by Anne Frank's house. She had half the place to herself. She lived better than we do.'
During the livestream to her Instagram stories, Fácil also filmed the other homes (pictured right) surrounding the museum (pictured left) and said: 'Look, that's her house and that's the other houses.'
In response to the backlash, the Chilean influencer apologised to those offended by her comments.
She said: 'I'm sorry about Anne Frank, but people... instead of criticising and judging me, it would be better to educate me or explain.'
In 1944, after hearing the BBC announce the D-Day landings on their wireless set, Anne wrote: 'Will this year, 1944, bring us victory? We don't know yet.
'But where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again.'
Her post on her social media page, which is now private, sparked outrage online and even prompted a response from the Jewish Museum of Chile
The organisation urged Fácil (pictured) to receive the information with 'empathy and respect'
In response to the backlash (pictured), the Chilean influencer apologised to those offended by her comments
Fácil (pictured) said: 'I'm sorry about Anne Frank, but people... instead of criticising and judging me, it would be better to educate me or explain.'
But it wasn't to be. Tragically, 1944 brought only capture and, a year later, death for Anne.
While the Netherlands' liberation by Allied forces began just the following month, on August 4, the Franks — along with four other Jewish people — were discovered after having successfully hidden from the Gestapo for two years.
A bill from GVB (Amsterdam's municipal public transport operator) for the last 900 tram rides from August 8, 1944, showed that Anne and her family were transported from Amsterdam's Central Station.
They were sent to Auschwitz before Anne was moved to Bergen-Belsen in November 1944.
Anne died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in February 1945, days after the death of her sister, Margot.
The house where Anne Frank lived in Amsterdam and where she hid with her parents to escape from Nazis between 1942 and 1944
Anne Frank (pictured in 1942) died in early 1945 after she and her family were transported from the Netherlands
Their mother Edith had died that January - separated from her daughters in Auschwitz. Their father, Otto, was the only one to survive.
In 1947, he published Anne's diary about their life in hiding, submitting to history arguably the most moving testament of World War II.
It remains one of the most widely read books in the world, with more than 30 million people having read The Diary Of A Young Girl in 70 languages.
Its author has become an icon of quiet defiance against the Nazis and a symbol of the indomitable human spirit.
English (US)