Anne Frank exhibit docents needed

Everyone knows the story of Anne Frank, the young Jewish girl forced to move out of her home and spend years in hiding from Hitler and his forces with her family.

Members of the Georgia College & State University community have a unique opportunity Sept. 24 through Oct. 9 to see the opening of three Holocaust exhibits at the Georgia Antebellum Capitol Museum.

The largest of the three, “Anne Frank in the World,” an internationally
acclaimed, award-winning exhibition, uses over 6,000 photographs and 8,000 words of text to tell the story of Anne Frank and her family during the rough perils of the time period from 1920 to 1945. This awesome exhibit is supposed to raise awareness about Frank’s life, following her from sovereignty in Germany, to banishment in the Netherlands, to secretly hiding in an annex in Amsterdam, to death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Milledgeville residents are also privileged to view a brand new part of the exhibit, “The Anne Frank Secret Hiding Place.” This is a replica of the Frank family’s secret hiding place during the Holocaust. Mrs. Dudley Horton and Horton Homes in Eatonton, Georgia sponsored the exhibit. From here on out, it will be property of the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust.

The third exhibit features the photos of William Alexander Scott III. He was one of the first African-Americans to witness the liberation of the Buchenwald concentration camp,, and this photographic display honors him and the many accomplishments of his life. He was also one of Atlanta’s primary African-American citizens, the founder and editor of the
“Atlanta Daily World” newspaper, a civil rights leader, and a World War II photojournalist.

Students, faculty and staff at GC&SUare also invited to become docents for the Holocaust exhibits. Docents will lead visitors through the exhibits while the museum is open.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to get involved in this event,” said Ginger Carter, co-chair of the committee. “We would love to have as many volunteers from GC&SU as possible.”

A special docent training will be held Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. in the Baugh Public Service Building at the Milledgeville Police Department. Dr. Carter said anyone interested should come to the training.

“Docents will work in two-hour shifts, and we need them throughout the day and on weekends. We especially need docents to help lead the school children around the exhibits,” she said. “I hope anyone who would like to help would email me at gcarter@gcsu.edu.”

These exhibits will open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 4 p.m. in Russell Auditorium. At 8 p.m. that night, in Russell Auditorium, there will be an opening night ceremony, featuring guest lecturer Dr. Leon Bass, a witness to the emancipation of Buchenwald and friend of William Scott’s. Wednesday, Sept. 24 at 4 p.m., Dr. Bass is scheduled to speak about his past experiences with school children from Baldwin and Putnam counties.

The closing ceremony will be Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. in Russell Auditorium. The Executive Director of the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, Sylvia Wygoda, will be the keynote speaker. Her father was a resistance fighter during the Holocaust who wrote “In the Shadow of the Swastika.” She will share her father ‘s remarkable story and will speak to GC&SU students on the Wednesday morning of October 9.

“[Her speech] is fascinating. It really is!” said Maxine Goldstein, an organizer of the exhibits visit to Milledgeville.

Cantor Lisa Becker will sing Holocaust music at the closing ceremony.

“She has a gorgeous voice!” said Goldstein.

The exhibit will be open for viewing Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

“I ‘m hoping it ‘s going to turn out to be a huge success. This community is outstanding! So many people are giving and helping!” said Goldstein.

“I feel honored to have the opportunity to see this exhibit of Anne ‘s tragic life. I ‘m so eager to visit it; I think it will be very interesting,,” said Karen Farmer, a freshman here at GC&SU.

For more information, Georgia’s Antebellum Capitol Museum may be contacted at (478) 453-1803.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 13 2002. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry