★★★★★ 5.0
Discover
Sculpture of Anne Frank
The year is 1942, and on this very spot, a thirteen-year-old girl takes one final look at the only home she's ever known in Amsterdam... This bronze sculpture captures Anne Frank at precisely 7 AM on July 6th, 1942, clutching two small bags containing everything she could carry into hiding. But here's what most visitors never realize – you're standing in what was once Europe's most diverse Jewish neighborhood! Merwedeplein, named on February 16th, 1927, became home to Dutch families alongside German refugees fleeing Hitler. At number 59, the famous magician Ben Ali Libi performed his illusions, while Anne's best friend Hanneli lived just steps away. The sculptor Jet Schepp designed Anne looking backward because this moment represents the last time she saw freedom. This memorial honors not just Anne, but thirteen THOUSAND Jewish residents from this River District who never returned. Look closely at her expression – she's frozen between childhood and the terrible adult world she's about to enter, carrying the weight of a story that would outlive them all.
Did You Know?
- The sculpture at Merwedeplein, Amsterdam, depicts Anne Frank wearing layers of clothing exactly as she described in her diary—two vests, three pairs of pants, a dress, a skirt, a jacket, a raincoat, two pairs of stockings, heavy shoes, a cap, and a scarf—because the Frank family could not risk being seen carrying suitcases when they fled to their hiding place; the statue captures a specific, poignant moment from her real-life escape, making history tangible for visitors.
- Designed by artist Jet Schepp and unveiled in 2005 by Mayor Job Cohen, the statue was the result of a local citizen’s initiative led by bookseller Gert-Jan Jimmink, showing how community action can create lasting memorials; nearby, four 'Stolpersteine' (stumbling stones) embedded in the pavement in front of the Frank family’s former home at 37 Merwedeplein honor the family and mark their tragic deportation.
- While the statue primarily honors Anne Frank, it also commemorates the 13,000 Jewish neighbors from the area who were deported and murdered during the Holocaust, transforming the site into a broader memorial for the neighborhood’s lost community—a fact that adds depth to its cultural significance and invites reflection on the scale of loss during World War II.