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The Eclectic Pen - Meip Geis saved a diary

By: Sarah C. (Midwesterntool)   + 2 more  
Date Submitted: 1/13/2010
Genre: History
Words: 377
Rating:

As many of you, I am sadden to hear of the death of Meip Geis. Her death this Monday after completing an entire century-and then some-was considered to be expected;yet in a world with few heroes in it I am sad to see one leave the earth. We have all heard the story of Meip Geis helping Anne Frank's family, the Van Pels family, and Fritz Pfeffer hide in the Secret Annex. After the residents of the Secret Annex were betrayed, Meip and another helper rescued Anne's diary. Otto, Anne's father, survived the concentration camps and returned to Amsterdam to discover his family was dead. He published Anne's Diary years later. Still, are we truly aware of the significance of Anne's diary? Off the top of your head, can you name any other book published prior to World War Two that gave an first person accurate account of war? Prior to Anne Frank, has there been any book with the message of "This is my life, this is what war did to it. This is my voice when I am to remain silent"? Since the dawn of humanity there had to be hundreds of accounts of women writing their thoughts during war that were never brought to life. Accounts of young women's wartime views may have been found, but they were obviously tossed aside. We don't have a diary of a colonial girl or a girl living in a divide nation during the civil war. Throughout history young girls were perceived as having no value. The publication of Anne's diary demonstrated the high value of young women to society. Meip preserved a young girl's voice would have forever been silenced. Now Anne's words prove to young women that they have a power to create a place in history by using their voice; that their voice is valued. Without the diary of Anne Frank, history class would be a endless drone of dates and battles. Thanks to Meip, Anne Frank lives in any young girl who puts a pen to paper or sits at a computer and blogs. She preserved a hero; therefore she should be considered one herself.

The Eclectic Pen » All Stories by Sarah C. (Midwesterntool)

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