Anne Frank Statue in Edmonton, Canada

On August 8th, 2021, the Dutch Canadian Club Edmonton dedicated the statue of Anne Frank. It is a replica of the 1960 sculpture by Dutch sculptor Pieter d’Hont which was the first statue of Anne Frank ever created.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by Dutch representatives, veterans, public officials, and Jewish community members. It was live-streamed to the Netherlands, where a bell tolled for 2 minutes at the same time as Edmonton.

Tulips and other flowers from the Netherlands surround the sculpture, and next to it are two informative plaques.

The statue pays tribute to the Holocaust victims and Canada’s role in liberating the Netherlands from Nazi tyranny in 1945.

Edmonton’s Light Horse Park is named after the South Alberta Light Horse Regiment, which fought during World War I and II. The park went through a makeover in 2011, intending to create a place for those who have been affected by war or conflict.

Anne Frank (1929-1945) was a teenage girl when her family went into hiding following the Nazis’ invasion of the Netherlands. During that time, she documented her life in a notebook she got on her 13th birthday.

In August 1944, the German police discovered them, sending them all to Auschwitz. Anne and her sister Martha died in a concentration camp only a few weeks before the war ended.

Her father, Otto, was the only family member to survive. After the war, he returned to Amsterdam and received many papers a friend was able to save for him. Among them was Anne’s diary. In 1947, The Diary of a Young Girl was published and became one of the most famous depositions of life under the Nazi regime.

Click here to see all the statues of Anne Frank in the world.