A Muslim former beauty queen is playing Anne Frank in a new stage production in Germany.
Asli Bayram, a daughter of Turkish immigrants who won Germany's national beauty pageant in 2005, has since turned to acting and plays Anne Frank in a one-woman show that opened this week in Frankfurt.
According to the Israeli newspaper Yediot Achronot, the tale of the Jewish teenager who documented her family's doomed efforts to hide from the Nazis during World War II holds special resonance for Bayram: Her father was shot dead by a German right-wing extremist when she was 14, an attack that she witnessed and which left her seriously wounded.
"By means of my work I want to prevent such terrible things, and to act against extremist ideology," Yediot quoted Bayram, now 26 and also a law-school graduate, as saying.
"People must always be reminded that they have to keep an eye on what goes on around them, to prevent such phenomena," she added.
Bayram's portrayal of Anne Frank has been received warmly by Germany's Jewish community as well as professional drama critics, Yediot reported. source: JWT news
Asli Bayram
5 comments:
Dear Hans,
She's very lovely, and seems she has an open mind too. That's good. Seems her tragedy did not cause her to think violence and revenge is the right path.
I am going to post some poems today on my blog by Hannah Senesh, who was Jewish, a Holocaust heroine, the national heroine of Israel, and who also wrote a masterpiece of a diary which rivals Anne's. One of your country women, Maruschka Detmers, played Senesh in a film years ago called Hannah's War.
The Diary of Anne Frank was required reading when I was in middle school. I love the movie with Millie Perkins and Shelley Winters. Have you seen it?
It wasn't until I was in high school that I really learned about the events of the Holocaust. That was when the mini-series Holocaust came out and left a profound impression on me. Then in the
12th grade we had to read Elie Wiesel's night, which also left a profound impression. Now the kids here are getting a double dose of world history including all of the major civilizations east and west. At one school where I worked the students were preparing to hear a talk by a Holocaust survivor the next day! Wish Icould have been there to hear his story and ask questions! We've come a long way since my days in school. Hopefully, the kids, many who don't seem to be touched by anything of real worth will be touched by some significance.
Sincerae, I also have read the Elie Wiesel novel 'Night' and it also left a profound impression on me.
Not until last year I found out the the English version of 'Night' is very different from the Yiddish version. Scenes are added to grab the readers sympathy. Scenes that did not happen. Other Jews that were in the same concentration camp have verified this. Eg. The hanging of the 9 Year old boy.
In the Yiddish version he is bent on revenge but in the English version he is calm and reflective.
There was a storm in the U.S. about the acuracy of the book and how Elie milked the situation.
However 'The Diary of Anne Frank', which I have also read, is totally a true account. Asli is taking on a big role, I hope that she can live up to it.
Kindest,
Dear Sincerae, didn't see the movie you mentioned.
The Diary was first named 'Achterhuis', which something like 'back house'.
Because of privacy reasons, the names Anne used for her co refugees are nicknames and some of her writings are edited fo the same reasons by het father, who survived the wae, especially since she had to share a room with a 50 year old refugee.
Anna Frank centre is not only a place the remind us about the cruelty committed against Jews in wordl war 2, but became a centre against xenophobia/racism, discrimination etc. If you want to visit Anne Frank centre, be aware that you will find yourelf lined up for an hr of 2..))
Anne Frank is for the Dutch a national symbol. Its encouraging to see that a person of Turkish descent play this role in Germany!
I read Anne Frank's diary when I was just about the same age as hers.. as in, when she confided in her friend 'Kity'.. ( Guess she called her diary some such name..) So at that age, it felt too surreal, and even beyond me to fully grasp that a person my age could face such harsh conditions...
reading abt the play, and about Ms. Bayram's potrayal as Anne was nice and nostalgic..i remembered the time I read Anne Frank's diary so many days back and brooded away for many more.. Ms/ Bayram is stunning, i must add too...
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