She asks us to tell her about our hero. At first,
I didn't think I would play this week but after
re-reading Anne Frank and watching her movie
again, it changed my mind. I would say that Anne
was a very heroic person but the person I am going
to name as my hero is the person who helped to hide
her family for 25 months during the war. Her name
is Miep Gies. What a hero! Here is an excerpt from
an interview with her:
The message to take from Anne's story is to stop prejudice and discrimination right at its beginning. Prejudice starts when we speak about THE Jews, THE Arabs, THE Asians, THE Mexicans, THE Blacks, THE Whites. This leads to the feeling that all members of each such group think and act the same. That results in prejudice. Lumping entire groups of people together is RACISM, because it denies the fact that everyone is an individual. Even our own brothers and sisters or parents are not exactly like we are. So how do we dare to lump entire groups of people together? If any German had ever asked Anne to tell something about herself, I think she would be still with us today. However, nobody asked: she was just a Jew! Therefore, never base your opinion about anybody else on the color of that person's skin, or on the passport that a person carries, or on the family that person comes from, but only on what the person says and does and on NOTHING ELSE.
If you could, would you ever speak to the neo-Nazis that live in Germany today? What would you say to them?
I would urge them to realize that racist ideas caused the death of Anne Frank, an ordinary and innocent child, and also the death of millions of people
Miep Gies said this about being considered a "hero":
How does it feel to be a hero?
I don't want to be considered a hero. Imagine young people would grow up with the feeling that you have to be a hero to do your human duty. I am afraid nobody would ever help other people, because who is a hero? I was not. I was just an ordinary housewife and secretary.
You don't have to be a hero to do your human duty. Oh, that we would value life like that!
