Backlash Spurs Author to Edit
Is any amount of literary license tolerable when it comes to Anne Frank?
Many people regard Anne Frank as a symbol of Nazi-era suffering and mourn the societal contributions she never had the opportunity to share with the world as an adult. The Jewish teenager became famous posthumously for the detailed diary she kept while hiding with her family in a tiny Amsterdam attic in a desperate—and ultimately unsuccessful—attempt to avoid being captured by the Nazis.
Perhaps that is why a reference to Frank in Elin Hilderbrand’s new novel, Golden Girl, has touched a nerve with some readers. In a flashback scene of their teenage years, the book’s main character, Vivi, and her friend discuss staying in the friend’s attic for the summer.
“You’re suggesting I hide here all summer?” Vivi asks her friend. “Like … Anne Frank?”
Readers alleged the scene is callous and anti-Semitic. Hilderbrand, in turn, apologized on Instagram for her “poor choice,” asked the publisher to delete the reference in future editions, and clarified her admiration for Frank. The author cited one of her earlier works of fiction in which a character is reading Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl.
“Those of you who have read Summer of ’69 will realize Anne Frank was a courageous young woman whom I revere, and her story remains deeply influential in my life,” Hilderbrand said.
Author Elin Hilderbrand
RELEVANT OR REFLEXIVE REACTION?
Judging whether Jewish readers’ criticism of Hilderbrand’s prose is warranted or a knee-jerk response to anything Holocaust-related is complex. Among the many aspects to consider:
Many Jews have strong emotional ties to Frank’s diary because it offers a deeply personal account of living under the Nazi regime—and almost revere it as a sacred text.
It is taught worldwide because adolescents relate to Frank’s struggles of angst versus optimism.
Novelists often fictionalize historical events or documents to further their plot.
Just because a fictional character says something controversial does not necessarily mean that the character’s creator shares the sentiment or would say something similar in real life.
Hilderbrand’s earlier works depict Frank as admirable.
Hilderbrand assumes responsibility immediately for writing dialogue she calls “tasteless and offensive” and takes steps to repair the pain her words caused.
EXAMINING OUR MOTIVES
Understandably, Survivor families have emotional reactions whenever the Holocaust is evoked—whether it be in literature, visual art, news media, or elsewhere. We take seriously the motto, “Never Again,” and feel duty-bound to speak out against Holocaust deniers, historical revisionists, and modern hatemongers.
As detailed in past editions of The Tolerance Talker, Jewish groups often object to art or incidents they view as disrespectful to Holocaust victims, such as:
The Amazon series, Hunters, depicting Auschwitz inmates as human game pieces on a fictionalized chess board mown into the death camp’s grass; Nazi guards kill inmates as each “game piece” is removed from the board.
Social media accounts comparing Covid stay-at-home orders to Anne Frank hiding in an Amsterdam attic.
But have we become too sensitive? Perhaps it is time to grow thicker skin and be more selective about what we oppose. It is possible we speak out so often that the very people we are trying to reach have tuned us out. And maybe we should reexamine whether we have the right to attack a writer’s credibility when he or she inserts a fictional reference to someone or something Holocaust-related.
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
Does taking literary license about Holocaust-related issues necessarily signal an author is anti-Semitic, or is it okay for writers to craft dialogue for unsympathetic characters? Is the Holocaust too sacred to dramatize? Should fictionalizing Anne Frank be considered sacrilegious?
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