"It's very important for me to talk about what happened back then. Anti-Semitism is still there."
Jacqueline van Maarsen,
Contemporary and school-friend of Anne Frank
On 12th June, Anne Frank would have been 90 years old. Her diary, translated worldwide into 70 languages, is regarded as the epitome of a testimony to the traumatic horrors of the Second World War and the crimes against the Jewish people.
Learning from history – the German public broadcaster WDR also sees that as one of the most important social tasks and wants to make its contribution. With the innovative App "WDR AR 1933-1945" it is preserving history for posterity. In February the app was published with three eye-witness reports from children of the war from London, Leningrad and Cologne. On 12th June with "My dear friend Anne Frank" a further, moving chapter of contemporary history appears in augmented reality within the app. "Anne Frank embodies the struggle between good and evil and remindes us of the darkest chapter of German history", says WDR Director-General Tom Buhrow.
"Her diary has made clear to the world what war and totalitarianism can do to people. It is our responsibility to keep her memory alive in the future. For that reason, I am proud that the school-friends of Anne Frank have spoken about their common history for the WDR's AR app – and, in doing so, have preserved it for the generations to come with state-of-the-art technology."
Two close friends of Anne Frank together tell their story about the girl who became a tragic myth - in Augmented Reality: Jacqueline van Maarsen was 12 when she got to know Anne Frank at the Jewish High School in Amsterdam. She was present when Otto Frank presented his daughter with her diary on her 13th birthday, the entries of which shook up the world following the Second World War. "She loved life and enjoyed it so much, this small, short life that she lived", recalls Jacqueline van Maarsen. "As if she knew that it is only a short life."
Hannah Goslar and Anne Frank are already familiar with each other from elementary school. After the Franks have gone underground, Goslar's family was picked up by the Nazis. In the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, Hannah Goslar and Anne Frank meet each other once again: "She was a broken person", says Goslar speaking about the encounter.
"Completely sad and without any hope – terrible."
To record these memories for future generations, Jacqueline van Maarsen and Hannah Goslar agreed to be filmed for the WDR AR App. The result is impressive: like holograms the app "WDR AR 1933-1945" embeds the school friends of Anne Frank in the respective environment of the user and makes the shocking and emotional reports of the experiences of the two important eyewitnesses into a unique experience – whether in the classroom or at home in your own living room.
Since the release of "WDR AR 1933-1945", the free app has already been downloaded over 180,000 times and is successfully used in continuing education of teachers and used in school lessons. The production involved team made up of documentary filmmakers, graphic artists, programmers and editorial staff.
The procedure was developed by the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, Media Department "Mixed Reality and Visualization" as well as LAVA labs, Studio for Visual Effects, together with the WDR editorial Doku&Digital.
"My dear friend Anne Frank" is now available in the app "WDR AR 1933-1945".
It is available free of charge - for iOS, as well as for the following Android devices: Samsung Galaxy S8 / S9 and Tab 4, Huawei P20, Google Pixel 2 & 3 and One Plus 5T.
Photos can be found at ARD-Foto.de
If you have any questions please contact:
Telephone: 0221 220 4603
Stand: 11.06.2019, 15:43