A Symbol of Resilience
One of the most influential and celebrated authors met her demise as a victim of the Holocaust before her story was ever published. Anne Frank, a symbol of resilience in the face of adversity, was born on June 12th 1929. Her German-born, Jewish family went into hiding under persecution of the Nazis in a secret annex located above her father’s workplace in Amsterdam. For Jews in hiding in Amsterdam there was a constant threat of being captured and deported back into the hands of their persecutors. For two years they hid away, unable to leave the attic-like space due to the heavy Nazi occupation, until a betrayal led to them being discovered on 1 August 1944.
During her time in hiding, her father, Otto Frank, gifted her with what would later become an important artifact of the Holocaust – her diary – which he later published for the world. The Diary of A Young Girl has gone on to be one of the most widely read books in the world and has been translated into over 60 languages. The musings of a girl whose thoughts went well beyond her years became an inspiration for anyone to find strength during suffering. Despite her dire situation, and surrounded by negativity, she remained optimistic with a witty positivity that makes us smile.
Such perseverance is shown by our main character, Adam, in Adam in Taoland when, despite his desolate circumstances, he remains positive that he can overcome his dismal upbringing under AI dominance to experience life as it was intended. Just as Anne Frank, he dreams of a better future even when there seems to be no path to that future. He is pushed to the brink of losing that hope but with the same sentiment that Anne Frank stated in her writings that people are still ‘good at heart,’ Adam puts his trust and faith in his rescuer.
In our lives, we undoubtedly face our own adversities, and while they may not be as devastating as Anne Frank’s reality, we can still look to her optimism as an inspiration to power through the tough times we face. Only through positive thought and an active struggle to implement good in our lives can we overcome difficulty. We must remember that after hardship there is ease.
