Anne's Ancestors

To understand Anne Frank’s family, identified widely as a Frankfurt family that fled to Amsterdam in the 1930s, one needs a more detailed study of Anne’s “annecestors” who lived throughout Germany in prior centuries. In this talk, Karen S. Franklin delves into this history. The talk will divulge details about Anne's forebears, including Rabbi Abraham Frank, and colorful stories such as a practical joke played in the 1600s by another ancestor of Anne's, recorded in the memoirs of Glueckl of Hameln. The shocking discovery of the fate of Anne’s forebears some 600 years before she was murdered casts her fate in the larger context of Jewish historical experience.

The talk takes place in conjunction with Anne Frank The Exhibition at the Center for Jewish History.

This event will take place online. In case you are not able to attend the live meeting, the event will be recorded and posted on YouTube.

Karen S. Franklin is Director of Family Research at the Leo Baeck Institute, a position she has held for over 30 years. She has served as chair of the Council of American Jewish Museums, chair of ICMEMO, the Memorial Museums Committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM), president of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS), and as co-chair of the Board of Governors of JewishGen. In 2019 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award of IAJGS.

In 2012, she received a Service Citation from ICOM-US, the national committee of the ICOM, for her work in Nazi-era looted art restitution.