A Tree with a Literary History

Monday in Amsterdam, the Chestnut tree that provided Anne Frank with a glimpse of the outside world, and hope, crashed to the ground. Local authorities had known for years that the tree was diseased and in danger of falling. An international campaign to save the tree, known as the Anne Frank Tree, prevented them from cutting down the ailing tree. Helga Fassbinder of the Support Anne Frank Tree foundation said the remains of the trunk will be left in the ground so that a shoot growing out of healthy wood on one side can grow.

“From my favorite spot on the floor I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, on whose branches little raindrops shine, appearing like silver, and at the seagulls and other birds as they glide on the wind.”

Anne Frank, Feb. 23, 1944.