Peace Is Not A Spectator Sport: Anne Frank’s Chestnut Tree

I am writing a short story inspired by Anne Frank, and I came across this quote in my research.

“Peace is not a spectator sport… The enemies of peace don’t need your approval. All they need is your apathy.” – President Clinton, at the Anne Frank Tree Installation at the Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2015.

The Anne Frank tree was birthed as a sapling from a 170 year old Chestnut Tree outside the window of the Secret Annex, where Anne hid with her family and others for two years. In 2005, the glorious white horse Chestnut began to die from a serious disease, and the Anne Frank House obtained permission from the owner to germinate chestnuts from the tree. The saplings were then donated to schools and other organizations in Anne’s name. 

In 2009, the Anne Frank House donated 150 descendents of the tree  to a woodland park in Amsterdam; After a three year quarantine, the last young trees were planted in the United States.

I like to think that Anne loved that old Chestnut with all her might, and that the saplings planted around the world in her honor are holding that love for all of us.

She wrote about the tree in her diary for the last time on May 13, 1944.

“Our chestnut tree is in full bloom. It’s covered with leaves and is even more beautiful than last year.” – Anne Frank, from the Diary Of Anne Frank

Anne’s resilience and optimism in the face of so much deprivation and fear -(imagine what she would give to sit underneath a tree or take a walk outside once more!) – was supported and held close by her mindful writing practice.