Anne Frank was 15 years old when she died in a Nazi concentration camp. Yet her words outlived her body. Words scribbled in a diary from a secret attic in Amsterdam became one of the world’s most powerful mirrors.
This summer, I found myself in Amsterdam for Mindvalley U. By chance, my Airbnb was on the street next to Anne Frank’s house. Each morning, I’d step outside and see the same canals, the same cobblestones, and the same rooftops Anne may have glimpsed in stolen moments when she dared peek out from her hiding place.
A few mornings later, I opened the news and froze. The Diary of Anne Frank had just been banned in Florida schools under new book-ban laws. Imagine that. In 2025, one of the most important human documents ever written—the testimony of a teenage Jewish girl hiding from Nazi genocide—was deemed “inappropriate” for children to read.
The synchronicity hit me hard. I was standing before the building where those words were written. Words that survived Anne, even though she did not. Words that outlived war, genocide, and cruelty—only to be silenced again today by politicians who fear truth more than hatred.
And this got me thinking.
If Anne Frank were alive today, what would she say about America? About Israel & Gaza?
What I’m about to share may feel uncomfortable—but Anne’s words demand we face discomfort.
Who was Anne Frank
Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt in 1929. When the Nazis rose to power, her family fled to Amsterdam, hoping to escape persecution. In 1942, when deportations began, they went into hiding in a small annex behind her father’s office. For over two years, Anne, her sister Margot, her parents Otto and Edith, and four others lived in silence, relying on the courage of Dutch friends who smuggled them food and news.
Anne wasn’t just a symbol. She was a teenager—funny, sharp, sometimes rebellious, and always observant. She dreamed of being a journalist. She once wrote, “I want to go on living even after my death.” And, tragically, she did—not through her life, but through her words.
In August 1944, they were betrayed. The Gestapo stormed the annex. The Franks were deported to Westerbork, then Auschwitz, and finally Anne and Margot to Bergen-Belsen. In early 1945, both sisters died of typhus—just weeks before liberation. Anne was 15.
Only Otto Frank survived. After the war, Miep Gies, one of the helpers, handed him Anne’s diary. He published it, fulfilling her dream. Today, it has sold over 30 million copies and been translated into more than 70 languages.
Anne’s body was silenced. But her voice became immortal.
Anne’s words in today’s world
Anne once wrote:
“Terrible things are happening outside. Poor, helpless people are being dragged out of their homes. Families are torn apart. Children come home from school to find that their parents have disappeared.”
She was describing Nazi roundups in Amsterdam.
But doesn’t that sound eerily like ICE raids in America today? Parents taken in the middle of the night. Children left crying, bewildered, abandoned. Different time, different uniforms—but the same cruelty.
Anne also wrote:
“We are chained to one spot, without rights, a thousand obligations… waiting for the inevitable end.”
That could be the voice of Gaza today. Entire families locked in. Starved. Bombed. Denied freedom of movement. Children asking, “Why must we suffer simply because of who we are?”
Her words, written 80 years ago, read like dispatches from the present. History is not past. It is a loop—unless we break it.
A hard, controversial mirror
Anne’s diary teaches us to look at cruelty honestly, no matter where it comes from. And one thing history proves: atrocities don’t start with bullets. They start with words.
Dehumanizing language always comes first.
So let’s talk about Gaza, as uncomfortable as this may seem.
Consider the echoes:
- Nazi leadership (1943): Heinrich Himmler at Posen: “I am referring here to the evacuation of the Jews, the extermination of the Jewish people….”
- Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (2023): On the Palestinian town of Huwara: “[Huwara] should be wiped out. I think the State of Israel should do it.”
- Hitler, Mein Kampf: Jews as “the typical parasite, a sponger who, like an infectious bacillus, keeps spreading.” Nazi propaganda routinely cast Jews as vermin.
- Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (2023): Announcing a siege of Gaza: “There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel… We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly.”
- Nazi propaganda (Goebbels echoing Hitler): Jews blamed collectively for war, threatened with “extermination.”
- Israeli President Isaac Herzog (2023): “It is an entire nation out there that is responsible….” — words widely criticized as endorsing collective punishment.
- Nazi euphemisms: “Evacuation” as code for extermination.
- Israeli Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu (2023): Suggesting a nuclear strike on Gaza was “one of the options.”
Different contexts. Different scales. But the same pattern.
Dehumanize → Justify → Destroy.
Anne Frank’s words remind us: when we hear this language, it is never “just rhetoric.” It is the runway to cruelty.
You see, cruelty always begins the same way: when leaders tell us to fear “the other.”
Fear the immigrant.
Fear the refugee.
Fear the neighbor who looks different.
Fear the people beyond your border.
That is the oldest political trick in the book. And it works—unless we refuse to buy it.
Anne Frank didn’t write her diary so we could cry in museums. She wrote it so we could recognize her suffering in others—and have the courage to stop it.
Why giving people a chance matters
This message hit me with even greater force because, while in Amsterdam, I also had a chance encounter.
I bumped into a young Syrian man who once worked for me back in 2016. At the time, he was a refugee in Malaysia. He and his friend had escaped a country torn apart by war. One had seen his home blown to rubble. The other had lost a brother when a bomb fell on the very place his brother was resting.
Both had lived through horrors most of us can barely imagine. And yet, when I met them, I didn’t just see refugees. I saw brilliant young minds. I saw hope, determination, and resilience.
That year, I had an idea for a new learning model called Quest and needed someone to build the app. These two young Syrians built it in record time. That app became the Mindvalley app—today used by millions worldwide and even featured in 200,000 Apple stores on the iPad.
Yes, our app was built by Syrians. Yes, it was built by refugees who were given a chance.
Anne never got her chance. But when we give people that chance, look what can happen.
This is why I am so adamant about this message. When politicians tell you to fear refugees, or immigrants, or minorities, they’re not just lying. They are robbing humanity of its future.
The rule we must all live by
If there’s one rule we must all live by, it’s this:
The moment a leader tells you to fear refugees, minorities, or immigrants, you are looking at a tyrant.
Do not believe them. Do not reward their fear with your silence—or your vote.
Because fear divides. And division always leads to cruelty.
What the world needs now is unity.
Unity across stripes, colors, races, and ethnicities. Unity across cultures, religions, and especially across borders.
Because the only way we solve the greatest challenges facing humanity—from climate change to war to poverty—is to remember this truth:
We are one humanity.
And kindness cannot stop at the invisible lines of race, religion, or border.
The higher vision
Anne Frank once wrote:
“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
That may be the most extraordinary line ever written. She believed it while hiding from people who wanted her dead.
If Anne could believe in human goodness then, we can believe in it now.
Let’s prove her right.
Let’s choose compassion over cruelty.
Let’s stand up for one another across borders.
Let’s silence the voices of fear not by shouting back but by choosing unity again and again.
Because Anne’s diary isn’t just a warning.
It’s a torch.
And it’s in our hands now.
So here’s what we can collectively do.
Stand for unity. Across color. Across race. Across borders. Across religions.
When you hear fear, answer with love.
When you hear division, answer with solidarity.
When a politician uses scapegoating, vote the other way.
The only way to honor Anne is to prove her right—that humanity is good at heart.
And that goodness becomes real when we act.
Because history doesn’t just happen to us. It is written by our choices—and our silence.
I’d like to hear from you: Drop a comment below—let’s create a conversation around unity, compassion, and what it means to stand for humanity in our time.
632 Responses
Reading this stirred something deep within me. It reminded me that the true measure of humanity is not in the comfort of words, but in the courage of action. I felt called to look at myself and ask: am I doing enough to stand for compassion, for unity, for truth? What I know is this: every generation is tested, and ours is no exception. We can allow fear and division to define us, or we can rise to prove that love, dignity, and solidarity are stronger. For me, this is not just history, it is a personal call to lead with integrity and to fight for a future where humanity stands together. Thank you for the reminder. I had felt so cowardly lately, and this rekindled my courage.
I am also deeply disgusted how you can use the example of Anne Frank and compare her to the Palestinians without any mention of Hamas & October 7th. I believe Anne Frank would be disgusted if she saw what happened to the Jews on October 7th. You should never mix your uninformed & biased politics with business. I sure did not join Mindvalley to hear your political views. You may lose memberships over this.
Thank you, Vishen,
Love and empathy are powerful forces.
Together we have strength.
Keep the good messages coming!
I had a visceral reaction to this blog. I thought it was very good until you got to the Nazis and Gaza. I understand the current public discourse about the war, especially coming from people far away from it. Yes, there is suffering in the Gaza Strip; it is heartbreaking, and I, too, feel for the innocent trapped there. However… beyond Hamas’ propaganda, there is another side to the story – the side people don’t talk about. Hamas invaded Israel, killed more than a thousand people in savage ways, and kidnapped more than 300 people, including young children, dragging most of them from their beds, with 50 of them still held hostage. Hamas appropriates (steals) the TONS, yes TONS of food being trucked into the strip. And yet, they managed to turn the narrative away from terrorism that is far from the liberal values so many of their supporters espouse. Hamas is a TERRORIST organization. By the way, did you know many of the people killed when Hamas invaded Israel were peace activists who had worked incessantly towards peace between Palestinians and Israelis? Hamas terrorists certainly didn’t care about that.
Of course, we all want this conflict to end, for the hostages (being tortured and starved) to be freed, and for people to stop suffering. But comparing Israelis to Nazis and alluding to genocide is going too far. And using Anne Frank’s words in the process??? By the way, Israel left the Gaza Strip in 2005. Yes 2005. Once Hamas got into power, Israel got barrages of missiles. Did you know that? I understand you feel the need to express your opinion, especially in these challenging times, but Vish, you disappointed me. The conflict in the Middle East is not easy to understand, especially if you don’t hear both sides of the story. You are entitled to your opinion, as is everybody. But let’s not skew the narrative, and let’s not use the words of some extremists as Main Street Israel. As a member of the Mindvalley Tribe, I, too, believe we should embrace the light. The world is becoming darker everywhere. Perhaps we can amplify our light as a community without demonizing people, on either side, in the process.
Hi Vishen, I truly respect your work of bringing awareness to the world – which may ultimately be the only hope for world peace. But Vishen, I agree there are some crazy voices such as Smotrich in Israel. But Israel has 20% Arabs living in peace whereas the Arab countries have expelled 99% of their Jews. Hamas wants to destroy Israel – that’s built into their charter – and let’s get real they’re not slightly interested in peaceful collaboration. Please don’t project your enlightened Western values onto an Islamic death cult who swear to repeat October 7th. Yes Israel may be a flawed democracy but ultimately they just want to live in peace. Of course they have their fair share of nutters and extremists, but I repeat the majority of Israelis want to live in peace. Hamas started this, they can’t then play victim and we must not buy their victim story. They need to give back the hostages. I say free Palestine – from Hamas. Vishen, I love your idealism and respect your work but please temper your views with Realism and don’t jump on the blame Israel band wagon.
Thank you, Visien, for speaking up. I don’t follow television, radio, or any political news. I follow a few non-governmental organizations and choose what interests me because the news they report is nothing new when it comes to political activities.
I have never heard of Anne, I was born in one of the European countries. I am moving away because there are no human rights here, and the whole system works to control people through hatred and fear.
I agree with every word you had to say! I wish there was more that I could do. As an elderly woman I feel all I can do is vote. It just isn’t enough. I hope the youth of the country hear you and stand up for what is right! Thank you for writing these very important words! So glad that you share your thoughts for others to hear and realize what is really happening in our country and our world.
Vishen
You really need to stop this political nonsense you have been simpering lately!
Do your research ie. this link for the truth before you go whimpering about the sins of the USA.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/desantis-slams-california-democrat-over-claim-diary-anne-frank-banned-florida
Also with regard to the ICE diatribe you are pursuing, America has laws and you dont get to pick and choose. I have not heard you once shed a tear for the American citizens who have been raped, robbed and murdered by illegal immigrants.
You have done well in America, did you ever get US Citizenship? Or have you been coasting? If you did get it did you or did you not go through proper channels? If you are not a US citizen then shame on you for running your mouth like this!
Now, before your people dogpile on me, understand I signed on to help two Mexican nationals immigrate to this country legally. 3 years of being responsible for them. How many have you sponsored? When do you plan on hosting a Mindvalley U in Gaza? They could use the money and seeing a bunch of folks who “care”.
Your courses are amazing and the vision is sound, but I do not buy a membership to hear you tell falsehoods and whine like a little b*tch! Really, come up with a plan and put a bunch of money up for it and ask me to join if you are so moved.
Until then please stop sending this drivel, it’s embaressing.
Vishen, your reflection is on time. I was deeply touched when I visited the museum in Amsterdam. Anne Frank’s words still matter – and today compassion must pair with clear-eyed honesty. History and science agree: atrocities rarely begin with bullets; they start with “othering.” Social neuroscience shows that when groups are labeled subhuman, empathy circuits in the brain shut down. Words like “vermin” or “human animals” are never harmless; they normalize harm.
The Holocaust was unique in its scale and system, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore echoes elsewhere. Human rights research shows that mass violence grows from rhetoric, deprivation, and segregation long before physical attacks. Policies and language that deny humanity are red flags.
Solutions exist. International law forbids collective punishment for a reason. Refugee studies show that given stability and inclusion, displaced people enrich host societies – your story about the Syrian developers proves this.
Anne’s diary endures because it humanizes what statistics can’t: a teenage girl robbed of her future.
Believing people are “really good at heart” isn’t naïve; it’s a call to choose differently, again and again.
Thank you for sharing sich vividly compassionate words. We all need to feel deeply in our hearts that fear is a terrible weapon being used to divide humanity. We are all ONE and need to stand up for one another. ❤️
I cannot believe you are using Anne Frank to discuss the situation in Gaza. I cannot believe that you can discuss this without addressing the atrocities that kept me up at night for weeks after October 7. Have you been to the Nova exhibit? Do you know what Hamas did to the innocent people including numerous innocent babies and women? How about the hostages? I am Jew and my grandparents were forced from their home countries of Yemen and Iraq, my father forced to leave Hungary all due to antisemitism. You are talking about a subject without a real understanding from the Isreali side. I have a lot of family in Israel and no one is happy about the war but guess what…they want the hostages back!!!
Please imagine if that was your spouse, child or son being held. Everyone so conveniently has forgotten what started this war. Had the world stood up on October 8 and demanded the return of age hostages we would not be here. If you didn’t speak up then I think you should not speak up now.
This is a red hot topic that I don’t think you should step into. This is the second political post and if there is another I will cancel my membership to mind valley. Stay in your lane and don’t pick sides.
Very well said.
I believe part of the problem is the media that feeds people what they believe rather than what is true and plays on people’s emotions and vulnerabilities.
This, that is no excuse. Love is the eternal commandment..
Thank you for writing this.
USING ANNE FRANK TO WRITE AN ARTICLE ABOUT GAZA????
Oh boy.
Here we go.
You ARE unaware that Anne Frank was Jewish.
Israel is the Jewish state.
You are UNAWARE that Israel ALSO has a pretty big Christian and Muslim population. It’s very diverse in religion, and it is such a beautiful country with all its history and incredible food and extraordinary biblical sights to see. It’s really quite a divine experience you have when you go there. You should go there sometime. You would probably love it.
Israel may be called “The Jewish State”, but the whole country is NOT EVEN JEWISH- it’s a safe haven for people who are. PEOPLE LIKE ANNE FRANK.
I think Anne Frank would have sided with Israel because she’s Jewish. I have no doubt in my mind. Anne Frank could have made Aliyah in Israel if she were alive today because it is her birth right.
You are furthermore unaware that there is a REASON why Israel has a dome: TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM ALL THE SURROUNDING HATE!! THE SAME HATE THAT ANNE FRANK WAS VICTIM OF.
So… using a teenage Jewish Holocaust survivor’s words and comparing Hitler to America and Israel to write an article to fuel engagement with your brand is… ummm…
Your article is insane.
ICE is a lot more comparable to her story. But, honestly though, not really. It’s disgusting to compare the two situations. There’s similarities, yes. But it’s insulting to imply that they are alike. In fact, it makes you sound uneducated. You’ve quite literally lost credibility here with this article.
You know, not everyone in America is in support of what the monsters are doing to other people here. Not everyone in America sucks!!!!!
It is so EFFED up and so hurtful that you used your business platform to degrade Israel and America as a whole using The Diary of Anne Frank. That is SO bizarre, twisted, very disturbing, and rather distorted.
I usually feel empowered and enlightened after reading your articles. Because they are about helping others with their soul mission and purpose. Your other emails have been so empowering and helpful. Why couldn’t you just stick to that???
This article is extremely OFF BRAND WITH MINDVALLEY and is so upsetting and so wrong on so many levels.
I hate what’s going on in both the US and the Middle East.
ALL of it is devastating. ALL OF IT.
But there’s something wrong with your article, dude. And I hope you see why.
Peace out. All the best. Take care.
I understand your intent is good, however the inital premise about AF book is not correct. The governor of FL came out and said not only is this false, the book happens to be on the states recommended reading list. Where we source our information is more important than ever these days, that is, if we really want the truth!
You’ve got this one wrong, Vishen. Please be discerning; don’t fall for the propaganda and the echoing bought bots. Israelis aren’t taught to hate Arabs from babyhood through sick children’s programming teaching them it’s a religious mandate and earns them everlasting paradise if they “kill all the world’s infidels.” The Torah doesn’t preach “kill the Arab wherever he hides” behind trees and stones. Jews don’t yell “praise g-d” and then blow themselves up in crowded public places to massacre as many as possible. Jews don’t publicly hang or throw gay people off the tops of buildings. Jews don’t invade bordering countries and proceed to cut off body parts, viciously rape, mutilate, burn, murder, behead in the most sadistic ways-all while gleefully filming the acts on GoPro cameras. You conveniently left out that all that is precisely what our cousins do. Don’t leave out the precipitating incidents. I know you like Al Jazeera-understand you’ve been propagandized. Don’t confuse cause and effect.
Thank you for writing this.
Thank you for writing this! Confirms for me that I made the right decision in joining Mindvalley! We cannot allow history to be erased!
Hi Vishen,
I hope you’re doing well.
I’m an Israeli currently living in Amsterdam. We actually had the chance to meet at a Mindvalley event here a few years ago, and I’ve been a longtime admirer of your work and mission for consciousness-raising. Your ability to inspire on such a global scale is something I hold in high regard.
The essay’s core message—highlighting the enduring power of Anne Frank’s words, the dangers of censorship, and how compassion and unity transcend fear—is uplifting and rooted in a noble impulse.
That said, I found myself wrestling with a significant dissonance. By focusing singularly on the suffering and suppression connected to Gaza—while omitting the pain, fear, and trauma experienced by Israeli civilians—you risk undermining the very unity you aim to cultivate.
A Few Reflections I’d Like to Share:
Unity feels hollow if it overlooks one side of the suffering.
You powerfully advocate for connection over judgment. Yet, omitting Israeli suffering—even if not intentional—can feel like dismissing human tragedy. Unity, to be real and lasting, must recognize pain on both sides.
Context enriches—not dilutes—the message of hope.
Comparing contemporary events to the Holocaust is a fraught territory; stretching that comparison without context weakens rather than strengthens your argument. Perhaps rather than direct parallels, we could reflect on historical echoes of division or prejudice with nuanced clarity.
A few voices deserve mention for a balanced narrative:
• The Hamas leaders who’ve publicly vowed to repeat October 7th atrocities—they’re part of the full picture and need due scrutiny.
• Some civilians in Gaza who celebrated October 7th—these painful acts matter in understanding the full emotional and moral landscape.
• The 50+ hostages still alive, enduring unspeakable conditions—mentioning them acknowledges real, ongoing human suffering.
The rise in antisemitism is urgent and underrepresented.
Jewish individuals—including myself—are experiencing a growing sense of fear and vulnerability. I can’t always speak Hebrew openly, hang an Israeli flag, or take my children out without anxiety. The rising hate and silencing of Jewish identity in public spaces deserves both acknowledgment and solidarity.
Facts matter—propaganda doesn’t belong in unity.
I worry about the power of selective narratives when they mirror methods of manipulation. Ignoring facts—even in the name of compassion—can fall dangerously close to the ignorance that historically fueled fascism.
What I dream of—and believe you might, too—is a world where Children never experience war or deprivation.
Communities acknowledge all suffering, not just that which aligns with a narrative.
Peace is built on truth, mutual recognition, and a shared longing for safety and freedom.
Your platform has the reach, the nuance, and the moral imagination to shape not just individuals but collective empathy. That’s exactly why this matters so much to me—and so many others.
I hope this comes across as both a heartfelt contribution and a shared hope for a more inclusive, truth-embracing unity.
Thank you so much. Vishen. It takes enormous courage and deep faith in humanity to share these words. Thank you. Its extermely hard to see the reality, to follow the stories of the people, it breaks my heart. But I cant pretend like its not happening, cant stay silent, just like you. Part of my family died in concentration camp, still, when I went to Palestine, I was never judged for my roots, the people I met were the nicest people, so kind, generous and strong. I will never forget them. But even if I havent had the experience… the heart says : no one can justify killing innocent people just because (insert October, political group, hostages, anything). With every new day we have a chance to start thinking differently than those who want to kill, destroy and punish, who wish death and suffering to anyone for any reason. Thank you for making people think. Thank you for making a change. Its so important that we stand with people facing genocide, injustice and hate. I really love you for what you do and the words you wrote and shared