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.
1,234 Responses
Thank you for this message. It is so relevant currently. I am mystified on how our nation became so cruel. People should realize that an assault on a marginalized group is a personal assault.
Thank you again
Vishen, thank you for the courage and resolve to use your voice and platform to engage your audience in the some of the most weighty conversations and realities in our world right now. Thank you for reminding us through the humble wisdom of Anne Frank’s words and story, of the a clarion call to hope, healing, and compassionate action toward what is good and right and true, and toward what ‘becoming more human’ looks like. Together, we can become, create, and overcome. in service of the world’s healing.
Vishan, I have always had great respect for what you have created with Mindvalley. Your openness and ability to bring in a variety of teachings and philosophies have enlightened the world. What I don’t understand in this article you wrote was neglecting the intention of Hamas who use their own people as scapegoats to “eliminate and destroy” the Jewish population in Israel. They pay Palestinian families to go into Israel, kill themselves as they blow up the people. I have seen tapes of how they brainwash their children at an early age to hate and “Kill the Jews” as if it is a prize to paradise. They have a “Mickey Mouse Club” TV show where they teach 5 year olds songs about the glory of killing the Jews and wanting the blood from the Jews. Kids are holding oozies and guns and singing in unison, “Kill the Jews”.
Israel doesn’t want bloodshed. They want to live in peace. Their mandate is to repair the world. When you are surrounded by enemies who want you dead and extinguished, what are you supposed to do? Just let it happen? What about October 7th, kidnapping kids and people of all ages, putting hang grenades in women’s vaginas and blowing them up, gloating? What about taking babies and holding these hostages? What about putting their bunkers in tunnels under hospitals and schools, knowing that if they were bombed, Israel would be blamed, knowing that innocent civilians would die?
All the quotes you said by Hitler could equally be said by Hamas and some Palestinians who actually want Israel to be destroyed. Where are those quotes?
Anytime someone drags out Nazi Germany or Hitler as a comparison, it almost always signals the argument lacks substance. The Holocaust and WWII were unique in scale and horror. Comparing that to whatever we’re debating today isn’t just historically sloppy, it cheapens the memory of actual victims. If your point has merit, you should be able to make it without leaning on the most overused and extreme analogy in history. Otherwise, it’s not really an argument—it’s just shock value, the kind people reach for when they don’t actually know enough about history or the topic we’re discussing
Oh, and check your facts – https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2025/08/fact-check-florida-did-not-ban-diary-of-anne-frank.html
The Diary of Anne Frank was not banned in Florida. A graphic version of the book was banned because it included Anne Frank’s imaginations of sexual desires, which detracted from and “minimized” the impact of reading about Anne’s experiences during the Holocaust. Graphic depictions or even explanations of sexual desire and experience are inappropriate for children to read and have nothing to do with the story of a young girl during a tragic time in history. There is a reason Diary’s are published tactfully. Adding these details specifically in the graphic novel is concerning, but don’t worry, you can still read The Diary of Anne Frank, just not about her 15 year old sexual desires. Everything else is still in there and you’re are welcome to it.
The world is full of good people, but if someone is a criminal, they should be brought to justice. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten what Hamas did and what has been happening in Gaza for so many years.
I agree:
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.
Why does so much violence and fear mongering come from the left then? If it’s the party of unity, why so much hatred and anger towards fellow citizens that disagree with them. I’m independent and having a hard time choosing between one administration putting on a show and another that simply acts like a cult that can do no wrong.
Neither are addressing all the issues and the cult causes way more separation, violence, and destruction than unity. Does everyone just hate republicans so much that they can never see anything good come from them? Even you were lied to about the book ban and didn’t make sure because you trusted the news, but more importantly, why would they lie in the first place?
Anyone who looks deeper could see it was a lie. Maybe they don’t expect you to look deeper. Maybe they prefer you just trust them and never look deeper. To me, that means always look deeper. If you don’t, you won’t know when your spreading lies and adding to the unrest instead of sharing the truth as I know you intend to do.
I know you are on a good path. I can see the experiences of unity you provide, but please consider your words and check your facts. Terror is a real thing and it is happening all over the world. We can only improve if we accept that we all have something to add instead of solidifying 2 parties against each other. Our world is a community, but even if I act like it in my personal life, the media pins us against each other to limit the power of our unity.
We can’t let their lies pull us further apart. I hope to encourage unity with compassion and critical thinking. If we don’t, we are leaving our communities to be devoured by wolves in sheep’s clothing.
You made some great points. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
This was so beautifully written and on point. We need more of this type of messaging blasted through all corners of our universe and through the hearts and minds of those who are closed off. Thank you!
Thank you for this message.
As a Mexican living in the U.S., everything happening with ICE is both alarming and deeply heartbreaking. Families being torn apart, people living in constant fear, targeted simply for the color of their skin—it’s a painful reality many of us face.
Thank you for raising awareness about what we are truly living through in these times.
Those who don’t know their history are bound to repeat it. And now, more than ever, we must awaken and unite—not as separate races, but as children of the same Universe, born of the same Divine Source.
Division is an illusion.
We are all part of the same sacred web. The sun rises for all. Our beloved Mother Earth does not discriminate—she gives her fruits to all her children without exception.
It is time to return to that truth.
To remember that we belong to each other.
To rise in unity, in love.
Thank you for sharing, for speaking truth, and for helping awaken collective consciousness.
Jael Vera
Dear Vishen, I am glad you drew that parallel/comparison today between Anne Frank’s reality and the genocidal reality of Gaza today. We are, as you say, one Humanity and we all should break our silence to help preserve what’s left of the world today and perhaps to help catapult Humanity into a bright-er future. Thank you for speaking for those our fellow human beings who have no voices in the West and whose suffering and anguish is still not heard by those supporting, directly or indirectly, the genocide in Gaza.
The banning of Ann Frank’s Diary in FL was not widely covered in America. I had no idea. This is so disturbing.
Very powerful and thank you for sharing. The land is called Palestine. Gaza is the area in Palestine.
To see the Palestinian people and their home land in 2025 eradicated by a county (or countries) that is supposed to be protecting them (occupiers are supposed to care for the people on the land they are occupying) and deem Palestinians less than animals is unconscionable. I hope your words help end the occupation and the death of more innocent Palestinians. As for the U.S. well I have no words…
I think you’re confusing immigrant with illegal immigrant. Anne would have been protected. Continuing this anti-American rhetoric only increases hate. Didn’t the riots cause enough hate? People are calling for the President of the United States to be assassinated. He’s a son, a brother, a husband, a father,a grandfather, and a friend to so many. Can you imagine if someone put a hit out on your loved one? Why is this ok? What kind of people advocate for assassination? The Nazis were horrible people who murdered members of my family. My family came here legally during WW2. I am disgusted to see so many people against my people who are all about love. We love this country. We love being Americans. I’m so ashamed that people who call themselves Americans are advocating for evil to come to America, and to stay in America. History is a lesson. It’s time to do what’s right. Is being Woke more important than protecting fellow Americans against foreign invaders who want to ruin America?
If you want to talk about foreign invaders, please remember that those who built this country were themselves foreign invaders who did so by slaughtering millions of people who were already living.
Proud American, you are forgetting that the America that you know and love was built by slaughtering millions of indigenous people who were living here long before the Europeans came. It was their land, and it was cruelly, horribly, muderously taken from them…and until that is addressed, this country will never be at peace.
Get real. Those who came to this land and ultimately built the country you love were themselves invaders. And those invaders slaughtered millions of indigenous people, took their land, made it theirs, and now call others who come here inaders.
Thank you for this today, Vishen. The fear, hate, and inhumanity needs to end, as much as we can manage without entirely getting rid of humans. More than standing up, the time has come for us to merely stand—we have to act. Thanks for adding your voice.
Here in the States, there are very few of us who are not immigrants. It’s past time we remember that.
Thank you, Vishen!
As an older white male, who grew up in in an environment in Southern Virginia, where racism was baked-in, I am grateful that I finally realized that “the problems” were actually not because of “those people”, but ultimately because of the many ways “those people” had been marginalized, scapegoated, downright lied about – forever! Sadly, it was “these people” – the historical bigots with whom I found myself too often going along to get along, but my better angels wouldn’t make it easy. I kept questioning. I kept making friends, naturally, with people different than me. I left for California and accidentally landed in the San Francisco Bay Area, finding a more egalitarian society (though still a far cry from equality on multiple levels), where for the last 3 decades, I have supported justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. It is sad that we humans let fear of others and a skewed sense of selfish self-protection lead us into what our hearts know is not true. We must stand up for what is is right and build together a world that works for all. Grateful for all you do, Vishen!
Thank you Vishen for writing this. I think we are all looking for actionable steps to reverse what is happening here. Recognizing words of hate and rebuking (with love) is one such step. I’m sure you’ve heard of Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) who was a prominent Lutheran pastor in Germany, and early sympathizer of Nazi right-wing political movements, until of course Hitler came to power and interfered with the Protestant church. As we idly watch as they pull immigrants from their homes, we fail to recognize that we will be next. Isn’t America the land of immigrants? Quote from Niemöller:
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Wow very powerful! Thank you for sharing as I am not familiar
Very poignantly said. Unfortunately, the majority at this time doesn’t see it this way.
Beautifully written and on point.
What is happening to the people in Gaza is a heartbreaking tragedy. Hamas put Israel in a terrible complicated position, but it’s hard to call this anything but a gebocide at this point.
The changes I see in the US with ICE kidnapping immigrants without due process and the deployment of armed national guards troops in our cities to control citizens is a terrifying echo of tyrants past as they build toward total control and tyranny. I pray that the tide shifts before we lose our democracy.
Vishen, I admire your courage to speak out and take a stand. Many organizations at the cost of losing subscribers turn the other way. You are an example of someone who has integrity. Would love to be in touch with you. Warm hugs, Nita
It was a trip in time when I read your blog about Anne Frank. I once visited Anne’s home as a young girl myself. I felt the energy of the place and tried to imagine living there under those conditions. It was like no other experience. I will never forget it. I’ve been inspired my whole life of this story. Kind of living myself in thoughts a lot because of my health or lack of it. Been a prisoner at my own home. Then later in life I lost my brother to anorexia, a terrible battle that started in teen years. He looked like a boy from a concentration camps. Somehow the worldwar was close to me. I have been thinking that maybe I lived another life back then. In the middle of the war. Anyway I thought that everything is going in a better direction. That people are evolving just for the better and our world would look so different when I’m old. Oh how it all changed. Time sort of presents itself so different when you’re young or older. Now I know the history and maybe also remember a lot from past lives. Like you said Vishen, time is a loop. We learn the same lessons over and over until we master them. Earth is a great school. I want to say that this blog really touched me and I would like to put some of your words of wisdom forward into my Threads account. Would that be ok with you? 💖🙏
this is a terrible comparison and is so dumb and polarizing. Indeed the comments from Israeli government officials are way beyond acceptable, but the history of repeated terrorism, indoctrination of an entire population and the bloodbath that happened on Oct 7th cannot be ignored. You have lost a customer with this terrible blog and hope many other drop your platform too.
October 7th was orchestrated by the Israeli government to happen while they stood down for 8 hours and let their people be killed as a pretext to commit genocide. It is sad that people who were dehumanized have now become the dehumanizers. Genocide is happening and starvation is happening right now. You condone this.
Yes Anonymous! And…I’d like to add: No one is telling anyone in the US to FEAR immigrants, refugees etc. Our country is founded on laws. Everyone (who has not committed a crime) is welcome here through the proper process. Is the process perfect? No. Yet just opening the border was a dangerous thing to do because it not only allowed in many wonderful people who want/need a chance at a better life, but it also let in a significant amount of crime. Parts of the US are a shit show right now, and unfortunately the media is left biased, making any attempt to get our shit back together as some crime against humanity. In leadership roles of all kinds, sometimes hard decisions NEED to be made for the greater good. If someone is unable to make these hard decisions …they have no business leading our country. Unfortunately decisions need to be made based on the whole, and that is never 100% ideal. We are NOT headed in the direction you nod to in your article. Now calm down and stop being over dramatic . WE ARE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL NATION for a reason. And that reason is NOT called weakness.
Annie2, you forget that this country was built by slaughtering millions of people who were living here.
Truth …I feel the same.Bye.
I completely agree with this comment and couldn’t have said it better. I think Vishen’s comparison is unfair and uninformed.
Fabulous Vishen and hopefully a wake up call for many. As a Jewish woman I understand and support the imperative to get rid of Hamas and other terrorist groups targeting Jews. Yet, the toll to innocent women, children and yes men in Gaza is an attrocity and not the Judaism i grew up with. I am concerned that what is being created is anther generation who hate Jews. I feel similalry about the Latins being persecuted in my country- the U.S.- because some Latins are criminals. So are some white men and women. Yes, target the criminals and leave the rest alone. Right now, Latin men are doing the gardening in my home association. The temperature is the mid 90s.. I don’t know how they stand it or what we would do without them. Keep up your good work Vishen. The world needs more leaders of kindness. BTW… I interviewed you in 2014 for my book Stress Less Acheive More. (Harpur Collins) Thank you once again for your contribution.
Reading this, I am reminded that the wounds of history are not linear but cyclical, surfacing again when we deny our shared humanity.
As a womanist, I cannot separate the cries of Gaza, the displacement of migrants, or the silencing of marginalized voices from the larger fabric of oppression. They are threads in the same tapestry, stitched with the same rhetoric of dehumanization.
Metaphysically, I believe words carry power to either curse or create. When language reduces people to “other,” it is a spell of separation—one that breeds violence.
When we dare to speak unity, compassion, and dignity, we are calling forth a higher reality. We are co-creating a field where Anne Frank’s radical faith in human goodness can actually take root.
Unity is not sentiment; it is practice. It is the daily choice to embody love as resistance, to insist on freedom for the oppressed, and to anchor hope even in a world determined to recycle despair. To me, this is how we honor Anne’s diary—not just by remembering her words, but by becoming the living evidence that her faith in humanity was not misplaced.