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.
1,254 Responses
This is certainly one of the most important articles you ever wrote, if not the most important one. Every single line is so powerful. Don’t let anybody dim your light, tell you that you must not talk about politics. This is about humanity. And your voice matters. Please never stop talking about Gaza, they have suffered for too many decades, and the current famine, as Tom Fletcher (UN) said, should haunt all of us.
I have been following Vishen and Mindvalley for years and have finally become a member. Thank you Vishen for this post as I have been studying WWII for years and have read Anne Frank’s words countless of times. This post has solidified the research and work I have put into my historical fiction novel (not yet published) because I belive we need to remember what happened and teach the next generation so that they see that such atrocities still go on today. Thank you Vishen for enlightening us with the comparison!!
Thank you for pointing out so blatantly that history is indeed repeating itself. Humans have weak moments blinded by power, greed and ego and sadly it seems we have not evolved….We need more voices to remind each other to see beyond, that we are ONE humanity regardless of race, religion, colour.. Unity and love is the answer for us to progress and move on to the next level..It may take time but I have faith that the power of many awakened conscious souls will bring us there … eventually.
Yes! The pattern is so clear yet it makes us feel so powerless at the same time. Banding together really is the solution. The larger the reactions and protests from civilians, the more we win.
This is mind blowing and so sad – made me feel about the 1000s of immigrants flooding into England daily while the English indigenous population are becoming disenfranchised and impoverished, many loosing their homes and living in the streets while immigrants are cared for – but are we being fed the truth or is it just stirring up fear and hatred. Bring on a world of unconditional love for all beings on this beautiful planet we are blessed to call home
Thank you so much that you use your position and reach to remind of Anne Frank and of the eerie parallels to what has happened back then and what is happening nowadays in different places. And thank you that you give precious advice of what we all can do to stop these horrible developments.
Thank you Vishen for this. I must admit, when I saw your newsletter in January saying to give Trump a chance, I was disheartened because I KNEW the policies of hatred, dehumanization, and tyranny that Trump was consciously planning to implement. We have to call out evil for what it is. Our freedoms as Americans and citizens of the world hang in the balance. So thank you for speaking truth to power.
My longing is this message could reach the heart of those in charge of the killings and cruelty🙏🙏🙏🙏😓
To live in a world that has respect and reverence for all.
This hit me so hard. I spent some time in Amsterdam in 2011, and visiting the Anne Franke museum was the one thing that I remember viscerally from that trip. I just couldn’t understand the cruelty behind all those evil decisions, and felt that familiar hatred of the Nazi regime, Hitler and all of his stooges. But then I realized it wasn’t over. Genocide at different scales was happening the world over, still. I had just been lulled into complacency, buffered from reality by my own ignorance and simply by being a United Stares citizen – a country that was proudly built by immigrants. Or so I thought. I can’t understand why anyone would have voted for our current administration in the United States, but your admonition makes it so simple that we can teach it in schools : “The moment a leader tells you to fear refugees, minorities, or immigrants, you are looking at a tyrant.” And we must. Thank you again, your writing deeply affected me today.
Vishen – Thank you for posting these views and perspectives. I appreciate you. I support your views
Hi, Vishen –
Thank you for your thoughts comparing the wise words and fate of Anne Frank to ICE raids and families who may be suffering in Gaza, and for the opportunity to comment.
Please remember that those detained in ICE raids violated immigration laws that were not enforced by Biden Administration officials, who tried to create an insurmountable majority of Democrat voters.
As for Gaza, despite offers of generous rewards, no Gaza resident has either freed or led Israel Defense Force personnel to the location of even a single hostage kidnapped & held by HAMAS (translation: “Violence”) terrorists during HAMAS’ invasion of Israel & October 7th Massacre. Why not? Because Gazans elected HAMAS terrorists to govern them after Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005 in a failed bid of “Land for Peace.”
The first murder victim I read about in the October 7th massacre was an Israeli Muslim shuttle bus driver, who was working at the NOVA Music Festival to support his family. Why wasn’t he spared? Because HAMAS terrorists were told by their commanders to ignore Islamic law & Islamic clergy regarding those who might be exempted from being attacked. NO Israeli was spared.
If you study HAMAS’ original Charter, it calls upon Muslims to kill Jews “wherever they are found” (not just in Israel). HAMAS conducts summer camps for kids in Gaza, and teaches them to become future terrorists. More importantly HAMAS targeted my family and others immediately following the October 7th massacre, & threatens to repeat the October 7th Massacre again and again until Jews and Israelis are no longer.
Since Palestinian leaders have consistently refused every offer of an independent Palestinian state, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not about land – it is about JEWISH & ISRAELI genocide committed by Palestinians.
As for HAMAS broke a ceasefire to invade Israel on October 7th, the Wall Street Journal ran an exclusive report revealing that HAMAS wanted to scuttle Saudi-Israeli rapprochement with the October 7th massacre. HAMAS & Gazans WANTED war with Israel. To learn more, try watching “October H8te” – it’s an eye opener (trailer below):
https://youtu.be/I09UNC3T_Fc?si=bnewP1VXu9IvKcQx
Thank you for speaking out for humanity, for love, for life.
I don’t usually comment, but this is so well written and matches my own feelings on the subject.
It’s challenging to be a peacemaker among those who are sewing such cruelty and division around the world.
But, I am committed to partner with you on answering all with my heart and commitment to peace, opportunity, and respect for all.
Thank you for being a Light in this world! 🙏☀️✨
Kristin
Thank you for this, this is exactly what is my sentiment, my heart, and my soul are. As a Floridian, I am sad that the words of a girl’s journal deal threateningly with those who fear judgment and critical thinking.
Thanksfor this article! couldn’t be more inspiring remembering this. Love is the only solution.
I am so glad you wrote this message, Vishen. Ann Frank was a hero of mine, when I read her diary as an eleven year old. Little did I know, her words would have such resonance now.
We must continue to respond in love, truth, and action here and now.
Thank you. What a wonderful email to wake up to. I will print it and put it up where I can read it each morning. If you can step into your truths exposing your points of view in your business, I can try to be brave enough to do the same. Treating immigrants like criminals although they’ve been upstanding American citizens for years…killing children and families as they wait in line for food (like an animal predator picking off the weak), how can anyone find excuses that make this okay. Love over fear. I’ll work on it.
Thank you for being on the right side of humanity. On the right side of history. Never again means never again for anybody.
Thank you for reminding us that we are all human. My heart breaks for the children of GAZA and for the many refugees around the world suffering. My own sister, journalist Mary Kostakidis, is being dragged through the courts in Australia by the Zionist Federation for commenting and reposting news tweets and showing scenes direct from GAZA for the last year and a half. We must stand up against racism against anyone. Peace be with you and thank you for reading.
Vishen, this might be the most powerful email I’ve read from you. I appreciate your forthright support for ALL humanity. The Diary of Anne Frank was one of the most impactful books I read a teenager. Thank you!
I hear you, and the pain is real. Only if all humanity can raise its frequency, which is every human is born to do.
Only if we realize that we are not the religion we are born in we are not the color of skin we are given, we are not the nationality we are due to geography, We are here on Earth on a mission to realize our demons hiding within that come out due to the environment we are placed in and comb our prejudices and fears through them and distill ourselves , that’s why we are born, but how easily we forgot as soon as we realize the I and EGO.