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 Vinesh. This is such a powerful post and so timely across the world. I believe we need to find ways to share with our neighbours, across all of those false boundaries, to enhance our communities and to grow – together.
In Australia, we often refer to ourselves as being multicultural – this is not true.
We are a mix of multiple cultures, however more and more those cultures are becoming isolated and disconnected.
Shared experiences will help us to know and understand the other humans we share our world with, and we will all be richer for it.
The similarities of methods used by nazi Germany and modern Israeli government is mind boggling. How on earth can a ethnic minority group, who suffered so horribly during WWII, use the exact same methods to inflict cruelty to people of another minority group? What the Israeli suffered on 7th of October 2023 is a tiny fraction of what Palestinians have suffered for almost a century by annexation of their lands, imprisonment, genocide, starvation and killing of children… There is an aggressor and then there are those who suffer. It must be said what it is. Thank you for having the courage to share your thoughts with us.
I appreciate your message about this. It is not easy to speak out as a public figure and I commend you!
I do not believe Florida is banning books for political purposes or to make government more powerful. Most of the books being banned are related to sexual orientation, but Anne Frank wouldn’t fit under that category, so I looked it up on Google, and this is what I found in the AI Summary: Anne Frank’s diary was not banned in Florida; rather, a graphic novel adaptation was temporarily removed from some schools in Lake County in 2023 for review after a parent group raised concerns about its content. The graphic novel adaptation included a depiction of Anne Frank asking a friend to expose themselves to one another, which was not in the original diary. The book was pulled from shelves to ensure it met guidelines for age-appropriateness and state regulations on sexual education, as mandated by Florida’s House Bill 1069.
I value the intent behind invoking Anne Frank’s legacy, but I strongly disagree with the framing of this message.
This email, while calling for unity, actually promotes division by turning Anne Frank’s tragedy into a vehicle for politically motivated comparisons. Drawing a parallel between ICE immigration enforcement and Nazi roundups is not only historically inaccurate, but it also diminishes the singular horror of the Holocaust.
The Nazi regime carried out a state‑sponsored campaign of genocide, deliberately seeking the extermination of an entire people. ICE’s actions, while often debated, are based on enforcing immigration law — not genocide. Equating the two not only distorts history but also weakens the very lessons we should be learning from it.
Furthermore, this raises a bigger concern: this kind of messaging should not be the focus of any business. Businesses exist to serve customers, create value, and foster innovation — not to push partisan political narratives or weaponize history for modern debates. When companies wade into these divisive and politicized comparisons, they alienate customers, divide communities, and compromise their credibility.
Anne Frank’s diary is a sacred historical document that reminds us where unchecked hatred can lead. To honor her legacy, we must handle it with honesty and respect — not use it as a political tool. True unity requires accuracy, responsibility, and a commitment to bringing people together, not driving them further apart.
So well put, there fear of strangers is so often stoked, but also it seems well routed in much of humanity – often I struggle with being asked “where are you from” – disguising the questioner meaning you are not from here so I need to place you – so eloquently put in Taiye Selasi ted talk “don’t ask where I am from, ask where am I a local”. Imangine what humankind could achieve if there was global collaboration
Wow! An incredibly powerful and moving message. Thank you for writing it, for the work you do, for increasing the connection, compassion, awareness, love and education in the world.
Vishen, you are a real disappointment. Using the tragedy of Anna Frank to made a hideous parallel between Hitler and Israeli Government while not addressing even in a word to the horror atrocities at October 7? Not mentioning Hamas, like it was Israel who attacked innocent Gazans in their beds?? Rewriting history only ti prove your point with enormous amount of populism?
How disappointing to hear that from you.
Thank you for speaking out and saying what is on people’s mind. A lot don’t want to make these kind of statements for fear of retaliation etc. I am happy you did, it shows courage and bravery
Thank you for standing up and publishing this article. Everything is completely true that you say and this is a very scary and tenuous time for the United States. I have to believe that we are going to come through this because of the level of consciousness on the planet now. However, we need to stand up and not think anybody else is going to do it for us.
We need to turn their own weapons back on them — confusion itself. Confusion is one of the most powerful tools of control; when used with precision, it can make people act in ways they’d never expect. They already use it constantly, playing games on levels that most people can’t even see, let alone attempt to understand.
Comparing Ice to Nazis is disgusting. Nothing similar in any way. I no longer want to be part of this community.
Even more unfair is the comparison between the Israeli government and the Nazi regime. Israel has never, in its history, decided to start a war against its neighbors. Rather, when surrounding countries decided to wipe Israel out, it fought back. Not for revenge, but for survival, because Israel has no other land to protect its people, unlike its enemies.
Now, you are speaking about the harsh reality of war, and I agree this is tragic. But what chance can Israel give to its enemy (Hamas, not the people of Gaza, not the innocent civilians) when that enemy’s only wish is to make Israel, and every single person living there, disappear?
I have to say that, even though I agree that the atrocities of war, especially those against civilians, are unacceptable, I feel very uncomfortable with the confusion often made between Gaza’s people and the terrorist organization ruling Gaza, Hamas.
YES! YES! YES! All of this, yes!! This kind of thinking and message is what the world needs more of right now more than ever. Thank you, Vishen, for being courageous enough to articulate and share your thoughts. Spread love, not hate.
Only certain *versions are banned to certain *age groups. I wouldn’t want my Grammer school age children reading articles in Playboy magazine even if true.
Thank you for sharing this beautifully written reminder that we must shine light to overcome darkness.
Amen! Thank you for speaking out about this. Thank you for finding positive action amidst all this craziness on both sides of the ocean with a rise in far right ‘acceptance’ and zero tolerance of protests and protesters peacefully demonstrating for the good of humanity. I’d love to hear your views on the arrests of elderly protesters in the UK demonstrating against Israel’s genocide if Gaza and your thoughts on activism when a US soldier has just been identified as a threat to the US for posting against Israel. Can you share more practical tips for dealing with the helplessness and repeat trauma of seeing people blown to bits day after day; how to use social media to not only voice support – but to influence those who have been taken in by our governments’ total lies and propaganda and comments of ‘its complicated’ when actually they’re purely motivated by greed, making money for the rich and seem to have zero humanity left. We’re being gaslit daily and it’s mentally exhausting! We’re 6 weeks short of three years of devastating evil and brutality. Please share guidance for how we come out of this stronger and more empowered than ever. Thank you.
Vishen, thank you for sharing this. Frankly, thank you for having the guts to do so. I found it very moving. Paragraphs like this: “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.” I could feel heart in every sentence and I thank you for being one of the relative few with a large platform willing to shine a light, in such a way, on what has become one of the world’s most devastating collective abandonments of humanitarianism. And that has not been for want of trying on the part of many for whom, for more years than the last two, have nevertheless been left feeling helpless and impotent with this particular issue. But posts such as this do help us return back to love – and hope.
I know many will disagree. But this is about getting it right, not being right – to echo Brené Brown’s sentiments. I think if more people could understand that and the subtle but powerful difference in there —the former is about Oneness and the latter is about “youness”. And that’s the irony of what happens when we are forcibly pitted one against the other – we see infighting overshadowing the real issue and the people in need.
Cruelty doesn’t need to be critically assessed or politically defined. We don’t need people in power to confirm it. It is what it is: cruelty. And we need not fear calling it out. Those who are trapped in terrors of their own making may try to silence us from saying so, but all said and done, for that, we must ultimately have compassion because they clearly are also suffering.
I’m feeling quite compelled to share my thoughts
I am an Israeli
The days after October 7, I found myself reading the quotes of Anne Frank and even posted one on Instagram
In those difficult days I found myself encouraged by her words, just as you did
As a person who believes in good just as she did, just as you are, it’s very complicated to explain the depth of this conflict.
Unfortunately, I am not a journalist. I’m not sure I can find the words to explain, how could it be that we live in a world, in a reality, that there are people who live right next to you, that you most definitely don’t want to come face to face with
I wish for no one, to ever feel the fear of death from people
So I will say, that I agree with you on many things you wrote, just like in the Charlie Chaplin’s speech in the great dictator..
And yet, compering Israeli politicians to HITLER is a vile act, especially when it’s derived from the words of a Jewish girl
Am Israel Hay