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.
1,255 Responses
It is not refugees it is ILLEGAL refugees
Dear Vishen,
Thank you for speaking out. So many companies are just proceeding business as usual, and the government has a playbook and has learned from history how to do what they are doing. We need to push back. Most importantly, we need to reach people in geographic and demographic spaces who don’t know what they don’t know. We must wake up as many people as we can, and encourage them to stand up, too.
Thank you Vishen for standing for HUMANITY! Thank you for echoing Anne Frank’s voice.
Humanity in our hearts is the only way for a second chance for our wellbeing.
Take Care & Stay Blessed!
Your article was very insightful and sounds like progressive thinking for our future. I believe you should consider all facts as the immigrants are welcome to our country , however they must conform to the laws as they enter here. That is not what most immigrants did breaking through the open borders. I believe our President is acting in a right manner to deport those choosing not to come in correctly. I’m sorry to see some actions of ICE. We welcome those that come in to our country as law abiding people. If they chose not, then I personally do not want those immigrants here, being likely to break laws again to get what they want. The US was not prepared for this mass migration of people.
Thank you for speaking out, for helping others who might be caught in the fight or flight response to facing the mortification that they have been duped, for providing opportunities for people to get out of their angst mindset and see what is really going on, and thank you for the biggest thing of all: recognizing that each individual, regardless of their circumstance, is full of human potential and possibilities if given the chance. That is one of the biggest horrors of all of this…that rich (primarily white) people in power don’t see the humanity or potential of others. That their lives simply do not matter at all to them. it is disgusting and horrifying. Thank you for calling that out. And for continuing to share the light.
She was born the same year my parents were born. I look at what simple, yet amazing lives my parents lived and how long they lived in comparison. I have seen Ann’s house also and felt utter awe at who she was; how young she was; and what she left the world at such a tender age. All I can say is my heart aches.
I am trying to teach my 22 year old son exactly this. He has been bullied and threatened, and finds it difficult to be empathetic, but every time I see him I try to positively influence him, and hopefully my positive influence will rub off on him.
My daughter lives in The US and I fear for her every day. Every time I see how incredibly cruel people can be, I remind myself that there are many more people that are kind than cruel, and in the end good will prevail as it always has… although not always without sacrifices. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and food for thought. I too stayed not too far from Anne Frank’s house when attending the MVU in Amsterdam.
I have always admired and respected you Vishen. I have to disagree with you about what is going on with ICE. The Open border from the last administration has been devastating for our country. We could become what all of these asylum seekers have come here to escape. Step back also and see that not all of these line jumpers are here for asylum. Many have come just for the perks. I have adult children who cannot afford health insurance but living in California illegal immigrants are getting free health insurance. My son married a girl from Argentina who has now become a citizen of the US. She didn’t come here looking for a handout and neither did my grandparents. Just like anything else in life you have to go through the proper channels to achieve your goals.
I truly stand for the collective humanity and for all the fellow humans who believes this:-
Planet Earth – The only birth place!
Race – Human
Politics – Freedom for all
Religion- Love
Long live love for all! ❤️
You are so right, Vishen.
Thank you for sharing such a powerful reflection. Your words resonate deeply with me.
Now 69, I have decided to dedicate the final chapter of my life’s work to what I call my 10,000 Days Hope Initiatives — a 25-year commitment to plant seeds of compassion, justice, and renewal that will outlast me. Like Anne Frank, I believe words – and the actions they inspire – can ripple across generations to heal wounds and reimagine our shared humanity.
Your call to unity across borders and identities is precisely the spirit I seek to embody in these 10,000 days. We must resist fear and division, and instead act with courage, imagination, and solidarity.
I truly hope our paths cross, and that we might meet one day. Until then, please know how much your voice of clarity and compassion strengthens those of us striving to create ripples of hope.
With respect and gratitude,
Don
http://www.donmullan.org
TODAY I am scared of what is happening in America! I feel like our government has become like Germany in the early 30’s, and I don’t know what to do to protect myself and my family! Armed militia in our cities? People are being dragged out of their homes or off the street by masked men to be deported? What good would it do even if I had learned how to hypnotize myself…control my mind. Would Jose Silva have an answer on how to survive….or better still, where to go to survive in today’s world.
It’s amazing you speak of fear. That is exactly what you are propagating with your out and out lie about The Diary of Anne Frank being banned in Florida. Absolutely not true. An adaptation deemed to be fiction and having sexual content deemed inappropriate for children was banned, huge difference. I don’t know of anyone personally who is afraid of refugees or immigrants. But, you have to come here legally, period! If you’re not here legally, sorry for your luck but if you get caught, you will be deported, I don’t care what a “model” citizen you might have become, leave. I have a very good friend, originally from Egypt, migrated to Canada then here. He was recruited by a huge multinational corporation and with the help of their attorneys came here legally. You want to upset him start talking about giving the illegals here now amnesty! Ha!! Doesn’t fly with most immigrants who have done it the legal way!
The woke liberals, I’m guessing you by this article, have nothing to offer except lies, deceit and fear, your ideas are horrible, you know it and the general population know’s it, that’s why you have to spread it with lies and fear, that’s the only way anyone will listen! Sad, very sad you’ve become part of the problem.
I read every word of your newsletter with a heavy heart and with a glimmer of hope.
We are living in unprecedented times of fear and hate yet like Anne, I too believe that, at heart, people are fundamentally good yet distorted by corrupt and influential fear expressed by shear hatred.
Perhaps it will be the calling out of this extreme contrast by more and more brace souls, that will awaken more of us to the implicit truth that we are all ONE, and together we rise or fall.
Let us pray that fire of love and compassion within some of us burns so brightly as to rekindle the dying embers in those who have succumbed to hatred and fear in time to reawaken the love in their souls and together, we restore this planet to balance ~ again 🙏🏼
Hi Vishen, I feel what you have written here encapsulates exactly what’s going on. We really do have to band together and form a universal love and healing energy.
I practice twice daily sending out love to all people, my family, my ancestors, my children, and grandchildren.
I ask for love to go into the hearts minds and consciousness’ of all the leaders around the world and for it to replace any and all hatred within.
I am so glad you met those wonderful Syrians.
Thank you for all of your beautiful positive energy.
Maryjane.E
Vishen,
What you’ve shared forces us to confront what most would rather avoid. Atrocities are not born in a vacuum — they follow a recognizable sequence. They start with language that strips people of their humanity, then escalate into policies that normalize cruelty, and eventually end with violence that too many claim they “never saw coming.” History has taught us this pattern repeatedly, yet here we stand, watching it unfold again in our own time.
It is staggering that in 2025, Anne Frank’s diary — the living voice of a child who bore witness to unimaginable persecution — can be banned in schools while political leaders around the world recycle the same rhetoric that made her hiding necessary. To ban her words is to silence not only her, but every child who has ever asked the question, “Why must we suffer simply because of who we are?”
The lesson here is not academic. It is urgent. When leaders point to refugees, immigrants, or minorities as threats, they are not protecting society — they are dismantling it. When neighbors are targeted, it is our duty to step forward as protectors, not bystanders. Silence in these moments is not neutrality; it is endorsement.
You quoted Anne Frank: “In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” That line remains one of the most extraordinary testaments to hope ever written. But if we are to prove her right, then belief alone is not enough. It requires action — action that rejects fear, resists division, and insists on the dignity of every human being, no matter which border they stand behind.
Anne’s words are not relics. They are signals. And they ask us a simple question: when cruelty resurfaces, will we recognize it for what it is, or will we, once again, pretend not to see?
— Arif
Thank you and may I say I have admired you personally and Mind Valley for a long time. Your work always thought provoking and enlightening . May I call on you to use your massive mailing/contact list to set up a daily international time designated for the projection of love and prayers – no matter the mindset or denomination – to all humanity and our planet. Minutes spent by millions can move the tide.Love is verb and actionable steps her embrace.
I really appreciate your writing on this. You are one of the few whom I’ve been interested in that has combined what’s going on in the world today and the work that you put out there. It has been disjointing to experience something good that I want to explore but their lack of acknowledgement of what’s happening right now gives me pause.
Bless you, Vishen! Thank you for using your large platform and influence for good. We applaud & appreciate you! May your message reach many; may it amplify and empower the masses to bring real change that benefit all of humanity.
Bless you, Vishen! Thank you for using your large platform and influence for good. We applaud & appreciate you! May your message reach many; may it amplify and empower the masses to bring real change that benefit all of humanity.
Oh my God, I am so glad you wrote this! This is so damned needed, it brought air where it had become increasingly difficult for me/ for most to breathe, thank you.