Anne Frank memorial vandalized

CRAIG NORTHRUP | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 9 months AGO

City officials believe vandals broke in half a tree commemorating the life of Jewish diarist and Holocaust victim Anne Frank. The tree — accompanied by a plaque marking the memorial — stood near the basketball court at G.O. Phippeny Park.
Image courtesy of Nick Goodwin

City officials are not sure if the plaque beneath a vandalized tree memorializing the life of Anne Frank was also intentionally damaged or if it has simply fallen victim to the elements. Its tree, a Japanese Stewartia, was apparently broken in half Tuesday evening.

Coeur d’Alene officials believe vandals entered a local park and intentionally destroyed a tree marking the memory of Anne Frank.

Nick Goodwin, the city’s urban forester, said Parks and Recreation crews discovered what was left of the tree Wednesday morning at G.O. Phippeny Park, 827 N. Eighth St., leading the forester to believe the damage happened Tuesday evening.

“This is the third time someone has destroyed this tree,” Goodwin said. “It’s a small tree. Someone just came along and broke it in half. They just destroyed it.”

A police report has been filed, he said.

The Japanese Stewartia, itself a rarity in the area, was planted in 2006 after its dedication to the memory of Anne Frank.

Frank, the daughter of a Jewish businessman, documented her childhood in hiding behind the walls of her father’s Amsterdam offices during World War II. After her capture by Nazi occupiers, she spent the last years of her young life as a witness of the Holocaust, perishing in a Nazi concentration camp in 1945. Her diary was posthumously recovered by her father and has since been published in 70 languages, selling more than 30 million copies.

The plaque beneath the now-broken tree that commemorates the memorial also has seen damage to its concrete, though Goodwin said he wasn’t sure if that was due to vandals or the elements.

“I’m just hoping to let the public know that, hey, we don’t think this is something that’s for the good of the community,” Goodwin said Wednesday.