Anne Frank’s tree lives on in England

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Anne Frank’s tree lives on after wind blows it down

Friday 27 August 2010

The horse chestnut tree made famous by Anne Frank’s diary lives on at a British arboretum despite a storm bringing it down this week.

The 150-year-old tree that stood in the garden behind the Amsterdam house where Anne and her family hid from the nazis during the second world war was felled by the storm on Monday.

In anticipation of this happening, grafts were taken from the tree three years ago, one of which has been nurtured by staff at Batsford Arboretum in Gloucestershire.

The Batsford sapling is now about 2ft tall and is currently in full leaf.

Arboretum trustee Tony Russell said: “The demise of such an important and cherished tree is a very sad event indeed, but it is heartening to know that Anne Frank’s tree will live on through its young offspring.”

Ms Frank made a number of references to the tree in the celebrated diary she kept during the 25 months she remained in hiding.

The Jewish teenager and her family were arrested in August 1944 and she died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in March 1945.

See also here.

Fungi on Anne Frank’s tree: here.

Parts of Anne Frank’s tree to museums: here.