New Zealand's first Anne Frank memorial unveiled in Wellington

Reporter Community News

In a grass clearing overlooking Wellington a memorial in the form of three steel chairs has been installed.
Unlike a typical memorial consisting of a park bench and a plaque with an idyllic view of the city, the chairs engage in simple object theatre, designer Matthijs Siljee​ said.
“If new visitors were to walk up the path and their eye level comes level with the grass, they will all of a sudden think ‘hey someone has left some chairs behind.' It is in that unassuming way that the memorial will introduce itself to the visitors,” Siljee said.
Located in Ellice Park in Mt Victoria, the memorial is the first of its kind in New Zealand, commemorating Anne Frank and the 1.5 million children who were killed during the holocaust.
The layout represents discrimination and prejudice, the chairman of Anne Frank Projects and the driver behind the project, Boyd Klap​ said.