Exhibition features the U.S. premiere of a Virtual Reality (VR) component that allows the visitor to virtually tour Anne’s “Secret Annex”

The Dallas Holocaust Museum hosts the Texas debut of a year-long, newly created special exhibition (opened September 13) called Let Me Be Myself: The Life Story of Anne Frank.

Let Me Be Myself tells the story of Anne Frank in a modern way, addressing current-day issues of identity, exclusion, and discrimination. Anne’s experiences connect deeply with today’s youth as they grow and learn that all actions and words matter.

This exhibition will also feature the U.S. premiere of a Virtual Reality (VR) component from Force Field VR and Oculus Studios that allows the visitor to travel back in time to Anne Frank’s hiding place, the “Secret Annex.” In a one-of-a-kind experience, visitors will be drawn into the world in which Anne Frank lived—in the shadows of genocide and war.

Free with admission, VR tours are available in 15-minute sessions from 1 to 3 p.m. daily, but must be booked online. Participants cannot be pregnant, infirm, have pre-existing binocular vision abnormalities or psychiatric disorders, or suffer from heart or other serious medical conditions.

Let Me Be Myself: The Life Story of Anne Frank is an exhibition visitors will not soon forget. 

Making use of large pictures, the exhibition shows the story of Anne Frank from her birth in 1929 up to her death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945 and also has several objects on display, among them a replica of the diary of Anne Frank and a scale model of the hiding place.  

The exhibition is available in seven languages (English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Portuguese, and Chinese-simplified). 

“Anne Frank’s life is a timeless and beloved story, cherished for its universal truths and relevance to all those who face discrimination and exclusion in their daily lives in the 21st century,” said Mary Pat Higgins, Dallas Holocaust Museum President and CEO. “Her optimism during one of the darkest times in history has proven to be an enduring inspiration for audiences across the generations.”

Katherine Meade, Director for Education at the Anne Frank Center, said that the exhibition and VR tour show why Anne Frank continues to deeply connect with people today. “In many ways she is an ordinary teenager, writing about ordinary teenage things.  Yet she is an extraordinary person. She offers hope and optimism, even amidst bleakness and despair, and we connect so deeply with her because her emotions reflect our own. She is in all of us. We are thrilled to be partnering with the Anne Frank House and Dallas Holocaust Museum to bring this immersive VR experience to people in the United States.”

Said Phillip Jones, President and CEO of VisitDallas, “Students and adults know Anne Frank through her novel, The Diary of A Young Girl. “This VR tour and exhibition provide another resource everyone can access to delve deeper into Anne’s story and to be inspired by her hope and resilience in the face of prejudice and hate.”

Reserve a VR tour online. Virtual Reality is an immersive experience that can be intense. Frightening or anxiety-provoking content can cause your body to react as if it were real.

Open through August of 2019, this special exhibition will be the final exhibition in the Museum’s current space. In September of 2019, the new 55,000 square foot Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum will officially open its doors. 

Let Me Be Myself was developed by the Anne Frank House and is sponsored in North America by the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect. Images are from the Photo Collection of the Anne Frank House, Amsterdam. ©AFF/AFH – Basel/Amsterdam.