The following post contains mentions of the Holocaust and antisemitism.
Last week, BuzzFeed shared reporting by KFDM on a Texas teacher who was fired after assigning their class to read Ari Folman and David Polonsky's graphic novel adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank.
Parents of students in the classroom purportedly objected to the assignment, People recounts, because there are scenes in the adaptation that have been omitted in some versions of The Diary of a Young Girl. Included is a moment where Anne walks by nude statues in a park, and another where she recounts a conversation with a female friend, during which she asks about showing each other their breasts, AP News previously reported.
Upon hearing this news, hundreds of people in the BuzzFeed Community reacted in our comment section. Here are 21 of the most thought-provoking responses:
Note: Responses have been edited for length/clarity.
1. "I'm Jewish. Christian kids were saying shit like 'get in the oven' to me and remarking on how ugly my 'Jew nose' was by the time I was in second grade. By about fifth grade, it progressed to 'Hitler was right' and actual threats to 'exterminate' me or bomb my house to 'cleanse' the Jews away. (I'm a young millennial, by the way, before anyone says this must have been in the '60s or something.) If Christian kids know how to violently invoke the Holocaust against their peers in early elementary school, they can handle actually learning about it as teenagers."
"But hey, where do you think they were learning to say that stuff to me? From the same adults who want to ban books that tell the truth. Can't risk humanizing the minorities they want their kids to hate as much as they do."
2. "The most messed up part of the whole thing is that they banned it because it talks about a girl thinking another girl is cute and two girls discussed showing each other their developing breasts. 'Cause that's so much worse than the Holocaust. The mind wobbles."
3. "The irony here being that Anne Frank had no internet access to look anything up and a lot less access to written material on sexuality. She was literally experiencing normal, developmentally-appropriate curiosity, but heaven forbid modern kids the same age know that sex exists."
4. "My daughter is 13 and in eighth grade. Her ELA teacher just asked parents for donations to fund extra class materials to teach the kids about the Holocaust. The project was fully funded in less than a day. People that complain about educating our kids make me sick."
5. "Look, I had to read Night by Elie Wiesel when I was a freshman in Texas 26 years ago. And if a school can require you to read about how Nazis literally THREW BABIES INTO THE AIR BEFORE SHOOTING THEM, then why would a teenage girl's hormones ever possibly offend you?"
6. "So it’s not the violence and terrible times Anne Frank lived in, but it was the nude statues and talk of breasts? The priorities in America are astounding."
7. "Only conservatives could think something written by a 12-year-old is inappropriate for 12-year-olds."
8. "As soon as I saw the headline, I thought it had to be Florida or Texas. This is getting absurd and truly makes me worried for the future. There are extraordinarily intelligent young people out there who are not going to receive a well-rounded and accurate education because some very loud adults are offended by history and the idea a book, written by a literal teenager experiencing a horrific part of human history, because it includes brief reference to a nude statue and breasts. I just can’t with this bullshit."
9. "Reasons why I refuse to teach in the south."
10. "Teacher here. We were told by my district to pull material that had already been vetted, and go through everything ourselves because if we didn't, and a parent objected, we could face discipline or being fired."
11. "I love how conservatives are apparently oblivious to the fact their eighth graders already know about sex and LGBTQ stuff. And apparently, these folks don’t remember what it was like talking to their friends about puberty and how their bodies are changing."
12. "As someone who is a teenager myself, it is so, so important that we learn about Anne and the Holocaust. Like, if we don’t learn about it, we are essentially erasing all the pain, trauma, and awareness from this terrible tragedy and all of the people involved in it."
13. "There is worse stuff than an uncensored graphic novel version of Anne Frank’s diary. I think it’s actually a great way to get kids more interested in the material by choosing the graphic novel version. Why are people so offended by history that they water it down?"
"Kids see way worse shit in movies, TV shows, and TikTok videos than some naked statues and two tween girls thinking about showing each other their breasts. Omg, boobs and nudity! Clutch your pearls tightly, fire teachers and pass laws so kids can’t learn about things like the human body and history. And we wonder why we live in a world full of so much ignorance. SMH."
14. "God forbid kids learn what really happened during the Holocaust from someone who lived it. And died in it. This country should be ashamed."
15. "What are these people so afraid of? That kids will grow up well-rounded, empathetic, and educated? It should be illegal to bar kids from reading, unless it is truly something obscene."
16. "Teenagers going through puberty is universal. They talk to each other about it. This isn’t dirty or suggestive. (There’s far, far filthier things in the Bible.) It’s just reality. And these were Anne’s words and experiences."
17. "I read this book in fifth grade (this illustrated one), and I adored it; it quickly became one of my favorite reads. I don’t think teachers should be fired for doing their jobs and trying to make education fun. I want to be a teacher, but all of the things like this are scaring me."
18. "If it gets kids learning actual history, discussing it, developing empathy for those who suffer or are different than them, then it can’t be all bad. This is not a teacher being abusive, refusing to work, forcing their opinion, or any number of other abuses."
19. "Worried about 'inappropriate content?' Do these parents know what their kids are reading on Wattpad? SMH."
20. "Just don’t become a teacher. It’s such a precarious position to the point of absurdity. There’s no freedom to do your job and be trusted with your decisions. Parents have too much power and completely undermine anything a teacher is trying to do. I quit this July because I’ve had enough."
