Rep. Wasserman Schultz Leads Planting of Anne Frank Tree at U.S. Capitol

Washington, DC, April 30, 2014
As part of The Anne Frank Center USA's mission to plant saplings from her tree around the U.S. and teach future generations about tolerance and justice, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) led a joint Congressional effort that resulted in a planting at the Capitol.
While in hiding and writing in her diary, Anne Frank often looked to the horse chestnut tree out her window as a source of strength and inspiration. “Our chestnut tree is in full bloom. It is covered with leaves and is even more beautiful than last year,” she wrote in her diary on May 13, 1944.
As part of The Anne Frank Center USA’s mission to plant saplings from her tree around the U.S. and teach future generations about tolerance and justice, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) led a joint Congressional effort that resulted in a planting at the Capitol. 
The sapling from Anne Frank's horse chestnut tree is seen planted outside the U.S. Capitol.
In a ceremony today, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz said:
"As a representative of one of the largest Holocaust survivor populations in the country and as a Jew, it is deeply moving and meaningful both personally and professionally to have helped bring a sapling from Anne Frank's chestnut tree here to the Capitol. In particular, I am mindful of the millions of children who will visit the Capitol in the coming years and witness the growth of what I know will become a mighty and beautiful tree that is reflective of the might and beauty of its namesake. Anne's life was cut tragically short, but her indomitable spirit endures in these saplings and through her timeless diary."
Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz worked with House and Senate leadership, the Architect of the Capitol, the Botanic Garden, the Dutch Embassy and The Anne Frank Center to make today’s events possible, which included the opening of an exhibit dedicated to her Anne's life and legacy in the Russell Senate Office Building.
More information about the tree and the Sapling Project can be found at: http://www.annefranktreeusa.com/ 
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