iSWANs Sponsors Zoom Program in Honor of Anne Frank's 97th Birthday

We will be presenting the behind-the-scenes stories of the women who helped make Anne's diary one of the 20th Century's most beloved books.

BROOKLYN, NY, UNITED STATES, May 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- International SWANs (iSWANs) has scheduled a Zoom on June 12th honoring Anne Frank on the day that would have been her 97th Birthday. The two co-hosts will be Joan Adler (Executive Director of the Straus Historical Society) and Jan Lisa Huttner (Editor-in-Chief of FF2 Media and founder of the SWAN – Support Women Artists Now – project). Joan’s role will be to describe the importance of the relationship between Otto Frank and Nathan Straus, Jr. (scion of NYC’s Straus family and a member of FDR’s New Deal team), and Jan’s role will be to provide the names of the many women who participated in bringing Anne’s diary to American readers.

The iSWANs team decided to dedicate its annual SWAN Day program to Anne Frank after Minnesota Governor Tim Walz invoked Anne’s name during a press conference held after the murder of Alex Pretti by ICE agents on January 24th. The main SWAN Day 2026 program – held in concurrent theatres in New York and Chicago on March 28th – was a screening of the award-winning 2003 film “Anne B. Real” by writer/director Lisa France. Janice Richardson (the star of “Anne B. Real) came to introduce the film to the NYC audience, and Ruth Franklin (the author of “The Many Lives of Anne Frank”) was also on hand to sign copies of her book at the post-screening reception.

Based on the earnest enthusiasm generated by the SWAN Day 2026 program, Jan reached out to Joan Adler whose book “For the Sake of the Children: The Letters between Otto Frank and Nathan Straus Jr.” contains essential information about how Anne’s diary came to be published in the United States (something we all take for granted now). Jan also reached out again to Ruth Franklin because her book “The Many Lives of Anne Frank” contains essential information on the life of Anne Frank, how her diary was edited then adapted for stage and screen, and the many ways it has impacted the world since.

The Anne Frank Birthday Zoom will take place on June 12th at 4 PM (NYC/ EDT) = 1 PM (LA/PDT). Joan will present the twin stories of the relationship between Otto Frank and Nathan Straus Jr. on the one hand, and the relationship Nathan Straus Jr. and his wife Helen had with Eleanor Roosevelt on the other hand. Jan will present the backstories of the numerous women involved behind-the-scenes in the publication of Anne’s diary, and then its dramatization on stage (which led to numerous Tony awards and a Pulitzer Prize), and then on screen (which added Oscar nominations to the long list of accolades). Ruth will end the program with her thoughts on how we should honor Anne's diary in future as memories of the Holocaust grow ever more distant.

Together, Joan and Jan will build a new narrative about “The Diary of Anne Frank” based on this insightful prediction made in a letter sent by Nathan to Otto dated May 15, 1952. “The fact that Mrs Roosevelt has written the introduction will mean more than you can imagine to American readers. Helen and I have been personal friends of hers for a great many years, but there are millions in this country who feel they know her as a friend, because of her unmatched record of devotion to the public service, her writings, her contacts with people of all kinds all over the world and, if course, her daily articles or column published in scores of American newspapers.”

To join us on June 12th, register FOR FREE through this Eventbrite eVite:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/join-us-in-honoring-anne-franks-97th-birthday-tickets-1990613379203?

Simultaneously, friends in Minneapolis will be hand-delivering a signed copy of Ruth Franklin’s “The Many Lives of Anne Frank” plus a wrapped DVD copy of Lisa France's “Anne B. Real” to Governor Walz’s office.

B. L. Rojas
FF2 Media
press@ff2media.com
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