Anne Frank tree to be planted at WTC

When Anne Frank wrote in her diary, she would often look out a tiny window at a horse chestnut tree. Now, a sapling from that very tree from which Frank sought solace will be planted at the World Trade Center site.

With that 150-year-old horse chestnut tree reaching the end of its life, the Anne Frank Center USA, located in lower Manhattan, announced in April that it would take applications for the saplings. Thirty-four locations applied, and the Center selected 11 sites throughout the United States to receive a sapling.

"These locations represent areas that have had large incidences of intolerance and discrimination in the past," said Yvonne Simons, executive director of the Anne Frank Center USA. "If there was ever a site to talk about such hatred, it's the World Trade Center."

Other major sites to receive saplings include Little Rock High School in Arkansas, the White House, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis and Boston Commons.

Frank mentioned the tree several times throughout her diary. For nearly two years, she marveled at its beauty and transformation during the seasons. It was the only sliver of nature she could see from the tiny window in her hideout.

According to Simons, the saplings will commemorate Frank, who would have turned 80 this year, and the injustices that continue to plague the world.

Simons said the saplings are currently in a nursery in Amsterdam. Once they arrive in America, they will be quarantined for two years and monitored for diseases because of USDA regulations.

Exact details as to where and when the sapling will be planted at the World Trade Centers Memorial remain vague, but Simons said she hoped to see the tree planted by 2013, the estimated completion date of the WTC Memorial.

Lynn Rasic is the senior vice president of public affairs and communication at the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation.

"We are honored that the sapling will come to the World Trade Center site, and we think it will be a meaningful addition," Rasic said.

She said they are still determining a location for the sapling.

Seth Chalmer, a Judaic studies graduate student, is enthusiastic about the arrival.

"This is really touching for me as a Jewish-American," he said. "The saplings take a large statistic and an abstract idea and make it tangible, something you can touch and see."

Spencer Magloff is a staff writer.