Barbara continued using her talents by dancing, acting and modeling. With her family lost in concentration camps, she left Amsterdam and moved to the United States. Dancing did not provide steady income, so Barbara joined the Ringling Brothers Circus. Then, because she didn't want to travel with the circus, she took a job in Baltimore, selling cosmetics. She met Martin Rodbell in an amateur theater group, married him and raised four children — "two for me and two for my sister ." Her husband won a Nobel Prize in medicine in 1994.
Barbara’s Message for Teenagers Today "You always have to think for yourself."
On June 25, 1947, The Diary of Anne Frank (Het Achterhuis) is published. Just a few days later, Otto Frank sends copies to Anne’s and Margot’s friends, to acquaintances, and to others mentioned in the diary. Some of them come in person to Prinsengracht 263 to discuss Het Achterhuis with Otto; others send a written response.
For Barbara Ledermann, it takes much more effort to respond. Eventually, at the beginning of September 1947, she sends a letter. Barbara had lost her sister Sanne — a close friend of Anne’s — and her parents; all three were murdered shortly after arrival at the concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Barbara herself survived the persecution of the Jews. She went into hiding and lived under false papers. She hopes Otto will understand:
“You will understand how particularly difficult this is for me, and I have kept wondering whether I could write you something more than just a word of thanks. But I cannot. After two years of resisting, I have come to accept life as other people accept a religion: without understanding it. It passes over us, carries us along for a while, and then puts us down again. I don’t believe I will ever again concern myself very much with what happens around me or to me.”
Barbara realizes that this has little to do with Het Achterhuis. Her life is overshadowed by grief. “I was glad to find Suusje [Sanne Ledermann] in it as well. I miss them all terribly.” The closing of her letter is somber:
“There is such a terrible lack of meaning in everything.”
Barbara’s Message for Teenagers Today "You always have to think for yourself."
On June 25, 1947, The Diary of Anne Frank (Het Achterhuis) is published. Just a few days later, Otto Frank sends copies to Anne’s and Margot’s friends, to acquaintances, and to others mentioned in the diary. Some of them come in person to Prinsengracht 263 to discuss Het Achterhuis with Otto; others send a written response.
For Barbara Ledermann, it takes much more effort to respond. Eventually, at the beginning of September 1947, she sends a letter. Barbara had lost her sister Sanne — a close friend of Anne’s — and her parents; all three were murdered shortly after arrival at the concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. Barbara herself survived the persecution of the Jews. She went into hiding and lived under false papers. She hopes Otto will understand:
“You will understand how particularly difficult this is for me, and I have kept wondering whether I could write you something more than just a word of thanks. But I cannot. After two years of resisting, I have come to accept life as other people accept a religion: without understanding it. It passes over us, carries us along for a while, and then puts us down again. I don’t believe I will ever again concern myself very much with what happens around me or to me.”
Barbara realizes that this has little to do with Het Achterhuis. Her life is overshadowed by grief. “I was glad to find Suusje [Sanne Ledermann] in it as well. I miss them all terribly.” The closing of her letter is somber:
“There is such a terrible lack of meaning in everything.”
BARBARA AFTER THE WAR.
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