Buddy Elias, Anne Frank Cousin, Dies at 89
Image by cnn
Buddy Elias, a former president of the Anne Frank Fonds in Basel and a cousin of the teenage diarist from Amsterdam, has died.
Elias, an actor who headed the charity named after his cousin, died Monday shortly before his 90th birthday at his home in Basel, according to Tachles, the Swiss Jewish newspaper.
“For decades, Buddy Elias campaigned for civil society, dialogue and education against discrimination,” Yves Kugelmann, a board member of the Anne Frank Fonds, wrote in a statement. “As a contemporary witness and cousin of Margot and Anne Frank, he was tirelessly engaged in educational work, human rights and, in particular, the rights of children and adolescents.” In 2012, Elias was instrumental in founding the Frank Family Centre in Frankfurt where archives of the Frank, Elias, Stern and Kahn families will be made accessible to the public.
Born in Frankfurt am Main in 1925, where he spent his early years with Anne Frank, Elias immigrated to Basel in 1931 with his Jewish family.
After World War II, he began his acting career as a clown with Holiday on Ice, touring the world with the show for 14 years. He later became a film actor.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
