“Anne & Frank” Amsterdam Bakery Changes Its Name After Sparking Outcry
Tourists line up in front of the Anne Frank House. Image by Getty
The unfortunately named and recently opened “Anne & Frank” Bakery has elected to change its name after an outcry on Twitter deemed it insensitive. The bakery is located around the corner from the Anne Frank House, which has become a popular tourist attraction. The media backlash was immediate, as Twitter lambasted owner Robert Barsoum for his choice to name his bakery after the famous Holocaust victim who died in Bergen Belsen.
“It seemed like a nice name to me,” Barosum told the local AT5 television station, adding that Anne Frank was “a hero to me too.”
This isn’t the first time people have used Anne Frank’s name for their own purposes. In 2013, popstar Justin Bieber said he hoped Anne Frank “would have been a Belieber.” A German railway company recently axed plans to name a train after Anne Frank.. She even has an asteroid named after her, the 5535 Annefrank.
According to social media, Barsoum has since removed the words Anne & Frank from the front window of the bakery.
Onder de Westertoren om de hoek van dat Achterhuis open je winkel vermomd als bakkerij en dan denk je even, heel even maar, na over de naam….. wtf .. (en ze kan er ook zweet krijgen). pic.twitter.com/Gk5bDUqDVU
— Ingrid Kerr (@ingridkerr) August 25, 2018
Shira Feder is a writer. She’s at [email protected] and @shirafeder
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
