German kindergarten under fire for dropping ‘Anne Frank’ name

A German kindergarten has come under fire after changing its name from ‘Anne Frank’ to ‘World Explorer’ during the tensions in the Middle-East.

While the Anne Frank daycare in Taengerhutte, Germany, has reportedly planned to change its name to ‘World Explorer’ for over a year now, choosing to do so at a time when tensions are escalating in Gaza and only a month after the Hamas terror attack on Israel is more than unfortunate.

Members of the Jewish community and local politicians have condemned the name change during the politically charged climate of Israel’s war on Gaza, reports the EuropeNews.net.

The daycare emphasised in a press release that the change was under discussion „long before the current discussions and events.” The kindergarten also stressed that changing the name to ‘World Explorer’ was „not set in stone,” adding that it was not a reaction to the current political climate.

Daycare manager Linda Schichor explained that children and migrant parents had trouble understanding Anne Frank’s story. „We wanted something without a political background,” she said.

Initially, a parent from the daycare contacted the media, expressing their family’s outrage at the name change. The story quickly went viral and stirred major controversy among Jewish community groups.

The state of Saxony-Anhalt’s economy minister, Sven Schulze, declared that the CDU party would „of course not agree to the renaming of the Anne Frank daycare centre,” warning fellow councillors on Saturday against allowing such a „completely absurd, impulsive and small-minded” proposal to advance.