Monday, May 2, 2022
Written by: Office of Strategic Communication
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On Friday, April 29, the University of Iowa became the 13th location in the United States to plant a sapling grown from the chestnut tree that symbolized hope for Anne Frank as she hid from the Nazis during World War II.

Hundreds of people turned out to listen to speakers and witness the planting on the northeast corner of the Pentacrest.

The effort was led by Kirsten Kumpf Baele, a lecturer in the Department of German at Iowa.

Kumpf Baele, a Holocaust scholar and instructor of the popular undergraduate seminar Anne Frank and Her Story, submitted a lengthy proposal to the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect’s Sapling Project for the UI to receive a tree, including letters of support from the local Jewish community, the UNESCO City of Literature, and UI campus leaders. 

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University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson addresses the audience during the Anne Frank Tree Planting ceremony on Friday, April 29, 2022.
An attendee reads the order of events for the Anne Frank Tree Planting ceremony on Friday, April 29, 2022.
Anne Frank Tree Planting
Attendees watch the Anne Frank Tree Planting Ceremony from inside Macbride Hall Auditorium.
Amal Kassir addresses the audience with a spoken word performance during the the Anne Frank Tree Planting ceremony inside Macbride Hall.
Attendees filled Macbride Hall Auditorium to hear speeches ahead of the tree planting. The event was moved indoors due to rain.
Anne Frank Tree
Viewers admire the sapling of the Anne Frank tree on the Pentacrest after it was planted.
The Anne Frank Tree: Taking Root in Iowa initiative was led by Dr. Kirsten Kumpf Baele (UI German department), whose research and teaching focus on Anne Frank. Baele authored the application that secured the sapling for the UI and Iowa City community.
UI students fill the hole and pack dirt where the Anne Frank Tree now stands.
A large gathering surrounds the site of the Anne Frank Tree planting.
Dirt is packed around the base of the Anne Frank tree on Friday, April 29, 2022.