Rotterdam Exhibit Features Anne Frank's Childhood Keepsakes

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Anne Frank (left) plays with a friend, Hanneli Goslar, in Amsterdam in 1941. Frank's marble collection will be displayed at an exhibit in Rotterdam through May.

Image: Anne Frank House/Associated Press

By Melissa Goldin2014-02-06 03:51:12 UTC

A collection of marbles that belonged to Jewish Holocaust victim Anne Frank will be displayed for the first time at an exhibition in Rotterdam through May.

Frank gave the marbles, as well as a tea set and a book, to a childhood friend for safekeeping before going into hiding from the Nazis. She then stayed in what is referred to as the "Secret Annex" in a house in Amsterdam for a little more than two years with her parents and sister, according to the Anne Frank House museum.

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When the war ended, Toosje Kupers, now 83, tried to return the belongings to Frank's father, Otto — the family's only survivor — but was told to keep them as a reminder of her friend. She donated the items to the Anne Frank House museum, which has already displayed the tea set and the book, after she found them when moving nearly 70 years later.

Marbles meant a lot to children of Frank's era and they put a lot of effort into acquiring them, the museum's head of collections told CNN. She added that Frank's marbles, although old, are in good condition.

The Rotterdam exhibit, "The Second World War in 100 Objects," was opened by Dutch king Willem-Alexander on Tuesday, and will be open to the public starting Wednesday. Other items in the show include an SS flag and a tank used by the British army during the war.

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Topics: anne frank, anne frank house, exhibit, holocaust, museum, Netherlands, US & World, World, world war 2