2025 Anne Frank Award Presented to Child Holocaust Survivor, Dr. Irene Butter

Dr. Butter accepted the award as part of the Dutch Embassy's Tulip Days events to celebrate 80 years of freedom and the end of World War II

/EIN News/ -- Washington, D.C., March 26, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. Irene Butter -- a child Holocaust survivor, educator, peace activist, and author -- is the recipient of the 2025 Anne Frank Award for Human Dignity and Tolerance. Dr. Butter received the award at a ceremony in the residence of Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar as part of the Dutch Embassy’s Tulip Days events that this year mark 80 years of freedom and the end of World War II.

Acts of antisemitism continue to increase around the world. This is not only worrisome, it calls for action. The Anne Frank Award is presented to an American who has demonstrated a commitment to confronting intolerance, antisemitism, racism, or discrimination while upholding freedom and equal rights to promote an open, pluralistic, and democratic society.

Dr. Butter is committed to teaching others about the Holocaust and the lessons she learned during World War II. Her family fled Nazi-occupied Germany for the Netherlands in 1937 and lived in the same neighborhood as Anne Frank in Amsterdam. In 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands. In 1943, Dr. Butter and her family were sent to the Westerbork transit camp and later deported to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. It was here that Dr. Butter saw Anne Frank one last time, Anne was reported to have died not long after. Dr. Butter, her mother, and brother survived the camp, but her father died two days after the family was released.

Dr. Butter eventually arrived (via Algeria) in the United States at age 15. Her mother and brother joined her eighteen months later. She graduated from Queens College in New York City and became one of the first women to earn a Ph.D. in economics from Duke University. She later married Charlie Butter and the two became professors at the University of Michigan.

At 94, Dr. Butter continues to educate others about the consequences of antisemitism. She wrote the book, “From Holocaust to Hope: Shores beyond Shores, A Bergen-Belsen Survivor’s True Story,” detailing her experience. An economist by training, she has for the better part of the last four decades spoken in public about her experiences during the war. Her words have impacted tens of thousands of people in the United States and around the world.

During the ceremony, Dr. Butter said, "Though Anne Frank's life ended tragically in childhood, she had the wisdom to articulate her values. In my much longer life, I have been able to live by our shared commitment to human dignity and tolerance."

Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar said the Anne Frank Award underscores the Netherlands’ efforts to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive. The Dutch are committed to fighting the rising tide of hatred and antisemitism, and have developed a national strategy to combat antisemitism, including protecting Jewish institutions, holding offenders responsible, and supporting victims.

In regards to Dr. Butter, Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar stated, “This year, as we commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the end of World War II and the liberation of the Netherlands, it is truly an honor to recognize Dr. Irene Butter, a child Holocaust survivor and peace activist. She’s an inspiration, a role model, someone we can all learn from. Her realization that she survived allowed her to speak, unlike Anne Frank, whom she knew. Dr. Butter’s voice has contributed to more understanding and tolerance.”

Co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on the Kingdom of the Netherlands Representative Hillary Scholten (D, MI-03) and Dutch caucus member, Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI-02) both Michigan natives, gave opening remarks.

“Dr. Irene Butter is the living definition of tolerance. She has shown the ability to endure–even the most horrendous of circumstances–without herself reverting to a negative reaction,” said Rep. Scholten. “Rather, she has taken her pain and trauma and turned it into a catalyst for good and healing in the world. It is my honor to celebrate this American hero – and fellow Michigander – as the co-chair of the Congressional Dutch Caucus.”

Representative John Moolenaar stated, “Eighty years ago, the world was stunned to learn the full extent of the evils of the Nazi regime and the Holocaust as concentration camps like Bergen-Belson were liberated. Dr. Irene Butter experienced the brutality of the Holocaust first-hand as a young girl. After surviving the Bergen-Belson concentration camp and establishing a new life in America, she used her powerful story to teach younger generations about the horrors of the Holocaust and vile prejudices like antisemitism. I applaud Dr. Butter as she receives the 2025 Anne Frank Award. She is fully deserving of this honor, and I pray she continues to tell her story to further combat antisemitism,” said Moolenaar.

Anne Frank Special Recognition Award

Dr. Kathrin Meyer, the former Secretary General of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), was presented with the 2025 Anne Frank Special Recognition Award. The IHRA, founded in 1998, is an intergovernmental organization with 35 member countries dedicated to strengthening and promoting education, remembrance, and research on the Holocaust. In her role as Secretary General, Dr. Meyer helped guide the IHRA Member and Observer Countries as they advance the mission of a world that remembers the Holocaust and combats antisemitism.

In her remarks, Dr. Meyer reflected on the legacy of Anne Frank and stated, “Anne dreamed of a world where people would simply be people again. It is our responsibility to ensure that her dream does not fade. We will not allow the past to be forgotten. We will protect history, protect truth, and protect each other. Because we owe it – to her, and to the generations after us.”

The Anne Frank Award is a collaboration among the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Congressional Caucus on the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Anne Frank Center USA, the Anne Frank House Amsterdam, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, and the USC Shoah Foundation. The award ceremony is part of the Embassy’s Holland on the Hill initiative to strengthen the economic, political and cultural ties between the Netherlands and the United States.

First presented in 2014, the Anne Frank Award for Human Dignity and Tolerance has been presented to the following recipients:

In 2023, Former U.S. Senator Ben Cardin

In 2020, Former U.S. Representative Nita Lowey

In 2019, Benjamin Ferencz, a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials

In 2017, Father Leo O’ Donovan of the Jesuit Refugee Service/USA

In 2015, Nicholas Kristof, New York Times columnist

In 2014, Rabbi David Nathan Saperstein

Attachments

• Dr. Irene Butter makes remarks at the Anne Frank Award Ceremony at the Residence of Dutch Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar
• Anne Frank Award recipients and Ambassador Birgitta Tazelaar, Representatives Scholten and Moolenaar

Carla Bundy
                    Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
                    202-413-9786
                    cy.bundy@minbuza.nl