Amsterdam’s ‘Anne & Frank’ bakery to change name
A bakery that recently opened in the Dutch capital under the name “Anne & Frank” will change its name in response to widespread online criticism.
The bakery, which opened earlier this month not far from the hiding place of Holocaust victim Anne Frank and her family, received thousands of angry comments on Twitter and other social networks, where it had tried to establish a presence for promotional reasons, De Stentor, a local daily, reported.
Many commenters found it tasteless of the owners to reference Anne Frank in the bakery’s name, which was written in an antiquated font on the bakery’s display window, De Stentor reported.
Owner Roberto Barsoum removed all the words except bakery from the sign. He has said he will change the bakery’s name officially as well.
Barsoum told another daily, Het Parool, that he feared a backlash when his partner suggested the name, but later he found it too attractive to pass up.
“I was afraid the name would cause anger, that people would think I was trying to exploit the name for commercial purposes,” he said. But later he reckoned that “it’s a good name, a sign of protest. I don’t think it’s an abuse personally of the Anne Frank name. And it’s such a small shop, it’s not like it will make anyone a millionaire.”
Some tourists, including an Italian family, told De Stentor that they felt uncomfortable at the bakery. But a tourist from the United States told the paper she found it “fitting” because of its location.
JTA Wire Service
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