Florida removes book about Anne Frank from school libraries

A conservative Florida parent censorship group complained about the book titled “Anne Frank’s Diary: The Graphic Adaptation”

A Florida school removed a library book about Anne Frank after a group of parents linked to the Republican Party complained.

The book, "Anne Frank's Diary: The Graphic Adaptation" was removed from school libraries in Indian River County, according to WPTV.

Jennifer Pippin, the chair of the Indian River chapter of "Moms for Liberty," told WPTV that she and her group opposed the book because it contains a scene in which Anne Frank asks a friend to expose themselves to each other. She complained that another scene features Anne Frank walking near sexually explicit nude statues.

“We think true history absolutely needs to be taught, the Holocaust, the Anne Frank diary,” she said, but objected to the visual depiction of sexuality in the graphic novels.

Moms for Liberty is a conservative nonprofit that portrays itself as a grassroots parent organisation, but in reality has numerous ties to the Republican Party.

The original "Diary of Anne Frank" is still carried in the schools' libraries, according to director of academic complaince Dr Kyra Schafte.

After Moms for Liberty complained, the school's principal decided to remove the book, ruling that some of its text did not add to the themes of Holocaust education.

“When districts address Holocaust education, it does so without denying or minimizing the events of Holocaust education,” Ms Schafte told the outlet.

The cover of “Anne Frank’s Diary - The Graphic Adaptation,” which was removed from a Florida school district’s libraries after a parent complained (screengrab / Amazon)

Ms Pippin said her group has targeted approximately 250 books they want schools to censor.

Indian River County Schools has recently created a "District Objection Board," made up of parents appointed by school board members and district employees, which will meet to face formal challenges about book removals.

Republican-linked parent censorship groups have been empowered by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' education policies to effectively act as his county-level censor board. Compliant schools have removed books and changed curricula based on parents’ complaints.

One school in Tallahassee even stopped teaching about Michelangelo's David, one of the most important works of art ever produced, because a parent called it "pornographic."