Famed Playwright Arthur Miller was slated to receive ‘The Anne Frank Human Writes Award’ at The Anne Frank 75th Birthday Tribute

Honorary Chairs Include President Jimmy Carter, President Bill Clinton, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, Senator Barack Obama, Senator Robert Dole, Dr. Simon Wiesenthal, Miep Gies, and Natalie Portman

NEW YORK, NY (February 11, 2005) PRNewswire David Clark, in association with The Anne Frank Center USA and The Simon Wiesenthal Center, announced today that they were stunned and saddened at the news of the death of famed playwright Arthur Miller who had agreed to attend The Anne Frank 75th Birthday Tribute in New York City to accept the inaugural “Anne Frank Human Writes Award.”

 This award bears the name of the young adolescent who from her hiding place documented her coming of age and found a voice to address the inequities of the human condition. It is through her writings that Anne spoke of the need for a world based on social justice, mutual respect, individual responsibility, and moral courage. 

The award is presented to an author for their body of work which explores relationships and the ideas and ideals that have become synonymous with Anne Frank. Arthur Miller was slated to receive the first Anne Frank Human Writes Award at The Anne Frank 75th Birthday Tribute Gala on June 7, 2005. Mr. Miller, who was born in New York City on October 17, 1915, is well known for his dramas that have enriched the Broadway stage for decades. 

The themes of his works primarily deal with relationships and contemporary political and moral issues, often arduously negotiated through the interaction of family members. He has written seminal stories of ordinary people being swept up in extraordinary times – as was Anne Frank and her family. Mr. Miller is regarded as America’s greatest playwright.

Imbued with a passionate morality and demonstrating the absolute need for responsible, loving connections between people, Mr. Miller’s work is indeed didactic, emotionally intense, and replete with contemporary moral issues. “On behalf of EPOP, we were both pleased and proud to have been working with Mr. Miller, and honored that he elected to receive the inaugural Anne Frank Human Writes Award,” said David Clark, CEO and founder of EPOP. 

“In addition to Anne’s very courageous personal story, she must also be remembered for her significant contributions to the literary world, and now, Mr. Miller’s work must be remembered in a similar light.” “For such a distinctive and universally respected author as Mr. Miller to be the recipient of the Human Writes Award in Anne Frank’s honor, gives us great pride. We were of course terrifically honored with his public support, and, as his many works acknowledge, respectful of his professional engagement in what Anne Frank stands for, and which legacy is in fact the educational focus of our organization. We are very sad not to have Mr. Miller’s distinguished company on June 7th,” said Elisabeth Feerick, Executive Director of The Anne Frank Center USA.