​Anne Frank Halloween Costume Trivialized Holocaust, Critics Say; Company Pulls It

A company that markets Halloween costumes has pulled its “Anne Frank costume for girls” after fierce criticism on social media. The company, HalloweenCostumes.com, described Frank as a World War II hero and said on its product description that “we can always learn from the struggles of history,” but critics said it trivialized the Holocaust.

Anne Frank, of course, was the young Jewish girl whose family hid for two years until during World War II until they were discovered by the Nazis. She died of typhus at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp shortly before the liberation by British troops in April of 1945. The journal she wrote during the two years her family and others hid out in the Secret Annex, published as “The Diary of Anne Frank,” has sold more than 30 million copies and has been translated into 67 languages.

Watch: Company Pulls ​Anne Frank Halloween Costume

The costume was described as a blue, button-up shirt-dress and included a green beret-style hat and brown shoulder bag. It sold for $24.99, plus shipping charges, according to azcentral.com.

The product description, captured in a screengrab by the newspaper, went on: “Unfortunately, World War II shook the world in a way that no one could have foreseen. It showed us what true and mettle were. It also created some unexpected heroes, where even a young girl like Anne Frank with nothing but a diary and hope could become an inspiration to us all. We can all learn from someone like that!”

Critics said the message sent by the costume is the opposite of what the company intended.

“We sell costumes not only for Halloween, but for many uses outside the Halloween season, such as school projects and plays. We offer several types of historically accurate costumes — from prominent figures to political figures, to television characters.

“We take feedback from our customers very seriously. We have passed along the feedback regarding this costume, and it has been removed from our website at this time. We apologize for any offense it has caused, as that’s never our intention. …”

An iPad with interactive features used to educate people about Anne Frank's story is seen at the Anne Frank Center USA in New York City. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images News/Getty Images)