One of Netflix’s latest releases is a war era film My Best Friend Anne Frank, a story of friendship between famous Holocaust victim Anne Frank and her friend Hannah Goslar told through Goslar’s point of view. The film goes back and forth between Hannah’s and Anne's time growing up together in Amsterdam in 1942 and their time in Bergen-Belsen, a German concentration camp in 1945. As I watched the film, I couldn’t help but notice many similarities in the hardships the Jews faced then with the lives of North Koreans today.

Both governments are/were a totalitarian state

Adolf Hitler became the leader of the Nazi Party in 1921 and became chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. He rapidly transformed Germany into a dictatorship and almost all aspects of life were controlled by the government. Similarly in 2022, Kim Jong-un continues to follow in the footsteps of his dictatorial father and grandfather, tightly controlling almost every aspect of the lives of the North Korean people.

When escaping is the only option

When Hilter became chancellor of Germany, Jews were stripped of most of their basic rights and were treated like second class citizens. Things progressively got worse for the Jews at that time as they were persecuted, their businesses were vandalized and they lived in constant fear of being sent away to a concentration camp. They were banned from saying “Heil Hilter” so they couldn’t even try to be loyal to the country as a way to improve their second class status. For most Jews, escaping the country was the only option.

If you read our article about North Korea’s caste system, also known as Songbun, the generational impact of North Koreans who showed loyalty to Kim Il-Sung’s regime is evident and shows up as being able to secure a higher status for subsequent generations.  Conversely, those who didn’t support the “Eternal President” were treated as lower class with little work opportunities and no hope of ever improving their lives. For many North Koreans, escaping is also the only option to ever improving their lives.

Following ridiculous laws

In My Best Friend Anne Frank, there is a scene where Otto Frank is troubled after finding out that Hannah and his daughter Anne went to the movie theater, which Jews were forbidden from doing. “Well, no one saw us there,” said Hannah hoping that would calm Otto and her father who were extremely upset by this. “Do you know how dangerous that is,” Otto asked her. “And that you could put us all in danger?” Jews were also not allowed to use a telephone, own a radio set, go to the library or leave the country.

Similarly, North Koreans are only allowed to watch the news, entertainment or other forms of media filtered through and provided by the regime. They have fix-tuned radios for North Korean approved stations as well as monitored cell phones to make calls in North Korea only. Leaving the country isn’t permitted for the majority.

Witnessing death non-stop

There’s a scene in the movie when Hannah and her little sister Gabi go to medical to visit their dad who has become very sick and weak during their time in concentration camp Bergen-Belsen. Sadly, his condition gets worse and they watch their dad’s breathing come to a complete stop. In another concentration camp scene, Hannah and Gabi walk past a dead woman which Gabi points to, curious as to why she is lying in the middle of the camp. Hannah lies to Gabi and tells her that the woman is sleeping and keeps on walking. Hannah also witnesses many Nazi officers violently beating Jews.

Many North Korean defectors talk about the horrors they have endured in modern-day concentration camps. Many also witnessed North Korean soldiers violently beating prisoners and the death of many, including members of their own family (in some cases because of hunger and in others, executed by North Korean soldiers).

As tragic as this film was, there was a line that stayed with me. As the situation in Amsterdam became more and more difficult, Anne and her family went into hiding, although Hannah believed Anne went to Switzerland without her. Feeling upset since they were not on good terms before she left, Hannah’s father tells her, “Have faith in God. Only He knows our destiny.”

There are obvious parallels between these two people groups who endured, or continue to endure, unfathomable hardships. In fact, among the group of Crossing Borders’ earliest donors was a Jewish family who noticed history repeating. We will do all we can to help North Koreans, but as Hannah’s father reminded his daughter, only God knows how this story ends.