Anne Frank tree to be cut down next week in Amsterdam

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2007

THE HAGUE (AFP) — A diseased chestnut tree that was fondly described by Anne Frank in her diary about life in hiding under Nazi occupation will be cut down next week, Amsterdam officials said Tuesday.

"Initially the tree had been granted a reprieve until January but a new report last week showed that only 28 percent of the wood in the trunk was healthy," Ton Boon of the Amsterdam Centrum borough told AFP.

"It is irresponsible to leave it standing. The report shows the tree doesn't even need a storm to snap in two," he explained.

Although a licence to fell the diseased tree has already been granted, the Amsterdam municipality announced in October it had given opponents of the move until January to come up with a rescue plan.

The new report was so...