World-Changing Figures: From Anne Frank to Martin Luther King Jr.

A Glimpse of Everyday Life

I arrived by plane. It was hot and sunny.

On one side of the square, there was a café. Some people were sitting at tables, and one man was talking on the phone.

Anne Frank: A Legacy of Courage and Resilience

Anne Frank was a Jewish girl who, during World War II, had to hide to escape Nazi persecution. Together with seven other people, she remained hidden in the "Secret Annex" of the building on the Prinsengracht canal No. 263 in Amsterdam. After more than two years in hiding, they were discovered and deported to concentration camps. Of the eight people in hiding, only Anne's father, Otto Frank, survived the war. After her death, Anne became world-famous thanks to the diary she wrote while in hiding.

Pablo Picasso: A Revolutionary Artist

An outstanding figure as both an artist and a man, Picasso was a protagonist and inimitable creator of the diverse currents that revolutionized 20th-century art. From Cubism to neo-figurative sculpture, engraving and etching to handmade ceramics and ballet set design, his immense body of work, characterized by its number, variety, and talent, spans over seventy-five years of creative activity. The painter wisely intertwined his art with love, politics, friendship, and an exultant and contagious enjoyment of life.

Martin Luther King Jr.: Champion of Civil Rights

Martin Luther King Jr. was one of America's most influential civil rights activists. Born in Atlanta on January 15, 1929, he became aware of the vast inequality and injustice faced by Black Americans during his time at university. The Montgomery Bus Boycott began on December 5, 1955, when Rosa Parks, a civil rights activist, refused to give up her seat—she was sitting in a "Whites only" area. This act challenged the strict segregation of Black and white people on Montgomery buses. When the bus company refused to change its policy, MLK helped organize a boycott in which Black people refused to use any city buses for several months. This ultimately led to the Supreme Court declaring segregation on buses unconstitutional. Tragically, on April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. He remains a symbol of America's fight for justice and racial equality.