for a long time, however, remembering bergen-belsen was not a political priority. periods of attention were followed by long phases of official neglect. for much of the 1950s, belsen "was increasingly forgotten as a place of remembrance". only after 1957 did large groups of young people visit the place where anne frank had died. after anti-semitic graffiti was scrawled on the cologne synagogue over christmas 1959, german chancellor konrad adenauer followed a suggestion by nahum goldmann, president of the world jewish congress, and visited the site of a former concentration camp for the first time. in a speech at the bergen-belsen memorial, adenauer assured the jews still living in germany that they would have the same respect and security as everyone else. afterwards, the german public saw the belsen memorial as primarily a jewish place of remembrance. nevertheless, the memorial was redesigned in 1960–61. in 1966, a document centre was opened which offered a permanent exhibition on the persecution of the jews, with a focus on events in the nearby netherlands – where anne frank and her family had been arrested in 1944. this was complemented by an overview of the history of the bergen-belsen camp. this was the first ever permanent exhibit anywhere in germany on the topic of nazi crimes. however, there was still no scientific personnel at the site, with only a caretaker as permanent staff. memorial events were only organized by the survivors themselves.