What fell first? The 150-year old horse chestnut tree or its steel support construction? And will it now be replaced by one of its seedlings? Just some of the questions that arose after the famous Anne Frank tree - the only living thing Anne could see from her hiding place in the Secret Annex - toppled to the ground on Monday.
 
Anne Frank and her family lived in the Secret Annex of a canal house on Amsterdam's Prinsengracht from July 1942 to August 1944, in a bid to avoid being shipped to camps like many of the other Jews in The Netherlands during World War II. During her time in hiding, Anne was not allowed to look out of the windows, effectively cutting the young girl off from access to the outside world.

Comfort
But from her hiding place she could see a horse chestnut tree, growing in a nearby garden. The young writer mentioned the tree three times in her diary, which went on to become one of the most widely read books in history. According to her journal, the tree provided comfort during her years of confinement. Maatje Mostard, head of communications at the Anne Frank House, was working when it fell:
 
"The tree is important for the Anne Frank House because it was the only piece of nature Anne Frank could see when she was hiding in the Secret Annex... And today when we were sitting in our rooms, it just fell. One metre about the ground it just [broke.]"
 
Saving the tree
So far, it is unclear exactly why the tree fell. There was bad weather in Amsterdam on Monday, with heavy rainfall in the morning and wind gusts throughout the day. And it's been known for some time that the tree was diseased.
 
In 1993, the city of Amsterdam spent 365,000 Dutch guilders (more than €165,000) to treat the tree for wood rot caused by a fungal infection. But in 2006, when experts found that 42 percent of its wood had rotted and believed there was a large risk the tree could fall, potentially causing injuries, the decision was made to cut it down.

Steel support
However, an organisation was founded to save the tree and a series of legal battles ensued. In 2008, an agreement was reached between the city of Amsterdam and supporters of the tree, whereby a steel support frame would be constructed to prevent it from falling. Ms Mostard says the loss of the tree will be particularly painful for the people who have worked for years to maintain it:
 
"They put a lot of energy into keeping the tree. For them it must be terrible to see that it didn't work. There was a special construction made, that should [have meant] that it couldn't fall... But if you look now at the tree, it fell down [even] with the special construction. So it didn't work."
 
The tree's future
It's a testament to the significance of Anne Frank's diary that within minutes of the tree falling, the news had spread across the world. Less than an hour after it happened, people were offering pieces for sale via a popular internet site similar to Ebay.
 
One advert offers an 80 centimetre long branch for €750. It’s unclear whether the offer is legitimate, just as it's unclear what will happen now that the tree has fallen. One thing is certain, though. Ms Mostard says visitors to the Anne Frank House will not notice that the tree is missing:

"From the Anne Frank House itself, you cannot see the tree... The only place where she could see the tree was from the annex and that is not open for [the] public... The tree wasn't standing in the gardens of the Anne Frank House. It's in the garden of another property. So the owner of the garden, where the tree [was] standing, has to decide what will happen."
 
Seedlings from the tree are available, so if the owner of the garden wants a descendent of Anne's horse chestnut planted on the same spot, it is possible.