What does it mean when Anne Frank was described as "a symbol for the lost promise of the children who died in the Holocaust"? [closed]
Because they were killed, the children didn’t have a chance to grow up and do great things (like the stereotypical example, becoming a doctor). “Promise” therefore is under this definition from Lexico/OD:
the quality of potential excellence.
"he showed great promise even as a junior officer"
By lost promise, they mean all the dreams and goals the children would have had: Promise #2: reason to expect something.