INDIANAPOLIS — Saplings from the chestnut tree that stood as a symbol of hope for Anne Frank as she hid from the Nazis for two years in Amsterdam are being distributed to New York City and 10 other places in the United States as part of a project that aims to preserve her legacy and promote tolerance.

The tree, one of the Jewish teenager’s only connections to nature while she hid with her family, was diseased and rotted through the trunk when wind and heavy rain toppled it in August 2010.

But saplings grown from its seeds will be planted starting next month, when the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis will put the first one in the ground.

The US locations, which include a park memorializing 9/11 victims in New York City, were chosen by The Anne Frank Center USA from 34 applicants.

The tree is referenced several times in the diary that Anne Frank kept.