2023 TIME USA, LLC. The enduring mystery of the Anne Frank story is, who betrayed her to the Nazis? For example, it is certain that two representatives from whom the helpers bought illegal coupons were arrested for black marketeering. Wilhelm van Maaren One of the people who has. Ahlers had discovered, says Lee, that Otto's herb and food preservative business had supplied the Wehrmacht throughout the war and that, she suggests, would have been enough to see Otto branded a collaborator. After spending two years eluding Nazi capture while in hiding in Amsterdam, the Frank family was discovered on Aug. 4, 1944, and promptly deported from the Netherlands to concentration camps. | This theory holds that the officers just happened to stumble upon the Jewish families hiding in the attic. The evidence that led Pankoke's investigators to their conclusion pointed to the alleged betrayer as much as it ruled out other suspects including some who had previously been the subject of speculation. There was one sister, however, who took a different path, Van Wijk was told growing up. Who betrayed Anne Frank? Artificial intelligence could finally solve In a 2002 biography of Anne Frank's father, Otto, author Carol Ann Lee suggested the betrayer might be Tonny Ahlers, a Dutch National Socialist. I think he is the one who gave away the Franks' whereabouts to the caller although I don't think he physically made the call himself.". Willem van Maaren was the traitor. There was more going on in that building than just the hiding of Jews. Meanwhile, in 2018, a book claimed to offer evidence that Anne Frankand her family were betrayed by a Jewish woman who was executed after World War II for collaborating with the Nazis. Last week, the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam released a study that suggests that Anne Frank and the seven others hiding with her were discovered by chance. Pankoke and his team eliminated her as a suspect for a few reasons. Now, reports Jon Wertheim for CBS News 60 Minutes, a six-year investigation spearheaded by retired FBI agent Vince Pankoke has pinpointed the likely informant: Arnold van den Bergh, a Jewish notary who may have revealed the Franks hiding place to the Nazis to protect his own family from deportation. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! My sister and my oldest brother are still angry with me about the content of the book, Van Wijk told The Times of Israel. Millions of people have read The Diary of Anne Frank since it was first published posthumously in 1947. The involvement of Van Dijk, who was executed in 1948 after admitting to collaborating in the capture of 145 people, had been previously claimed. For almost 60 years, the identity of that informant, whose call had such tragic consequences, has remained a mystery to historians and the most dogged Nazi hunters. "They were friends. Within several years the book had been translated into German, French and English, and was made into a film in 1959. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Cond Nast. Van Maaren fought the accusations and rejected a settlement. As fast as they could, they all fled back to the hiding place. For a long time, betrayal was considered to be the reason for the arrest of the people in hiding, but the focus is shifting, as there are several other options. WIRED Media Group Footsteps on the stairways, people shaking the bookcase. There was another important reason Pankoke crossed Van Dijk off the list of suspects. This week on 60 Minutes, correspondent Jon Wertheim reported on a new look into the decades-old question that has dogged many readers of Anne Frank's diary: Who betrayed the Frank family and led a search team to their secret annex hidden behind a bookcase? "I think that people that are looking at this feel, 'Ah, maybe we can learn something if this case is solved,'" Pankoke said. As Pankoke tells 60 Minutes, the team managed to track down a copy of the note after reaching out to the son of one of the 1963 investigators. They will also scrutinise the letters of Anne's father, Otto, for clues and examine police transcripts of interviews dating back to the 1940s. But Anne was not yet famous and staff were overworked. According to Pankoke, Van Dijk had betrayed the family of Otto Frank's second wife. Did a Jewish Collaborator Betray Anne Frank to the Nazis? - History Downstairs they think it is too risky. Thats why we started the Times of Israel eleven years ago - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. In addition to Johan Voskuijls involvement, another of the Voskuijl sisters sewed clothes for the Jews in hiding, making the effort a family affair. (11 April 1944.) However, Pankoke told 60 Minutes he trusts the evidence shows those hiding in the annex were betrayed and that the Nazi discovery and arrest wasn't merely a coincidence. display: none; If Frank had known that Van Dijk had also betrayed his family, Pankoke reasoned, he would have had no incentive to keep the information quiet. He places books and bits of paper on the very edges of things in the warehouse so that if anyone walks by they fall off, Anne wrote in her diary in April of 1944. Records discovered in the Dutch national archives by journalist Pieter van Twisk, co-founder of the research project, seemingly corroborated the claim, suggesting that a member of Amsterdams Jewish Council turned over lists of addresses where Jews were hiding. Evidence of his involvement was never found. Anne Frank's betrayal: Investigating other suspects [T]he list of people who were accused of being involved in the case is too long to include in its entirety, notes the Anne Frank House on its website. | Did Willem van Maaren betray Anne Frank? A detailed picture of the interior of the warehouse, reconstruction (1999). Around the time of the investigation into the SS officer, Voskuijl ceased granting interviews, wrote Van Wijk. Who really turned Anne Frank over to the Nazis? Preview: Michael J. After spending two years eluding Nazi capture while in hiding in Amsterdam, the Frank family was discovered on. Titled Anne Frank: A Cold Case Diary, the investigative project was initiated by filmmaker Thijs Bayens and supported through crowd funding. Investigating who betrayed Anne Frank and her family to the Nazis The men went down with whatever they could use as weapons and Hermann van Pels shouted Police. However, the investigation did not prove his guilt. Last year, the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam floated a new theory: Nazi officers who were investigating illegal work and ration fraud at the warehouse accidentally stumbled upon the Jews hiding in the annex. Investigators began taking a fresh look at the case in 2016, hoping to provide new answers. Then, the team considered the motive. Most were gassed with brutal assembly-line efficiency. The groups hideout was located inside a warehouse he had once owned, and they were aided by several of his employees as well as other Dutch sympathizers. This is highly significant and even if they don't find who the traitor was, the scope to find out exactly what did happen is enormous.". "There's no smoking gun, and the theory has too many loose ends," he said. Among Voskuijls other secrets that her son came to know, the clandestine affection shared by his mother and Victor Kugler, one of the other Secret Annex helpers, fills a page of the book. First Republic Bank seized by regulators, then sold to JPMorgan Chase, Reward offered as manhunt for Texas shooting suspect reaches "dead end", Louisiana's health care deserts put women, babies at risk, doctors say, Second convoy of U.S. citizens fleeing Khartoum arrives at Port Sudan, ISIS chief killed by Turkey's intelligence agency, Erdogan says, How a tall Texan became an unlikely Australian rules football star, General Mills issues Gold Medal flour recall over salmonella concerns, Investors sue Adidas over Kanye West Yeezy deal, Shaquil Barrett's 2-year-old daughter dies in drowning accident, Michael J. Click the link in that email to complete your registration. When the arrest of Anne Frank and the people who hid with her took place, Van Maaren worked as the manager of the warehouse of Opekta and Gies & Co, in whose buildings the Secret Annex was situated. But a few years after the war, reports Hanneloes Pen for Dutch newspaper Het Parool, he told a journalist that his family had been betrayed by a member of the Jewish community. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. While his mother referred to as Elli Vossen in The Diary of Anne Frank risked her life to hide eight Jews, his aunt had behaved shamefully during the occupation of the Netherlands, it was whispered. Nevertheless, Lee's book "is interesting because it takes a more balanced view of Otto Frank," Barnouw said. }. The people in hiding in the Secret Annex were terrified when someone broke into the business premises. The team hopes to reveal the results of its investigation on August 4, 2019the 75th anniversary of Anne Franks arrest. ", Ms Lee is also cautious but believes the secret of who shopped Anne Frank is there to be unearthed. Willy Lages, head of the Amsterdam Sicherheitsdienst. / CBS News. Stockroom manager Willem van Maaren was another suspect, and since several possible culprits knew each other, there is also the possibility that more than one person betrayed the Frank. "The NIWD has never tried to find out who betrayed the Franks but they have contacts which I don't have and know how archives in the Netherlands work. And probably wasn't capable of betrayal, because had he betrayed the annex, he knew that he would end up losing his job.". Suspicion for being the betrayer In several investigations after the war, Van Maaren was the prime suspect for the betrayal of Anne Frank; however Van Maaren publicly denied he was responsible. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Van Maaren fought the accusations and rejected a settlement. Meilan Solly is Smithsonian magazine's associate digital editor, history. Both theories are being given equal weight by David Barnouw, the historian charged with establishing the truth. Jewish Councils were set up in Nazi-controlled cities and pitted members of the Jewish community against one another. Do you rely on The Times of Israel for accurate and insightful news on Israel and the Jewish world? He vehemently denied any involvement and said that Victor Kugler had known about the pieces of wood and other things. The case against Ahlers fell apart, Pankoke told Wertheim, when it came to knowledge. It was clear that Tonny Ahlers had no knowledge that Otto Frank and the others were hiding in the annex.". Van Dijk was executed after the war for collaborating with the Nazis and betraying dozens of fellow Jews. Throughout the course of the hiding, Bep and Kugler had fallen in love, as Bep later confessed to her sister Diny with red cheeks, wrote Van Wijk. However, the investigation did not prove his guilt. And if what we could do would be to offer anonymous addresses, I dont know that I know many people who could resist it.. Three days after Frank wrote these wordsthe final entry in her beloved diarySS officers raided her Amsterdam hiding place and arrested its eight inhabitants. It has been translated into around 67 languages and has sold over 31 million copies. "His own mother said he had a bad character from birth and that he was always parading his Nazi connections," the author told the Guardian yesterday. In the end, the list of people who were accused of being involved in the case is too long to include in its entirety. One day during his youth, Van Wijk heard his mother sobbing in the bathroom. The key to the mystery proved to be a note sent to Otto Frank shortly after his return to Amsterdam in June 1945. Miep Gies :: The betrayal The warehouse | Anne Frank House On July 6, the Frank family began their lives in the Secret Annex attached to the office building at Prinsengracht263,where Otto Frank had worked. There's no evidence to indicate that he knew who was hiding at any of these addresses, Pankoke tells 60 Minutes. [But] when van den Bergh lost all his series of protections exempting him from having to go to the camps, he had to provide something valuable to the Nazis that he's had contact with to let him and his wife at that time stay safe.. During his research for the book, Van Wijk learned that Nelly did far more than engage in flirtations with German soldiers. How were the people in hiding discovered? Although Miep Gies is the best-remembered of the Dutch helpers, Voskuijl was the closest to Anne in age and temperament. "And we went into the city archive and found proof that actually he was 'Aryanized,' so he lost his Jewish identity during the war. Those hiding in the annex were wary of Van Maaren, and Anne Frank documented their suspicion in her diary. And, during a 1994 lecture, Secret Annex helper Miep Gies let slip that the informant died prior to 1960. Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany, but she and her family fled the country and settled in Amsterdam after Adolf Hitler came to power. In June 1947 1,500 copies of the Dutch edition of the diary were produced. The first theory, forwarded by British author and Anne Frank expert Carol Anne Lee, in her book The Hidden Life of Otto Frank, seems to have aroused the most interest. Ahlers was among the suspects Pankoke and his team investigated and ultimately ruled out. It is believed that an anonymous tip helped guide the Nazis to the secret annex, yet despite decades of investigations, the identity of the informant has never been proven. While admitting that the case is circumstantial and some reasonable doubt remains, Pankoke et al. For decades suspicion centred on a man called Willem Van Maaren, who worked in the warehouse attached to the Franks' hiding place. Dutch police launched two separate investigations focusing on van Maaren, but did not uncover any conclusive evidence. In April 1944 Anne wrote: "One day this terrible war will be over. 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Fifteen-year-old Anne, her sister Margot and her mother Edith died in Nazi concentration camps. The new investigation does not refute the possibility that the people in hiding were betrayed, but illustrates that other scenarios should also be considered.. We had all stopped breathing audibly by then, 8 hearts were pounding, footsteps on our stairs, then a rattling on the bookcase door.' Potential informants ruled out by the group ranged from Willem van Maaren, an oft-cited suspect who worked in the warehouse where the Franks were hiding, to Nelly Voskuijl, a Nazi sympathizer and the sister of Secret Annex helper Bep Vokuijl, to Ans van Dijk, a Jewish collaborator whose actions led to the arrest of some 145 people. The burglars had ripped a panel out of the warehouses street door in order to get in. Willem van Maaren was the traitor. Almost everyone involved with the case is dead and many historians believe that it is simply impossible to identify the culprit who betrayed the young girl whose poignant diary subsequently sold more than 31 million copies and made her one of the Holocaust's most famous victims. Out of the seven others who hid with her, her father, Otto Frank, was the only one who survived the Holocaust. Born in 1949, Van Wijk remembers a childhood shrouded in mystery about what Nelly did during the war. Cookie Settings, Five Places Where You Can Still Find Gold in the United States, Scientists Taught Pet Parrots to Video Call Each Otherand the Birds Loved It, Balto's DNA Provides a New Look at the Intrepid Sled Dog, The Science of California's 'Super Bloom,' Visible From Space, What We're Still Learning About Rosalind Franklins Unheralded Brilliance. Who betrayed Anne Frank? A new book tracks history's most - MSN Investigators Are Turning to Big Data to Find Who Betrayed Anne Frank. Netherlands State Institute for War Documentation, The Diary of Anne Frank: the critical edition (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1989)., A-version 21 April 1944; B-version, 5 August 1943. Your Privacy Rights Fox on Parkinson's: "Every day it gets tougher" Victor Kugler, Johannes Kleiman, Miep Gies, and Bep Voskuijl were the only employees who knew where the Franks (and later, the Van Pels family) were hiding. That was a major setback, because Van Maaren was curious, and he noticed that people had been in the building after closing time. Anne Frank HouseWestermarkt 201016 DK Amsterdam, Ronald Leopold, Executive Director of the Anne Frank House. Hermann van Pels hit the ground with an axe, which finally drove them away. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Who Betrayed Anne Frank? Part One : r/UnresolvedMysteries - Reddit Please enter valid email address to continue. The eight people in hiding did not trust him, and often felt suspicious of him. For decades suspicion centred on a man called Willem Van Maaren, who worked in the warehouse attached to the Franks' hiding place. All Rights Reserved. That, Ms Lee suggests, is more likely to have been a man called Maarten Kuiper, who made a living from the betrayal of Jews and who moved into Ahlers' flat with him the day before the raid. Unlike other news outlets, we havent put up a paywall. A long-held theory proposed that a new employee at her fathers business, Willem van Maaren, tipped off the Nazis. "We can never be just Dutch, or just English, or whatever, we will always be Jews as well. (public domain), Author Joop van Wijk with the biography of his mother, Bep Voskuijl (courtesy), Bep Voskuijl, lower right, with Otto Frank (middle) and the other Dutch helpers in October, 1945 (public domain), Nelly Voskuijl during World War II (courtesy: Joop van Wijk), View of the secret annex with its blacked out windows at the renovated Anne Frank House Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, Nov. 21, 2018 (AP Photo/Peter Dejong), The Secret Annex in which Anne Frank wrote her diary, Amsterdam, January 2017 (Matt Lebovic/The Times of Israel), Otto Frank and Bep Voskuijl in 1978 (courtesy: Joop van Wijk), Anne Franks hiding place bedroom during the 1950s (left) and her restored bedroom at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam today (Matt Lebovic/The Times of Israel), Exterior of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, November 2014 (Matt Lebovic/The Times of Israel). There were two separate official investigations into who may have betrayed the family: one in 1947-1948 and the second (conducted by the Dutch police) in 1963-1964. A long-held theory proposed that a new employee at her father's business, Willem van Maaren, tipped off the Nazis. Clearly, the museums report concludes, the last word about that fateful summer day in 1944 has not yet been said.. The case was reopened in 1963 after Austrian Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal located Silberbauer in the Vienna police force. Many experts believe that someone alerted Nazi authorities to the hiding place of Frank and her family, but the culprit has never been determined. You have reached your limit of free articles. Among those captured was Anne Frank, a 15-year-old schoolgirl who had spent over two years living in the cramped safehouse with her parents and older sister. He stole goods and was generally considered dishonest. In 1963, the National Police Internal Investigation Department investigated the raid. Per the New York Times Alexandra Jacobs, the team drew on a combination of big data and artificial intelligence analysis, old-fashioned shoe-leather reporting, interviews, and archival research to narrow down the pool of suspects. In several investigations after the war, Van Maaren was the prime suspect for the betrayal of Anne Frank; however Van Maaren publicly denied he was responsible. The burglars managed to take two cash boxes containing forty guilders, blank giro and bank cheques, and coupons for 150 kilograms of sugar. Among other theories the Anne Frank House investigated was a 2016reportthat suggests no one was, in fact, responsible for leaking to the Nazis. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/20) and Ars Technica Addendum (effective 8/21/2018). The researchers also investigated the theory, first raised by scholars at the Anne Frank House in 2016, that the SS discovered the hiding place by chance while searching the warehouse for evidence of illegal work and ration coupon fraud. Per BBC, he wasn't deported and had lost his Jewish identity during the war. Apparently, the burglars were still about. In Anne's diary it becomes clear that the Annex occupants also did not trust him. Later, when father Johan Voskuijl and sister Bep were involved in hiding Jews on the Prinsengracht, Nelly was working for the Nazis across town. Cookie Settings, NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Five Places Where You Can Still Find Gold in the United States, Scientists Taught Pet Parrots to Video Call Each Otherand the Birds Loved It, Balto's DNA Provides a New Look at the Intrepid Sled Dog, The Science of California's 'Super Bloom,' Visible From Space, What We're Still Learning About Rosalind Franklins Unheralded Brilliance. Nelly knew that Bep and her father were helping Jews. According to the researchers, the German Sicherheitsdienst police who discovered the family usually investigated cases involving cash and securities, not Jews in hiding. Kugler and Kleiman were also arrested and held at a penal camp for "enemies of the regime.". (Amsterdam: NIOD, 2003). Argumentative Essay: Who Betrayed The Franks | ipl.org Van Wijk had always been told Nelly did not return to the Netherlands until the end of 1944 or early in 1945 after the betrayal of the annex. The book by Carol Ann Lee, a British author living in Amsterdam, says the likely informant was a former business associate of Otto Frank, Anne's father. Stockroom manager Willem van Maaren was another suspect, and since several possible culprits knew each other, there is also the possibility that more than one person betrayed the Frank family. The diary was given to Anne on her 13th birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. The case. When they returned to the Annex, they found the pages of Anne's diary strewn across the floor, and the duo decided to preserve it for posterity. One of the reasons his aunt has been overlooked by past investigators, believes Van Wijk, involves his familys darkest secret. Fox on Parkinson's, and maintaining optimism, Bruce Springsteen on "Nebraska," and the emergence of Springsteen the poet, Michael J. Instead, the groups arrest could have been a tragic accident. The helpers worked in the office above the warehouse. The book, released in English yesterday, points the finger of blame at a man called Anton Ahlers, a business associate of Otto's and a committed Nazi. First, fingers were pointed at Willem van Maaren, who worked in a warehouse below where the Jews were hidden by coworkers of Otto Frank, Anne's father. The authors suspicions were deepened during interviews he conducted for the biography. Barnouw, the historian, said the blackmail supposition is thin. There are no indications that Willem, or the other warehouse workers, knew that there were people in hiding in the building. Despite two investigations into his . But despite suspicions, there was no conclusive evidence van Maaren betrayed the family. But isn't it even riskier to leave things as they are?. . believe the most likely culprit is a local Jewish leader named Arnold van den Bergh. Retired FBI agent has new theory about who betrayed Anne Frank's family Not even the arresting officer questioned after the war by Simon Wiesenthal, the Austrian Nazi hunter, could say who the caller was and investigators are convinced that no written record of the caller's identity exists. So the team has enlisted the Amsterdam-based data company Xomnia to develop algorithms that will analyze the documents, andperhapsreveal connections that have never been noticed before. This deterioration took place around the period in which a call was made to Gestapo headquarters by a young woman it was later claimed to inform on the Frank familys hiding place. Ars may earn compensation on sales from links on this site. On this page we distinguish the facts from the unproven theories and the absolute falsehoods. The time will come when we will be people again and not just Jews! Meilan Solly Anne was especially sorry about the latter, because it would be difficult to replace that many coupons. "Otto Frank was of no more use to him in that sense, so he betrayed them," Lee said in the television interview. Fox on Parkinson's, and maintaining optimism If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. "After the play and the book, Otto Frank was kind of like a saint. They asked SD chief Willy Lages whether it was common for his former service to jump to action upon receiving a telephone tip-off about people in hiding. A New Study Suggests Nobody Did. "We are interested, that's for sure," said David Barnouw, a researcher and spokesman of the government-financed historical institute. In that statement we indicated the need for further research. Summer of 1933. . A new book suggests the informant may have been a business associate of Anne's father, the only family member to survive World War II. Who betrayed the Franks and why? It has been proven beyond doubt, says Ms Lee, that Ahlers knew where the Franks were hiding and even his own family believe that he is the traitor. In Van Wijks assessment, there is no doubt Nelly knew about the Jews in hiding. Terms of Use Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. One of the people who has been most often scrutinized as the potential betrayer is Wilhelm van Maaren, a worker in the warehouse building where the Franks hid. Experts have discovered, for instance, the identity of a person who betrayed at least one other family to the Nazis. The Subdistrict Court dismissed the . "However, after Otto Frank went into hiding, Tonny Ahlers was out doing other things in different parts of the city. A 2015 biography of Bep Voskuijl (co-authored by her son Joop) suggested that one of Bep's sisters, Nelly, may have snitched on the Franks. Please try again or choose an option below. And probably wasn't capable of betrayal, because had he betrayed the annex, he knew that he would end up losing his job." The most believable suspect was Arnold van den Bergh, a prominent Jewish businessman in the city who lived a lavish life during the holocaust.
Decision At Sundown Statue Blurred,
Adjectives To Describe Starr Carter,
Michigan High School Wrestling Team Rankings 2022,
Schumann Resonance Today,
Safiya Nygaard House Address,
Articles W