4 – The Identity of the Person That Betrayed Anne Frank and Her Family
The Diary of a Young Girl is one of the most famous works of literature to come from World War II. It is a 2-year diary from the perspective of a teenage girl who was hiding from the Nazis with her family. The author’s name is Anne Frank, and she is one of the most discussed victims of the Holocaust. The Franks secreted themselves in hidden rooms behind a bookcase in the building where Anne’s father, Otto, worked in Amsterdam. They remained there from July 1942 until August 1944 when they were captured by the Gestapo. Anne and her sister Margot were transferred to a concentration camp in Bergen-Belsen, Germany. Anne died there in February or March 1945.
Historians have argued about the identity of the person who betrayed the Frank family and are no closer to reaching a consensus. On August 4, 1944, police raided the warehouse where the Franks were staying and arrested a total of eight Jews. How the police learned of the Jews concealed behind the bookcase has always been a mystery. There are a number of people suspected of betraying the occupants of the concealed room, but none of them have been definitively identified as the culprit.
According to Anton Ahlers, his anti-Semitic father Tonny was responsible. Tonny was a member of the Dutch Nazi Party and had found a letter that incriminated Otto Frank. Otto had expressed his doubts over a German victory to an acquaintance that wrote a letter outlining Otto’s thoughts and was intent on sending it to the Gestapo. Tonny found the letter and used to blackmail Otto. Perhaps Otto refused to pay more money and was betrayed?
Otto was the only member of the Frank family to survive the camps, and he believed the betrayer was a warehouse employee named Willem van Maaren. Van Maaren has always protested his innocence. Another suspect was Lena Hartog-van Bladeren who also worked at the warehouse.
Yet another theory suggests that no one betrayed Anne Frank and the others. The ‘Sicherheitsdienst’ police that found the fugitives normally investigated cases involving money; they certainly didn’t specialize in weeding out hidden Jews. As it transpired, the police were investigating reports of illegal employment and fake food ration cards. Their discovery of Anne and the others was completely unexpected. However, despite dozens of suspects and various theories, the mystery of who betrayed the Anne Frank and the other seven people (if anyone did) will probably remain unsolved forever.