why did willem van maaren betray the franksstaff toolbox uca
The diary was given to Anne on her 13th birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. All the more so because betrayal was never established beyond a doubt. For decades suspicion centred on a man called Willem Van Maaren, who worked in the warehouse attached to the Franks' hiding place. Ahlers said he believed his father received money from Frank, because the flow of funds stopped when Frank died in 1980. Privacy Statement Van Maaren pointed up the stairs, but the police already seemed to know exactly where to go. Per BBC, he wasn't deported and had lost his Jewish identity during the war. During the day we always have to walk quietly and speak softly, the people in the warehouse mustnt hear us, Anne wrote in her diary (11 July 1942). It claims that Ahlers - then a 26-year- old petty thief - had fallen on hard times by 1944 and desperately needed the bounty paid to Dutch civilians who exposed Jews in their midst. Bruce Springsteen on "Nebraska," and the emergence of Springsteen the poet "He may have got money for it. He found Voskuijl in a desperate state with a mouthful of sleeping pills. She made him keep the episode their secret, he wrote. The eight people in hiding did not trust him, and often felt suspicious of him. They also believe their work in solving this decades-old cold case resonates today. ", Ms Lee is also cautious but believes the secret of who shopped Anne Frank is there to be unearthed. Otto, for his part, never publicly named van den Bergh, who died in 1950, as the informant. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Wertheim spoke with Vince Pankoke, a retired FBI agent. Nevertheless, Lee's book "is interesting because it takes a more balanced view of Otto Frank," Barnouw said. Suddenly, a passer-by used a flashlight to take a look inside. "I think he actually made the call. #inline-recirc-item--id-a4ef05fe-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { Immediately after the war, Willem van Maaren was the only suspect in the investigation into the raid of the Secret Annex by the Sicherheitsdienst. He was the warehouse manager as well as the father of Bep, who worked in the office and was one of the helpers. On August 4, 1944, police in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam raided a warehouse and arrested eight Jews who were hiding in an annex disguised behind a bookcase. 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. It was clear that Tonny Ahlers had no knowledge that Otto Frank and the others were hiding in the annex.". But Anne was not yet famous and staff were overworked. Fox on Parkinson's and how he finds "optimism is sustainable" Ed Sheeran plays guitar in court in bid to show he didn't steal Marvin Gaye song The case against Ahlers fell apart, Pankoke told Wertheim, when it came to knowledge. Two Dutch police inquiries and countless historians have come up with theories, but no firm conclusion. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { Were they betrayed? Jennifer Ouellette Ars may earn compensation on sales from links on this site. He and his team spent five years poring over every bit of pertinent material, setting up an extensive online database, and developing an AI program to help them sift through it all and find new connections. He vehemently denied any involvement and said that Victor Kugler had known about the pieces of wood and other things. Retired FBI agent has new theory about who betrayed Anne Frank's family We dont have 100 percent certainty. 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. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. 2023, A&E Television Networks, LLC. Your Privacy Rights At one point, Kugler was prepared to end his marriage in order to move to South America with Voskuijl, but she did not want to wreck their marriage. 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.". This theory holds that the officers just happened to stumble upon the Jewish families hiding in the attic. Van Maaren was suspicious and would set "traps" to . The people in hiding did not sleep a wink for the rest of the night. For decades suspicion centred on a man called Willem Van Maaren, who worked in the warehouse attached to the Franks' hiding place. The subject is still being researched. For example, it is certain that two representatives from whom the helpers bought illegal coupons were arrested for black marketeering. Kremer's father was an acquaintance ofVan Dijk in Amsterdam and Kremer writes that in early August 1944, his father overheardVan Dijkspeaking about Prinsengracht, where the Franks were hiding, in Nazi offices. Your California Privacy Rights | Do Not Sell My Personal Information Cookie Policy You must not mark someone down in history as the betrayer of Anne Frank if you dont have conclusive evidence for this., the Anne Frank House in 2016 reinvestigated the raid, People in hiding in the occupied Netherlands. When Frank returned from Auschwitz in 1945, having lost his wife and two daughters, he may have feared his company would be confiscated if his prewar business with Germany became known. That same week, the Franks were arrestedwhile Van Dijk was away in the Hague. The involvement of Van Dijk, who was executed in 1948 after admitting to collaborating in the capture of 145 people, had been previously claimed. }. The second theory, put forward by Austrian writer Melissa Mller, has a cleaning lady in the warehouse, Lena Hartog, as the traitor. However, the two new theories, painstakingly researched by a British and an Austrian author, and presented in separate books, have raised hopes once again and the NIWD is about to discover whether either of the scenarios stands up to close scrutiny.