3. On a warm summer day in 1944, four German and Dutch security police pulled up to the warehouse at 263 Prinsengracht and asked the employee, Willem Van Maaren, where the Jews were hiding. Previous theories were based on Otto Frank's suspicions, which centered on Willem van Maaren, a new employee who hadn't been let in on the secret about the hiding place. Shortly after World War II ended, Otto Frank suggested that the culprit was Willem van Maaren, a warehouse employee who was not in on the secret. But the evidence against Van Maaren was again inconclusive, and he died in 1971 professing his innocence. More than once he has put flour on the floor to get footprints. “We suspected him all along,” Frank told a Dutch newspaper in 1963. Anne wrote about it in her diary and attributed negative qualifications to him. On a warm summer day in 1944, four German and Dutch security police pulled up to the warehouse at 263 Prinsengracht and asked the employee, Willem Van Maaren, where the Jews were hiding. He set small traps in the building, to find out whether people were entering the building at night or not. He points towards the staircase. In the article, it states, "he stole goods," proving Van Maaren was dishonest and untrustworthy and likes to keep/have money. Otto Frank believed for a long time that his family was betrayed by Willem van Maaren, a recently hired employee who was not privy to the secret behind the bookcase. ", Barnouw told The Associated Press he and another colleague will review old files and testimony for new revelations. 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. For decades suspicion centred on a man called Willem Van Maaren, who worked in the warehouse attached to the Franks' hiding place. Barnouw, the historian, said the blackmail supposition is thin. Another suspect is stockroom manager Willem van Maaren. Most were gassed with brutal assembly-line efficiency. (Van Maaren is later one of the people suspected of having betrayed the Franks and the others.) It probably never will be. The Franks decided in the summer of 1933 to leave Germany and move to the Netherlands because of Germanys growing tensions. The story also stated that he was a stockroom manager which is what Mr.Frank did. 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. He points towards the staircase. Van Maaren later helped Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl to rescue the diary papers and manuscripts of Anne Frank. On a warm summer day in 1944, four German and Dutch security police pulled up to the warehouse at 263 Prinsengracht and asked the employee, Willem Van Maaren, where the Jews were hiding. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC from 1971 to 1978 as one of the rotating programs of The NBC Mystery Movie. managed the warehouse from 1943, maybe the person who turned the franks in. It's been such a long time, and most of the people who knew are dead.". For decades, Anne's father, Otto, tried to figure out who tipped off the Nazis. In this book, he's much more flesh and blood.". Willem Gerardus van Maaren (August 10, 1895- November 28, 1971) was the person most often suggested as the betrayer of Anne Frank. COVID-19 after one year: What will the future bring? Willem van Maaren was the traitor. He points towards the staircase. A new enquiry 20 years later again found no evidence to link him. Ahlers had so much information on Otto Frank. Two other plausible suspects emerged over the years: Lena van Bladeren-Hartog (died 1963) and Tonny Ahlers (1917 - 2000). However, after several investigations, the final conclusion was that there was no conclusive evidence about who the original betrayer was. From the start, he used to steal products from the warehouse and at one stage he started to suspect there was something about the Secret Annex. In 1946, Frank and his helpers expressed their suspicions against Willem van Maaren, who had begun working in the company warehouse in March 1943. "They were friends. bbc. Certainly, Maarten Kuiper received money for the betrayals he made.". His sly nature meant everyone started to dislike him and Anne openly criticized him in her diary. After Lee's book was published, Ahlers' son was quoted as saying he was convinced her theory is true. Otto Frank believed for a long time that his family was betrayed by Willem van Maaren, a recently hired employee who was not privy to the secret behind the bookcase. First, fingers were pointed at Willem van Maaren, who worked in a warehouse below where the Jews were hidden by coworkers of Otto Frank, … After 761 days living in hiding in claustrophobic conditions, the Gestapo came to round up the eight residents of the secret annex in August 1944. List of people associated with Anne Frank, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wilhelm_van_Maaren&oldid=994415562, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 15 December 2020, at 16:33. Historians made no further headway. Van Maaren joined as warehouse manager for Opekta in the building at 263 Prinsengracht in the spring of 1943, just after Johannes Hendrik Voskuijl, the previous manager, was admitted to the hospital for terminal cancer. Previous theories were based on Otto Frank's suspicions, which centered on Willem van Maaren, a new employee who hadn't been let in on the secret about the hiding place. "After the play and the book, Otto Frank was kind of like a saint. The warehouse foreman, Willem van Maaren, is suspicious enough as it is. But two police investigations - one immediately after the war and another in the 1960s - turned up nothing and Van Maaren died in 1971 professing his innocence. (Van Maaren is later one of the people suspected of having betrayed the Franks and the others.) Tonny Ahlers, a member of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB), was suspected of being the informant by Carol Ann Lee, biographer of Otto Frank. None of the office workers, including Miep Gies and Victor Kugler, liked Van Maaren. Lee says among the four men who raided the Prinsengracht warehouse on Aug. 4, 1944, was Maarten Kuiper, a Dutch policeman who was a friend of Ahlers. Stockroom manager Willem van Maaren was suspected of the betrayal for many years, although he never sided with the Nazis. After work begins at 8:30 in the warehouse below, they can't make a sound. "Everyone, including his own family, condemned him as distinctly anti-Jewish and a thoroughly unpleasant character.". For decades suspicion centred on a man called Willem van Maaren, who worked in the warehouse attached to the Franks' hiding place. Albert Hackett (1900-1995) ... willem van maaren. (Van Maaren is later one of the people suspected of having betrayed the Franks and the others.) None of the office workers, including Miep Gies and Victor Kugler, liked Van Maaren. Van Maaren joined as warehouse manager for Opekta in the building at 263 Prinsengracht in the spring of 1943, just after Johannes Hendrik Voskuijl, the previous manager, was admitted to the hospital for terminal cancer. The Franks were liberal Jews, and did not observe all of the customs and traditions of Judaism. Willem van Maaren was the traitor, he was reported by Frank and his helpers as the possible traitor to the police but police investigations in 1946 and far later when Silberbaur was found, but no evidence was found for this. Where did Anne Frank take refuge? Miep later said: ‘Later, Bep and I went upstairs to the Franks' bedrooms. Keeping this in view, why did the Franks move to Holland? Frank was born Annelies or Anneliese Marie Frank on 12 June 1929 at the Maingau Red Cross Clinic in Frankfurt, Germany, to Edith (née Holländer) and Otto Heinrich Frank.She had an older sister, Margot. However it seems that he was caught by the police for some other crime he had committed and to gain some leeway he told the police about someone hiding in the office he broke into It was the police who found the Franks and not the Germans, they have been in hiding over 2 years and were betrayed by another dutchman who did not know they were jews and hiding. First published in English in 1952 as "The Diary of a Young Girl" and later as a stage play and film, her story made her a symbol both of the Holocaust and of Dutch bravery. Now, about 72 years later, the world may have an answer to the mystery: Maybe nobody betrayed them at all. He set small traps in the building, to find out whether people were entering the building at night or not. But despite suspicions, there was no conclusive evidence van Maaren betrayed the family. For decades suspicion centred on a man called Willem Van Maaren, who worked in the warehouse attached to the Franks' hiding place. A number of workers at the Frank premises came under investigation after the war. "There's no doubt he did it," Anton Ahlers Jr. told the Volkskrant newspaper. No one knows for sure who betrayed the Frank family and the other Jews in hiding with them or if in fact they were betrayed. (Van Maaren is later one of the people suspected of having betrayed the Franks and the others.) Van Maaren suspects people are hiding in the building after he saw a cat bowl had been mysteriously refilled with water. A warehouse employee. They were not allowed to flush the toilets or … He points towards the staircase. first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. In 1963, Otto Frank told a Dutch newspaper: “We suspected him all along.” They lived in an assimilated community of Jewish and non-Jewish citizens of various religions. And they wait. Van Maaren was suspicious and would set “traps” to discover anyone in the office after hours. He had previously asked questions about the Annex and tried in many ways to see if there was anyone who had entered the building after closing hours. The proof is not final. Hours earlier, Karl Josef Silberbauer, the Austrian commander of the squad, received a phone call from the head of the Amsterdam security police who said eight Jews were hiding in the warehouse. Lee said Ahlers probably decided to tip off the authorities after his own company slid into bankruptcy and he no longer needed to do business with Frank's company. The Secret Annex was situated in the back part of 263 Prinsengracht. In 1963, Otto Frank told a Dutch newspaper: “We suspected him all along.” Answer:yes, he was a traitor and a looser Do you think Willem van Maaren betrayed the Franks More than once he has put flour on the floor to get footprints. w.c. bathroom. He stole goods and was generally considered dishonest. The Germans were paying a bounty of 40 guilders per head, which was "a large amount in those days," she said. In reality, what was the moment like? Van Maaren spent much of his time trying to find out who lived in the building next-door. For decades, Anne's father, Otto, tried to figure out who tipped off the Nazis. And the receiver of the phone call, Nazi officer Julius Dettman, committed suicide after the German surrender, taking any answers he had regarding the phone call with him. Who was the second suspect (1963), and what was his background? A petty thief and unsavory braggart, Van Maaren was investigated shortly after the war, but nothing was proved. He stole goods and was generally considered dishonest." 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. A number of workers at the Frank premises came under investigation after the war. Anne died of typhus in Bergen-Belsen in the spring of 1945, just weeks before the camp was liberated. Some time after the arrest, helpers Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl went to the Secret Annex with Willem van Maaren. The annex was in the upstairs part of the Amsterdam building. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.  In 1947, Otto Frank and the helpers filed a complaint against him with the political police on suspicion of betrayal. The business continued to operate while the Franks were in hiding, although it apparently was no longer trading with the Germans. 4. © 2002 The Associated Press. “We suspected him all along,” Frank told a Dutch newspaper in 1963. 4. ‘My aunt might have betrayed Anne Frank,’ writes son of Secret Annex helper ... Van Wijk learned that Nelly did far more than engage in flirtations with German soldiers. The Franks were liberal Jews, and did not observe all of the customs and traditions of Judaism. Now, Broek contests that the Franks weren’t betrayed at all. On August 4, 1944, the Jews hiding in the Secret Annex were arrested, although Van Maaren seemed puzzled at this. The people in hiding shared their suspicion, without knowing him or even having seen him. Shortly after World War II ended, Otto Frank suggested that the culprit was Willem van Maaren, a warehouse employee who was not in on the secret. Van Maaren spent much of his time trying to find out who lived in the building next-door. No one could go downstairs. In 1946, Frank and his helpers expressed their suspicions against Willem van Maaren, who had begun working in the company warehouse in March 1943. For more than 20 years, employee Van Maaren was the main suspect. No one knows for sure who betrayed the Frank family and the other Jews in hiding with them or if in fact they were betrayed. Anne Frank in 1941. AD Van Maaren pointed up the stairs, but the police already seemed to know exactly where to go. shamas. In 1963, Otto Frank told a Dutch newspaper: "We suspected him all along." Ahlers said he believed his father received money from Frank, because the flow of funds stopped when Frank died in 1980. Willem van Maaren, a warehouse manager, and a friend of Anne Frank’s father, Tony Ahlers, were questioned and scrutinized, but any potential witnesses to the incident had all passed away. Some time after the arrest, helpers Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl went to the Secret Annex with Willem van Maaren. Frank was born Annelies or Anneliese Marie Frank on 12 June 1929 at the Maingau Red Cross Clinic in Frankfurt, Germany, to Edith (née Holländer) and Otto Heinrich Frank.She had an older sister, Margot. But Barnouw said Lee's case sounded credible enough for the institute to reopen its investigation into the betrayal. Historians’ theories were based on Otto Frank’s suspicions, which centered on Willem van Maaren, a new employee who hadn’t been let in on the secret about the hiding place. "I think he actually made the call. It has never been conclusively proven who betrayed the Frank family, however the investigation ans subsequent inquiries over the years has come up with 3 names. Previous theories were based on Otto Frank's suspicions, which centered on Willem van Maaren, a new employee who hadn't been let in on the secret about the hiding place. Miep later said: ‘Later, Bep and I went upstairs to the Franks' bedrooms. light used to light the menorah. Anne Frank Otto Frank Edith Frank Margot Frank Miep Gies Mr. Kraler Mr. Dussel Peter Van Daan Mrs. Van Daan Mr. Van Daan. The German-born Frank, who moved to Holland in 1933, ran a spice-trading company that sold goods to the Wehrmacht, the German army. The enduring mystery of the Anne Frank story is, who betrayed her to the Nazis? Previous theories were based on Otto Frank's suspicions, which centered on Willem van Maaren, a new employee who hadn't been let in on the secret about the hiding place. Due to the lack of evidence the process was stopped, but opened again in the 1960s. Lee says Ahlers not only turned in the Frank family, but may have blackmailed Otto Frank for years after the war, receiving payment for his silence about Frank's business with Nazi Germany at the beginning of World War II. "Otto Frank was of no more use to him in that sense, so he betrayed them," Lee said in the television interview. No evidence was found. Willem van Maaren was one of the warehouse staff. Copyright © 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. The Annex occupants did not trust him, as he seemed inquisitive regarding people entering the stockroom after hours. And there we saw Anne’s diary papers all over the floor.’ There have been numerous theories as to who betrayed them to the authorities (one of the main suspect was Willem van Maaren… Van Maaren was suspicious and would set "traps" to discover anyone in the office after hours. Now, a biographer of Anne Frank has published a new theory which has intrigued the nation and revived a dark chapter in Dutch history - the failure to protect Jewish citizens from the genocidal Nazis. His sly nature meant everyone started to dislike him and Anne openly criticized him in her diary. One Gestapo man … Amsterdam, Holland. The warehouse foreman, Willem van Maaren, is suspicious enough as it is. He also was distrustful of the Ahlers family, saying they simply may be seeking notoriety. The building next-door was actually the rear section of the building where the Opekta offices were situated. "He may have got money for it. (Willem Van Maaren) In the play, the day the occupants in the Secret Annex were discovered, the Gestapo pounded the door and broke into the Annex. “We suspected him all along,” Frank told a Dutch newspaper in 1963. ", Patricia Bosboom, of the Anne Frank Foundation which maintains the house where Anne hid, said Lee's theory was plausible, "but it's still only a theory. Playwright 1. Another suspect is stockroom manager Willem van Maaren. Around May or June 1944, Van Maaren informed his fellow worker, Lammert Hartog, that he knew that Jews were hiding in the building of 263 Prinsengracht. The Annex occupants did not trust him, as he seemed inquisitive regarding people entering the stockroom after hours. Rather than look for who betrayed them, he contests, historians should look at why the August 4, 1944, raid took place. His predecessor Johan Voskuijl knew about the people in hiding and had made the famed bookcase, but due to a serious illness had to stop working. 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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. I think he got the information from Ahlers," Lee said. "I looked at his files in The Hague because after the war he was convicted of betraying people and he was jailed," Lee said in an interview for a Dutch television documentary. In reality who was suspected to have betrayed the people in the Secret Annex? Around the time of the investigation into the … Anne's diary papers were still scattered on the floor. The helpers did not trust warehouse worker Willem van Maaren. Tonny Ahlers, a member of the National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB), was suspected of being the informant by Carol Ann Lee, biographer of Otto Frank. Historians’ theories were based on Otto Frank’s suspicions, which centered on Willem van Maaren, a new employee who hadn’t been let in on the secret about the hiding place. For decades suspicion centred on a man called Willem Van Maaren, who worked in the warehouse attached to the Franks' hiding place. Historians’ theories were based on Otto Frank’s suspicions, which centered on Willem van Maaren, a new employee who hadn’t been let in on the secret about the hiding place. But despite suspicions, there was no … "There's no smoking gun, and the theory has too many loose ends," he said. Otto Frank was certain someone had betrayed his family, and he reserved his greatest suspicion for Willem van Maaren, a new warehouse worker, who replaced the trusted Johan Voskuijl, who had built the bookcase hiding the room. Source: Anne Frank Fonds. The Netherlands Institute for War Documentation, the researchers who published the authoritative version the diary and the caretaker of the Frank papers, said Ahlers had not been a suspect until Lee started probing his background for her book, "The Hidden Life of Otto Frank," published in March. Lee "has no proof, but I can imagine this was the case. It would be easy to give themselves away. His predecessor Johan Voskuijl knew about the people in hiding and had made the famed bookcase, but due to a serious illness had to stop working. Some of the rules were that during the office hours in the building, those in the annex had to stay very quiet and avoid walking around. On a warm summer day in 1944, four German and Dutch security police pulled up to the warehouse at 263 Prinsengracht and asked the employee, Willem Van Maaren, where the Jews were hiding. His name was Anton Ahlers. He set small traps in the building, to find out whether people were e… On this day in history August 4, 1944, the Nazi Gestapo captured Anne Frank and her family, an d fellow Jews, the van Pels family and Fritz Pfeiffer all of whom were hiding at Otto Frank’s office building 263 Prinsengracht in Amsterdam in a Secret Annex above the offices. Anne and her family hid for 25 months in a canal-side warehouse in central Amsterdam, where the teen-ager wrote her thoughts, yearnings and descriptions of life in the cramped annex into notebooks. Before a light breakfast at nine, they occupy themselves as quietly as possible, reading or studying, sewing or knitting. All Rights Reserved. Van Maaren was later the subject of multiple investigations related to the betrayal—including one by famed Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal—but he always maintained his innocence, and none of the cases ever produced any … However, inquiries conducted after the war did not turn up any evidence that he was the betrayer. (Van Maaren is later one of the people suspected of having betrayed the Franks and the others.) The case was reopened in 1963 after Austrian Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal located Silberbauer in the Vienna police force. "The Betrayal" was super interesting . Willem van Maaren was the traitor, he was reported by Frank and his helpers as the possible traitor to the police but police investigations in 1946 and far later when Silberbaur was found, but no evidence was found for this. Previous theories were based on Otto Frank's suspicions, which centered on Willem van Maaren, a new employee who hadn't been let in on the secret … Willem van Maaren died in Amsterdam on November 28, 1971. [1][2][3] (See Betrayal of Anne Frank.). He points towards the staircase. It has never been conclusively proven who betrayed the Frank family, however the investigation ans subsequent inquiries over the years has come up with 3 names. In Anne's diary it becomes clear that the Annex occupants also did not trust him. On Aug. 4, 1944, Anne Frank, 15, was arrested along with her sister, parents and four other people after they had spent two years hiding from the Nazis in … More than 100,000 Dutch Jews - 70 percent of the community - were deported to concentration camps in Germany. I think the person who betrayed Anne Frank was Willem van Maaren because he was not very truthful and it was possible for him to have obtained information of the Frank's whereabouts. Anne's diary papers were still scattered on the floor. Shortly after World War II ended, Otto Frank suggested that the culprit was Willem van Maaren, a warehouse employee who was not in on the secret. One Gestapo man … ... Willem van Maaren. Nevertheless, Lee's book "is interesting because it takes a more balanced view of Otto Frank," Barnouw said. "Sometimes you can go through the same material with fresh eyes. Anne Frank and her family were also denied entry as refugees to the U.S. "We are interested, that's for sure," said David Barnouw, a researcher and spokesman of the government-financed historical institute. There are some reasons to why this person is guilty. " Maarten Kuiper was one of the major betrayers of Jews in hiding during that time.". In the Spring of 1933 Otto Frank opened a Dutch branch of Opekta-Werke, a company that made pectin that is used in making jam. (Van Maaren is later one of the people suspected of having betrayed the Franks and the others.) 3. In the late 1940 Otto Frank's warehouse man Willem Van Maaren was under the investigations. Anne, her sister and parents, were caught in the two-story annex with Hermann van Pels, who had worked in Frank's company, with van Pels' wife and teen-age son, and with Friedrich Pfeffer, a dentist. The first was a warehouseman named Willem Van Maaren who was suspected in 1947 but no evidence was found. Van Maaren suspects people are hiding in the building after he saw a cat bowl had been mysteriously refilled with water. (Van Maaren is later one of the people suspected of having betrayed the Franks and the others.) But two police investigations - one immediately after the war and another in the 1960s - turned up nothing and Van Maaren died in 1971 professing his innocence. Meghan and Harry on being snubbed by queen, how race plays role in royal family, Here's what the CDC says fully vaccinated people can do, Jury selection paused in Derek Chauvin trial, College student dead after alleged alcohol-fueled hazing episode, Biden to give primetime address to honor pandemic anniversary, Daniel Prude's kids allege "attempted cover-up" in his death, GOP Senator Roy Blunt won't run for reelection in 2022, Supreme Court spurns last of Trump's election-related challenges, MacKenzie Scott marries science teacher after Bezos divorce, Fauci says vaccine supply will "dramatically" increase in weeks ahead, Gottlieb says variant may cause cases to "tick back up" but surge unlikely. From the start, he used to steal products from the warehouse and at one stage he started to suspect there was something about the Secret Annex. And there we saw Anne’s diary papers all over the floor.’ 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. 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. They lived in an assimilated community of Jewish and non-Jewish citizens of various religions. The person I believe to have betrayed the Secret Annex would have to be Willem van Maaren. A long-held theory proposed that a new employee at her father’s business, Willem van Maaren, tipped off the Nazis.