Book on Anne Frank’s supposed traitor taken off the market

Publisher Ambo Anthos takes the controversial book off the market that identifies the notary Arnold van den Bergh as the traitor of the Frank family.

Damn it! We were so excited when a team of researchers first claimed they found the traitor that gave the address of the Frank family’s hiding place to the Nazis.

However, mere weeks after the publication of the book The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation, critiques called out significant mistakes and gaps in the research.

Now, the book is officially taken off the Dutch market, reports RTL Nieuws.

False assumptions

The theory relies heavily on a few assumptions. First, the book suggests that members of the Jewish Council had access to lists with addresses of hiding places in Amsterdam.

Arnold Van den Bergh was a member of the Jewish Council and the researchers assume that he gave the list to the Nazis to save himself and his own family.

A follow-up research report now draws the existence of such lists and the role of the Jewish Council into question.

The report also argues that van den Bergh did not have to save his family by collaborating with the Nazis because he was in hiding himself during the time he supposedly passed on the Frank family’s address to collaborators.

Repercussions

Based on this report, publisher Ambo Anthos says: “Based on the conclusions of the report we have decided that the book is no longer available for delivery.”

At the moment, this only applies to the Dutch market. The book has been translated into 23 languages and is managed by different publishing houses.

The granddaughter of Van den Bergh, Mirjam De Gorter, is now pleading to the American publisher to follow suit and take the book off the market as well.

“With this story, you’re exploiting the fate of Anne Frank, falsifying history and contributing to great injustice,” says De Gorter.

Have you heard of this theory of Anne Frank’s supposed traitor? Tell us in the comments!

Feature Image: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain