Anne Frank and her family may not have been betrayed to the Nazis by informers after all. This according to new research revealed by the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam.
People have been wondering for more than 70 years how exactly the German occupiers in Holland found out that Anne Frank, her family and others were hiding in a secret room behind a movable bookcase in the attic of 263 Prinsengracht, Amsterdam. The most popular theory has been that thieves who broke into the factory below one night overheard the people upstairs and later reported them to the police.
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If you have ever seen any of the many movies based on “The Diary of Anne Frank” then you know that the Franks had to remain quiet during the day so that the workers below would not hear them. Then one night they heard noises from below and thought that someone heard them. So for decades many have believed that whoever it was that may have broken into the factory later informed on them.
Now it seems that the eight Jews who were in hiding were simply the victims of bad luck. Apparently, Nazi authorities only searched the building because they were looking for ration book counterfeiters.
Ronald Leopold, Executive Director Anne Frank House, said, “Despite decades of research, betrayal as a point of departure has delivered nothing conclusive. The Anne Frank House’s new investigation does not refute the possibility that the people in hiding were betrayed, but illustrates that other scenarios should also be considered. Hopefully more researchers will see reason to follow up new leads.”
We may never know the truth behind how Anne Frank and the other seven Jews were finally discovered. But this new information may be the most likely explanation.
