Dutch Publisher Withdraws Widely-Panned Book on Anne Frank After Historians Dismiss ‘Amateurish’ Research Claiming Jewish Official Betrayed Her Family
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by Algemeiner Staff
Photos of Anne Frank are seen at the Anne Frank House museum in Amsterdam. Photo: Reuters/Eva Plevier
The Dutch publisher of a much-criticized book claiming that the teenage Jewish diarist Anne Frank was betrayed to the Nazis by a Dutch Jewish official has withdrawn the title from circulation.
Published in January, the book — “The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation” — concluded that Anne was betrayed to the Nazis by Arnold van den Bergh, a Jewish notary. However, leading historians of the Holocaust in the Netherlands subsequently dismissed the finding, pointing out that van den Bergh had himself been in hiding in the village of Laaren, near Amsterdam, when the Frank family was betrayed in Aug. 1944.
A related claim — that van den Bergh had obtained the address of the Franks’ hiding place because he had access to letters sent by Jews incarcerated in the Westerbork concentration camp to their relatives — was similarly dispensed with. According to Bart van der Boom, a historian at the University of Leiden, the letters were sent by camp censors directly to the recipients, and not through the Jewish Council on which van den Bergh served.
Wednesday’s decision by Dutch publisher Ambo Anthos to withdraw the book came on the heels of a damning 69-page critique of the book by a team of Dutch historians. The historians described the original research for the book as “amateurish,” emphasizing that there was “no serious evidence for this grave accusation.” The publisher has now withdrawn the book from distribution and asked bookshops to return their stocks. Ambo Anthos had suspended printing of the book in January after questions were raised concerning its veracity.
The team behind the book nonetheless stood by their original research, though they stressed that their conclusion about van den Bergh had not been definitive.
“Our theory is a theory and nothing more,” chief investigator Pieter van Twisk told Dutch news agency ANP.
The book remains on sale in the United States, however, carrying the imprint of publishing behemoth Harper Collins. The publisher, which is owned by News Corp., has yet to make a public statement on whether it will continue selling the book given its withdrawal from stores in the Netherlands.
Among those calling on Harper Collins to withdraw the book in the US was the national director emeritus of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Abraham Foxman.
“To the president and CEO of Harper Collins — as a previously published author by you, and as a Holocaust survivor, I ask with respect for you and for historical truth to please suspend the publication and distribution of your recent book ‘The Betrayal of Anne Frank’,” Foxman tweeted on Tuesday.
