The Betrayal of Anne Frank: Less a Mystery Unsolved Than a Secret Well Kept

I have only read about a few pages so far but it’s an interesting read. I read about this book and the controversy associated with it before I purchased it, so we can’t be sure if the conclusion in the book is historically correct or not. But if you are interested in the Holocaust, World War 2 or just Anne Frank’s story, this book might be something you like.UPDATE: Almost about to finish the book and I have loved it so far. The book does well when it comes to keeping you hooked. You never get bored and it offers great insight. You may have read several Holocaust accounts of survivors who were well known after the war. But this book has interviews of people you have never heard of, including relatives and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. We get to hear stories that were passed down in their families about the war. There’s so much in this book which probably isn’t available everywhere online. The conclusion is disputed as I have read in articles online, but everything else that leads to the conclusion in this book is nothing less than intriguing. If you are interested in World War II and the Holocaust, this is a must read.

An enlightening exposure to one of human history's most inhuman betrayals. The author is fully successful in her painstaking effort towards revealing to the reader this obscure chapter which will forever be a stigma upon our civilization. But Amazon too indulged in an inexplicable deception in the deal. I purchased the hardcover (hc) edition, priced at 550/-. But I was delivered the paperback ed., which, quite strangely, is costlier than the hc ed., priced at ₹ 1400+. I am at a loss whether I have gained or lost.

Good:Paper quality good.Print quality good.Bad:Poor packaging.I don't know why amazon sellers don't keep standard and quality packaging. I faced this manytimes.

Masterpiece book on Anne Frank!

What a truly sobering read. The diary of Anne Frank was heart breaking, but the rest of the story is even worse.The first part of this book talks about things the diary does not: the desperation of other Jews as they struggled to find shelter for their families, the deep network of informants dedicated to ‘hunting’ Jews for bounty (either through spies or by pretending to be a hiding space and creating a ‘Jew trap’), the incredibly difficult decisions Anne’s father, Otto Frank had to make and the consequences he had to live with, what happened after Anne’s family was caught by the Nazis, and the sheer evil that attacked the Jews, dehumanising them, turning them against each other, and using their own money to fund their persecution.The second part of the book focuses on a previously long-term cold case: who betrayed Anne Frank? This book documents the five-year search for the truth and the startling discoveries made along the way.Overall, this was a very compelling read, though very emotionally heavy – it will leave you stunned at the depths humanity can sink to, but also acts as a powerful warning that we must never allow such a world to exist again.

A WHODUNNIT LIKE NO OTHERTHE BETRAYAL OF ANNE FRANK – A Cold Case Investigation by ROSEMARY SULLIVANOn July 6th, 1942, to avoid being rounded up like other Jews and deported to concentration camps, Otto Frank, and his family along with four others, went into hiding in a secret annex. The details of their concealment and forced isolation were faithfully recorded in a journal by a teenage Anne Frank and published after the war as “The Diary of a Young Girl.”Anne’s moving story touched the hearts of people all over the world with more than thirty million people having read the book and countless others having known of it through the book’s adaptation for the theatre, cinema, and television. However, just a fraction of this number would have paused to ask themselves the question that after surviving the ordeal and being successfully hidden for twenty-five months, how were Anne and her family and the other four members of their group finally discovered by the Gestapo, arrested, and sent to concentration camps. Had someone been responsible for their discovery, blown their cover and betrayed them to the Germans?Over the years, several hypotheses had been put forward to provide an answer to this baffling question, but with no convincing or conclusive evidence or proof in support of the theories, the question continued to intrigue, perplex, and haunt both experts and members of the public alike. Then in 2017, with the aid of recently discovered documents, archives, and interviews with and statements of neighbours and descendants of the survivors, an international team of historians, researchers, criminologists, and investigators led by retired FBI agent, Vincent Pankoke set to work to unravel the mystery.The details of their investigations and conclusions have been faithfully and painstakingly recounted in Rosemary Sullivan’s remarkable oeuvre, “The Betrayal of Anne Frank.” Sullivan records the step-by-step progress of the researchers’ investigations and findings in an engrossing narrative and with intriguing detail in a manner so gripping as to make the book unputdownable.During their investigations, the team comes across several red herrings. Thoroughly evaluating each suspect applying the age-old law enforcement axiom of knowledge, motive and opportunity, they are able to eliminate each unconvincing premise. With the discarding of each successive theory, the suspense mounts and the reader continues turning page after page in eager anticipation of finding the truth.Apart from the riveting suspense created around the investigations of the Cold Case Team, Sullivan’s book is outstanding for beautifully capturing life in occupied Amsterdam during World War II, the all-pervasive atmosphere of danger, anxiety, uncertainty, and fear, of secrecy and sacrifice and the always present risk of exposure and capture.At the unravelling of the mystery towards the end of the book, we are offered a cogent and convincing argument with physical proof zeroing down on the person responsible for the betrayal. However, shortly after the release of the Dutch version of the book, a group of Dutch historians found the research “shockingly flawed” and the conclusions “entirely fanciful,” forcing the Dutch publisher to withdraw the book from the shelves.Does this latest report mean that the mystery behind the betrayal that has been intriguing the world for so long, remains unsolved? Harper Collins and author Rosemary Sullivan both stoutly defend the research and are standing behind the investigation. I leave you, dear reader, to draw your own conclusions and to either bury the ghost of the Betrayal of Anne Frank once and for all or to keep it simmering on the back burner for all time to come.

I always wondered who had betrayed the people in the Secret Annexe.This book answers the question and much more.

This book was an amazing read! Given that there is so much controversy surrounding the book I would recommend people read it before they make their judgement! This book was researched for 5 years via a Dutch investigation. An entire computer program/data base was created for the purpose of accuracy and instant access for cross referencing people, maps, military records, etc etc. Over 7500 documents were uploaded. They had 20 core members. And dozens of consultants and helpers. The people on their team were from many different backgrounds and specialties!! The Dutch militaries chief Rabbi, Retired FBI agents, German historians, Jewish historians. Experts on Nazi's inner workings, behaviour and the Jewish Resistance. Children of parents lost to the holocaust. Men and women who specialized in authenticating paper and ink. Many people came on as researchers to double and triple check information. Also, information was gathered from all over the word. Not just locally or only from the UK. There were secret documents, etc that were found in archives in some of the strangest places.To say this book and the Dutch investigation were throughly investigated, would be an understatement. I think that a lot of people didn't want to believe who they discovered was the culprit. It's sad and it's hard to comprehend. We don't like to think that someone could do this to another person. Especially one who was supposed to be on your "side". One theme that seems to run through the whole book is betrayal. Loyalty came second to most who were trying to save their families lives and their own. I think that is where the majority of the controversy originated from, though few would admit it. It's easier to say that the book was full of inaccuracies, not researched properly and lacks evidence.I highly recommend this book. It was extremely well written, easy to follow along with and I learned so many things that I hadn't known before!!

And if the suspects are unusual, what then? No spoiler alerts needed here. This is a book definitely worth reading by everyone for many reasons. Certainly, all readers know who Anne Frank was and the majority will have read her diary. Why then pursue the topic of her betrayal some 78 years after her arrest and deportation? Everyone, including victims, witnesses and betrayers are dead so why investigate this cold case now?The first half of the book provides details about the Frank family and the many brave Dutch acquaintances who aided their hiding and survival for about two years in the Annex. All the Franks were born in Germany. In fact, Otto Frank could trace his German ancestry back to the 16th century. This was insufficient for his native land. After the Nuremberg Laws, the Franks were stripped of their citizenship and had to flee. One might say, this was the first betrayal. In Holland, the Frank girls learned Dutch and attended school. The Franks were considered "resident aliens". When the Germans invaded and captured the Netherlands, the Franks once again became stateless. This was a second betrayal. When, in 1942 Margot Frank, Anne's older sister, received a letter from the Nazis to report for work duty i.e. forced labor camp interment, Otto Frank made the decision to go into hiding. What Otto did with his business and how the seclusion in the Annex was arranged and abetted is worth reviewing.Actually, there are three Anne Frank diaries. It is fascinating to learn how this happened and who owns the diaries. Two of the diaries were indeed written by Anne and a third copy, used for publication in 70 languages and in the movie and the play, is an abrogated version of Anne's original diary. Mr Frank removed portions of the diary that he found "distasteful". This was yet another betrayal. As the sole survivor in his family, Mr. Frank did his best to protect, preserve and yes, promote Anne's diary. When it was first published in 1947, he received hate mail that accused him of fabricating the diary and making money off the corpses of the holocaust. There is indeed a contemporary quality to the diary's acceptance or nonacceptance.The second part of the book details the work of the latest international investigative team that searched for the betrayer of the Franks. There had been two other investigations. One took place directly after WWII and the other in the 1960's. The lead of this current investigation is a retired American FBI agent. He wrote a very compelling last chapter in the book. The reader gets a tour of the Amsterdam office used for this investigation. The team utilized archives from around the world, experts in many scientific fields including handwriting analysis and artificial intelligence, and interviewed third generation relatives of some of the main players. The massive data base generated has been donated to the Dutch state.Since this book has appeared, there have been both kudos and condemnations heaped upon it. This reviewer urges everyone to read this important work with an open mind and draw his/her own conclusions. In the end. there is so much to learn and ponder long after the last page.

I have read many books over the years about Anne Frank and her family but this book is truly amazing. What happened was so very sad. I hope to visit Amsterdam later this year and visit Anne Frank's house. Definitely worth a read.

Sullivan's account of the five year intensive detective/forensic investigation of the betrayal of Anne Frank is written as a who dunnit. It's a page turner! The story is absorbing and heartbreaking. Highly recommend.

Author and historian Rosemary Sullivan takes the reader into the Nazi police state of wartime Netherlands, as she reports on a recent investigation about one of the enduring mysteries of World War 2. The people of the Netherlands suffered 5 years of brutal occupation by the Germans. Many thousands died, including nearly all of the country's Jewish population, who were systematically hunted down and sent to the death camps. The most famous of these victims were Anne Frank and her family, who hid for 2 years in a small area of a house in central Amsterdam. Someone informed the German police about their presence, but despite repeated investigations, there were no reliable answers as to the identity of the informer. In recent years, a Dutch filmmaker and several others began a "cold case investigation," using modern techniques and technology, as well as a team of experts, most notably a retired FBI Agent. The author begins this book with an introduction to the investigation, and the immense challenges involved. However, the bulk of the book presents a detailed description of wartime Amsterdam, with a focus on how the Frank family struggled to survive, facing the horrors of life under the Nazis. Later, the book returns to the investigation, as numerous suspects are identified and discarded, until one remains. To Sullivan's credit, she discusses this sensitive subject in terms of how the Nazis warped morality and degraded everyday existence. Thus, this book offers a fascinating "detective" story, as well as a historical perspective on the evils of fascism imposed by the Nazis. As someone who has visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam (highly recommended), I believe that her story deserves to be told, despite concerns from some reviewers about who might "profit". Although I have read widely about various periods in human history, why is it that books about the Holocaust receive this kind of criticism?