Profiting from Shoah

VWe must correct some of the misleading information you have recently published (Did a Jewish businessman betray Anne Frank’s hiding place to Nazis?, 21 January). The Anne Frank Fonds Basel(AFF) dates from 1963 and was was the only organisation established by Otto Frank . We are his universal heir, a charitable non-profit organisation and administer the copyrights to the Diary and other literary works by Anne Frank.

From the start we declined to cooperate with the Cold Case Team and thus took a stance which differed completely from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, whom you quote, which is an entirely separate entity. Our view was that this new investigation was entirely driven by commercial considerations based on the use of Anne’s name. For the AFF, commercial gain at the expense of holocaust victims is totally unacceptable.

Very sadly, Anne was only one of approximately 8,000 other Jews in hiding in Holland who was betrayed. There were a number of other objections that we raised in connection with the project what we considered to be ill concieved from the start. Our worst fears were confirmed with headlines in the popular press, “Jew betrays Jew”. Fortunately, the more reponsible press has taken a critical view, also reflected by a considerable number of respected holocaust academics and historians in Holland.

The publishers of the Dutch language version of The Betrayal of Anne Frank have issued a public apology for any hurt caused by the book‘s publication. The book is riddled with errors and historical inaccuracies. A work on such an important and sensitive subject deserved better. John D. Goldsmith

President, Anne Frank Fonds Switzerland