Wilhelm van Maaren
Wilhelm Gerardus van Maaren (August 10, 1895- November 28, 1971) was the person most often suggested as the betrayer of Anne Frank. During the arrest of Anne Frank and the people who hid with her took place, van Maaren worked as the manager of the warehouse of Opekta and Gies & Co, in which buildings the Secret Annex was situated.
Life as the warehouse manager
Van Maaren joined as warehouse manager for Opekta in the building at 263 Prinsengracht in the spring of 1943, just after Johannes Hendrik Voskuijl, the previous manager, was admitted to hospital because of terminal cancer. None of the office workers, including Miep Gies and Victor Kugler, liked van Maaren. From the start, he used to steal products from the warehouse and at one stage he started to suspect there was something about the Secret Annex. He set small traps in the building, to find out whether people were entering the building at night or not. His sly nature meant everyone started to dislike him and Anne openly criticized him in her diary. Van Maaren spent much of his time trying to find out who lived in the building next-door. The building next-door was actually the rear section of the building where the Opekta offices were situated. The Secret Annex was situated in the back part of 263 Prinsengracht. Around May or June 1944 van Maaren informed his fellow worker Lammert Hartog that he knew that Jews were hiding in the building of 263 Prinsengracht.
On August 4, 1944, the Jews hiding in the Secret Annex were arrested, although van Maaren seemed puzzled at this. Van Maaren later helped Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl to rescue the diary papers and manuscripts of Anne Frank.
Suspicion for being the betrayer
In several investigations after the war, Van Maaren was the prime suspect for the betrayal of Anne Frank; however Van Maaren publicly denied he was responsible. Two other plausible suspects emerged over the years: Lena van Bladeren-Hartog (died 1963) and Tonny Ahlers (1917 - 2000). However, after several investigations, the final conclusion was that there was no conclusive evidence about who the original betrayer was.[1][2][3] (See Betrayal of Anne Frank.)
Death
Van Maaren died in Amsterdam on November 28, 1971.
See also
References
- ↑ Melissa Muller. Anne Frank: The Biography.
- ↑ Ori Golan (28 July 2002). "It's time to tell the truth". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- ↑ "Who Betrayed Anne Frank?". CBS News. March 18, 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2012.