Publisher Ambo Anthos is not printing new copies of the book for the time being Anne Frank’s Betrayal. This is stated in a letter sent Monday morning to the authors of the publisher, which is in the hands of NRC. The publisher also apologizes to “anyone who feels offended by the book.”
The book by Canadian author Rosemary Sullivan was released on January 18 and was immediately criticized. The conclusion of the research team behind the book that a Jewish notary betrayed Anne Frank and her family is said to be based on little evidence. In the letter sent Monday morning, Ambo Anthos director Tanja Hendriks writes that a “more critical attitude could have been taken” and that the investigation team will wait for answers to questions that have arisen before it decides on additional pressure.
Also read: The ’85 percent certainty’ about who betrayed Anne Frank is too firm, says the man who made the calculation
Ambo Anthos was responsible for the Dutch edition of the book, the world rights of which were bought by HarperCollins. They thus determined the content of the book. In the letter to the author, the publisher states that “it is not possible to assess all the details of the argument of a team of researchers and author for correctness or substantiation”, but “to be responsible for the publication in the Dutch language area”.
The book is the result of research by an international cold case team that spent five years investigating the traitors of Anne Frank and other people in hiding in the Secret Annex. According to them, it was “85 percent” certain that the Jewish notary Arnold van den Bergh betrayed the Frank family to the German occupiers. Historians with knowledge of the persecution of the Jews rejected that conclusion, partly because of the speculative reasoning and missing sources in the book.