--- title: Anne Frank Was Possibly Not Betrayed At All, New Study Finds description: Anne Frank and her family were found by chance, a new study says—disputing the theory that she and her family were betrayed. canonical: https://time.com/4606399/study-anne-frank-betrayal/ author: Madeline Farber article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-19T17:38:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T14:23:33.000Z article:section: History og:title: Who Betrayed Anne Frank? A New Study Suggests Nobody Did og:description: They were possibly found by chance og:url: https://time.com/4606399/study-anne-frank-betrayal/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32f6e87ee2a8d86f/6988afadab6d778d5f6ac11c/gettyimages-541037509.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4980 og:image:height: 2801 og:image:alt: Anne Frank, German Jew who emigrated with her family to the Netherlands during the Nazi era. Separated from the rest of her family, she and her sister died of typhoid fever in the concentration camp Bergen-Belsen - As a 12-year old doing her homewo og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Who Betrayed Anne Frank? A New Study Suggests Nobody Did twitter:description: They were possibly found by chance twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32f6e87ee2a8d86f/6988afadab6d778d5f6ac11c/gettyimages-541037509.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 07:02 video:published: 2016-05-03 section: world topics: Auschwitz, Nazi guard trial, Holocaust survivors, Survivor testimony, Legal responsibility, Chain of command, Forgiveness, Justice, Mass murder, Family separation, Historical accountability genre: documentary, news report tones: somber, reflective, solemn, grave emotions: grief (high), sorrow (high), resolve (medium), anger (medium) sentiment: negative audience: history enthusiasts, general news viewers, students, legal observers people: Hanning, Edith organizations: SS content_suitability: death [00:03-00:36]; war [03:10-03:53]; crime [02:34-07:02]; hate [03:10-06:40]; tragedy [00:03-04:13] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Who Betrayed Anne Frank? A New Study Suggests Nobody Did > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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Its journalism is reported and edited by a professional newsroom led by Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs, with named correspondents on politics, climate, health, technology and culture. It reaches 1 million US print subscribers and 1.15 million globally, plus more than 1.1 million newsletter readers. #### How do I subscribe to TIME magazine? Subscriptions are at time.com/subscribe-agent. Choose digital only at $20 a year, or print and digital from $29 a year or $49 for two years. TIME also publishes seven free email newsletters at time.com/newsletters, which do not require a subscription. #### Can I cancel a TIME subscription? Yes. TIME states that subscriptions can be cancelled at any time. #### Does TIME have free newsletters? Yes. TIME publishes seven free email newsletters reaching more than 1.1 million readers, covering daily news, Washington politics, health, AI, climate and energy, culture, and the newsroom itself. They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-sub-2026q3/newsletters?i=a5db2fc4-14ec-4951-9c84-e6d519b82252&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) * TIME Subscriptions: [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-sub-2026q3/subscribe?i=a5db2fc4-14ec-4951-9c84-e6d519b82252&cr=time-sub-2026q3-v1) ## Video: The Last Nazi Trials [Watch (HLS stream): The Last Nazi Trials](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/iBig1Tcg.m3u8) (7:02)  _Published 2016-05-03. The trial of a former Nazi guard brings forth questions about justice and forgiveness for Holocaust survivors and German citizens._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video follows a trial in which a former Auschwitz guard is prosecuted, centering on testimony from a survivor who was separated from her younger sister. It presents views from survivors, lawyers and a defense perspective on the purpose of the trial, how far legal responsibility extends down the chain of command, and whether such a crime can be forgiven. A prosecutorial shift is described: the indictment treats Auschwitz as an organized factory of mass murder rather than focusing only on selections and gassings. ## Key points - A survivor recalls being separated from her roughly 12-year-old sister Edith at Auschwitz, when an SS guard motioned her toward the young adults while Edith went with their mother. (00:03) - Lawyers searched for survivors to testify and asked whether they knew anything about the Nazi guard; the witness could not recall his face but agreed to come and help. (02:42) - For seven decades prosecutors focused on the murder of people who arrived at Auschwitz and were gassed, and no prosecutor charged a guard with enabling the systematic murder of prisoners. (03:10) - The indictment against Hanning is described as the first to say Auschwitz was altogether an organized factory of mass murder. (03:31) - The survivor says she defied orders and did not leave after being separated from her younger sister, and that being told everyone died and it was long ago does not help. (03:53) - A lawyer says the main purpose of the trials is to give justice to their clients, and that a system that does the right thing late is better than not acting. (04:18) - The defendant keeps his eyes and head down during testimony, and a lawyer says she does not know his motivation. (04:46) - The defense view is that if no witness knows the defendant, this shows how unremarkable he possibly was, while the question of legal responsibility grows harder further down the chain of command. (05:01) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:52] Survivor recalls separation from her sister. A survivor describes being separated from her sister Edith and her mother at the camp and the lasting trauma of that moment. - [00:52 to 02:34] Courtroom emotion and purpose of the trial. A survivor says the aim is not a lifelong jail term, and another speaker calls the trial a teaching moment for Europe. - [02:34 to 03:53] Survivors recruited and indictment explained. A survivor recounts being asked to testify and an indictment is described as the first to treat Auschwitz as a factory of mass murder. - [03:53 to 04:46] Testimony and the purpose of the trials. The survivor describes defying orders and her grief, while a lawyer explains the trials are meant to give justice to clients. - [04:46 to 05:38] The defendant and limits of legal responsibility. Observers note the defendant avoids eye contact, and the question of responsibility down the chain of command is raised along with the defense view. - [05:38 to 07:02] Debate over forgiveness and judgment. Speakers weigh forgiveness, choice and complicity, concluding the crime is not forgivable but must be analyzed and learned from. ## Key quotes - [01:46] Unnamed speaker: "It's a teaching moment for the entire country of Europe" - [03:21] Unnamed speaker: "No prosecutor ever brought forward a charge, saying that a guard is also responsible for making it possible that the people who were prisoners in the camp were murdered systematically." - [04:00] Survivor: "I didn't leave. I actually defied orders, I just stood there. How am I to leave her like this?" - [04:28] Lawyer: "I think the main purpose of this trials is to give justice to our clients, it's for them." - [06:14] Unnamed speaker: "How does mass murder get forgiven?" - [06:34] Unnamed speaker: "The crime is so enormous, it's not a forgivable crime, it's a crime to be analyzed and learned from." ## Questions this video answers - Why is the indictment against Hanning considered different from earlier prosecutions? [03:10] - What is the purpose of the trials according to the survivors' lawyers? [04:18] - How does the defense frame the fact that witnesses do not know the defendant? [05:01] - Can a crime like mass murder be forgiven, according to speakers in the video? [06:14] ## Content suitability - death [00:03-00:36]: A survivor describes being separated from her mother and younger sister at a concentration camp, with references to the family's fate. - war [03:10-03:53]: Discussion of Auschwitz as an organized factory of mass murder and the gassing of arrivals. - crime [02:34-07:02]: Coverage of a criminal trial of a former Nazi guard, including debate on culpability and forgiveness for mass murder. - hate [03:10-06:40]: Discussion of the Nazi genocide and systematic murder of prisoners at Auschwitz. - tragedy [00:03-04:13]: Survivor recounts lasting trauma from separation from her family during the Holocaust. by [Madeline Farber](https://time.com/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Updated: Dec 13, 2023 2:23 PM UTCPublished: Dec 19, 2016 5:38 PM UTC  Anne Frank. Anne Frank. Bildarchiv Ullstein Bild — Getty Images by [Madeline Farber](https://time.com/author/madeline-farber/) ## Madeline Farber Updated: Dec 13, 2023 2:23 PM UTCPublished: Dec 19, 2016 5:38 PM UTC For decades, historians have debated who betrayed Anne Frank and her family. After spending two years eluding Nazi capture while in hiding in Amsterdam, the Frank family was [discovered](http://www.annefrank.org/en/Anne-Frank/Discovery-and-arrest/The-day-of-the-arrest/) on Aug. 4, 1944, and promptly deported from the Netherlands to concentration camps. Years later, after Anne Frank became famous for her diary, readers wondered what had gone wrong. A long-held [theory](http://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-betrayed-anne-frank/) proposed that a new employee at her father’s business, Willem van Maaren, tipped off the Nazis. But despite suspicions, there was no conclusive evidence van Maaren betrayed the family. Now, about 72 years later, the world may have an answer to the mystery: Maybe nobody betrayed them at all. Last week, the [Anne Frank House museum](http://www.annefrank.org/en/News/News/2016/December/New-Perspective-on-Anne-Franks-Arrest/) in Amsterdam released a study that suggests that Anne Frank and the seven others hiding with her were discovered by chance. According to the researchers, the German “Sicherheitsdienst” police who discovered the family usually investigated cases involving cash and securities, not[ Jews in hiding](http://time.com/4563651/czech-republic-schindler-factory-holocaust-museum/). On Aug. 4, 1944, they went to investigate 263 Prinsengracht—the same building where [Anne](http://time.com/22052/anne-frank-and-her-friends-photos-by-paul-schutzer/) and her family were hiding—after receiving tips of fraudulent food-ration cards and illegal employment happening there. When they came to raid the building, they unexpectedly discovered Anne and the others. The research is based on [Frank’s](http://time.com/4581891/anne-frank-holocaust-netherlands-poem/) [diary](http://time.com/4113855/anne-frank-diary-co-author/) entries from March 1944—entries that researchers say have not been used as a source until now. Her writing created a trail to judicial documents from other parts of the Netherlands, resulting in the latest theory. [_Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter_](http://time.com/newsletter) “Despite decades of research, betrayal as a point of departure has delivered nothing conclusive,” Ronald Leopold, Executive Director of the Anne Frank House museum, said in statement. “The new investigation does not refute the possibility that the people in hiding were betrayed, but illustrates that other scenarios should also be considered.” Anne, who is famous for documenting her time in the “Secret Annex” in her renowned diary, died of typhus in the spring of 1945 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. She was 15 at the time of her death. Out of the seven others who hid with her, her father, Otto Frank, was the only one who survived the Holocaust. ## Transcript [00:00] [ MUSIC ] [00:03] Our family had tried so hard to stay together. My sister [00:07] Edith was about 12 years old was sent in the direction [00:12] that my mother went. The SS guard he motioned me to [00:16] in the direction other young adults went. I [00:20] didn't move. I leaned over peering into the crowd and [00:25] trying to see if Edith had caught up. I was horrified that [00:29] she would not find our mother. She would be lost to [00:32] our family, alone amongst strangers. The trauma of [00:36] this separation Lingers with me to this day. [ MUSIC ] [00:46] [ SOUND ] [00:52] [ CROSSTALK ] [00:59] It's not a matter of Sending him to jail for the rest of his [01:03] life. I don't feel that, that will help, but what's [01:07] happening now will help. And today, I must do what [01:11] I'm asked to do and not stop and cry [01:16] because that is not what's required at the moment [01:20] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Okay look at me. [01:24] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ MUSIC ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ LAUGH ] [01:46] It's a teaching moment for the entire country of Europe [01:49] to rethink and learn from it. [02:34] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [ FOREIGN ] [02:42] [ MUSIC ] The lawyers were searching for people [02:45] Survivors. They asked, would I come, and do I know [02:49] anything about this Nazi guard, and of [02:53] course no. I was much too distracted to look [02:57] into his face, but I was not required to have [03:00] remembered the face, so I said yes. If I can help. I [03:05] would come. So far over the last [03:10] seven decades, prosecutors just focused [03:14] on the murder of the people who arrived in Auschwitz [03:17] on the lam and then were gassed right No prosecutor [03:21] ever brought forward a charge, saying that a guard is [03:25] also responsible for making it possible that the people [03:29] who were prisoners in the camp were murdered [03:31] systematically. And the indictment against Hanning is [03:36] the first indictment that actually says [03:41] Auschwitz was altogether A organized [03:45] factory of mass murder. Not only the selection on the [03:49] [ INAUDIBLE ] This is, I am here. Right here standing [03:53] here. As I said in the testimony, I had just been [03:56] separated from my younger sister, and as I was saying [04:00] I didn't leave. I actually defied orders, I just [04:04] stood there. How am I to leave her like this? [04:08] People tell me, you know she died, you know [04:10] everybody died, and it's been a long time. And it [04:13] doesn't help. [ MUSIC ] This is [04:18] Council Aide and Justice Says it's too little, and is a [04:23] enormous failure, it's a system in the end [04:28] does the right thing, it's better than not going. I think [04:31] the main purpose of this trials is to give justice to our [04:33] clients, it's for them. I just want him to Hear [04:37] from me and others who testified, what the [04:41] consequences were of what he did at a young age. [04:46] But he keeps his eyes down, head down. I don't [04:50] know whether he doesn't want to face the survivors. [04:54] What his motivation is. I really [05:01] don't know. [ FOREIGN ] And the further you go down [05:04] in the chain of command, the more the [05:08] question arises of how far legal responsibility goes. [05:11] And if none of [05:15] the witnesses know the [05:19] defendant, this, in the view of [05:24] the defense, is a testament to how [05:29] unremarkable the defendant possibly [05:33] was. [ MUSIC ] I'm not interested [05:38] in the personality [05:47] of the defendant. For me he's a broken, failed person. [05:49] What is he supposed to do? He's defending himself? [05:54] That's ridiculous. What is he supposed to do? He's [05:56] defending himself? That's ridiculous. If he was a [06:01] warden in Auschwitz, I already judge him. I can't judge [06:05] that. Forgiveness? Maybe he just... How many people [06:07] followed? How many people killed? Maybe they didn't [06:09] have a choice but to act in that way? [ MUSIC ] There's [06:14] a lot of talk of forgiveness, I'm very surprised about it. [06:19] Everybody had to do their part or it wouldn't have [06:21] worked efficiently. How does mass murder get [06:25] forgiven? [ MUSIC ] [06:34] The crime is so enormous, it's not a forgivable crime, [06:38] it's a crime to be analyzed and learned from. [06:40] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ SOUND ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [06:40] [ SOUND ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4606399/study-anne-frank-betrayal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4606399/study-anne-frank-betrayal/"},"headline":"Who Betrayed Anne Frank? 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