Thijs described the first meeting he and Pieter had had with a man he referred to as “from the world of Anne Frank,” namely Jan van Kooten, a former head of education and presentations （1983–2004） at the Anne Frank House.1 Thijs had asked Van Kooten if they could meet to discuss the organizations devoted to the story of the Franks. He wanted to know how the various groups worked and how they collaborated.
On Friday, March 4, 2016, Thijs and Pieter visited the office of the National Committee for May 4 and 5, the Dutch institution responsible for the annual Remembrance Day and Liberation Day celebrations.2 Van Kooten, currently the director, sat behind his large desk, looking rather intimidating. Thijs and Pieter were somewhat anxious, as it was the first official conversation in which they had to explain their idea: an investigation into what is popularly called “the betrayal of Anne Frank.” Their first question was cautious: What do we need to know when we start?
Van Kooten quickly pulled a blank sheet of paper and a marker from a drawer. For just a moment he stared at the paper. Then he started to draw circles and lines. He spoke softly but firmly. The two men could sense that he knew the world he described intimately and that he was choosing his words carefully—very carefully.
The drawing became increasingly complex, and it was clear that the world they were entering was difficult to explain. The essence was this.
There are three versions of Anne Frank’s diary:
The original journal.
Anne’s rewriting of the diary in her last months before the raid on the Annex. （In a broadcast on Radio Oranje on March 28, 1944, the Dutch minister of education, art, and science advised people to preserve their diaries so that there would be a chronicle of what the nation had gone through and survived. Anne rewrote her diary with the ambition of having it published.）3
The rewritten diary with adjustments by （or under the supervision of） Otto Frank. This is the version that has been published all over the world.
There are two Anne Frank foundations, both founded by Otto Frank:
Anne Frank House （AFS）/Anne Frank Stichting （Foundation） in Amsterdam. This was established in 1957 by Otto Frank to save the house and Annex at Prinsengracht 263 from demolition. The main objectives of the foundation are the management of the Anne Frank House and the propagation of the life story and ideals of Anne Frank. The foundation develops exhibitions, educational programs, and publications based on Anne’s life. It also manages the Anne Frank collection and opens the “hiding place” to the public.
Anne Frank Fonds （AFF） in Basel, Switzerland. This was founded in 1963 by Otto Frank to distribute his daughter’s diary and manage the copyright of the Frank family.* The Anne Frank Fonds has an educational center in Frankfurt, supports many charities, and is active in the field of books, films, and plays.
Fair enough. But now things get more complicated. Version A of the diary is owned by the Dutch state. Version B used to be the property of the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam but now belongs to the Anne Frank Fonds in Basel, and in any case the image rights, including images of the text, have always belonged to the Fonds. Version C is also the property of the Anne Frank Fonds.
The two organizations have gone through quite a few lawsuits disputing copyright ownership. Whatever you do with the one could therefore have an impact on the other. That was the essence of Van Kooten’s graphic.
In the very first phase of the project, Thijs was drinking tea with a friend and explaining his thoughts about the cold case investigation. The friend told him that on one of his visits to the luxurious hotel La Colombe d’Or in the south of France, he’d run into one of the board members of the Anne Frank Fonds （AFF）。 （The hotel is well known for its art by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Marc Chagall, and many other famous artists, who left their works on the walls as payment in kind for their stays.） Thijs’s friend said that when they were ready, he would set up a telephone call between Thijs and the board member. Thijs waited until he was certain that the project was funded and ready to go forward. When they finally spoke, the AFF board member let Thijs know that he was not very receptive to the project but would nevertheless discuss it with the other board members. That led to an invitation to visit the AFF headquarters, and on Wednesday, September 28, 2018, Thijs, Pieter, and Vince took a one-hour flight to Basel.
The Fonds is located near the old center of Basel in a modern and very unobtrusive office building. The interior is luxurious but not lavish. The meeting took place in a small room with five members of the board of trustees present, including President John D. Goldsmith, Vice President Daniel Fürst, and Secretary Yves Kugelmann. The conversation was jovial and pleasant for an hour or more as sandwiches were passed around. Everyone introduced themselves briefly, and then Thijs, Pieter, and Vince spoke about their research ideas and motivation for taking on the project. Vince remembered that Goldsmith had seemed quite skeptical; he had asked why they had started an investigation and whether there was some new information to justify it.