The Betrayal of Anne Frank, by Rosemary Sullivan

How does one write a story about someone else’s project, and then get in trouble for doing so? Be Rosemary Sullivan, that’s how! In The Betrayal of Anne Frank, Sullivan follows documentarian Thijs Bayens, and FBI agent Vince Pankoke, as they seek to figure out who gave up the location of the hidden Frank family in 1944.

Along their journey, there were several curious and suspicious dead ends, but why they ultimately became Sullivan’s (and her publisher’s[i]) problem is anyone’s guess. She was one writer, documenting the cold case team as they went from city to city trying to understand how Otto Frank and his family, plus others, were turned in at the next to last moment before the end of WWII.

One of the first roadblocks faced by Sullivan occurred early on, before she’d even met with Bayens and Pankoke. The two cold case investigators requested simple access to information and permission to use Anne Frank’s name. They received neither. Later, the team requested permission to use quotes from Otto Frank, and were denied. The only quotes from Otto Frank in The Betrayal of Anne Frank are those that can be found in other, public texts.[ii]

More suspicious leads followed by dead ends occur throughout, including when the investigators tried to uncover who really knew about the Annex, but are shut down very quickly with zero answers. 

Bit of a SPOILER:
At the end of The Betrayal of Anne Frank, we learn that the Cold Case team did manage to narrow down the betrayer to what they are sure is near 95% accuracy[iv], but without being able to break through some of the stumbling blocks they encountered, it is impossible to get their confidence level to one hundred percent. You'll just have to come up with your own opinion.

Unfortunately, Sullivan's book is heavily critiqued and contested today, and many people out there don't want it on the shelves. But that's what makes books like this so important. 

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[i] Corder, Mike, “Dutch Publisher pulls Anne Frank betrayal book amid criticism”, The Washington Post, Mar 23, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/03/23/betrayal-anne-frank-dutch-publisher/
[ii] Rosemary Sullivan, The Betrayal of Anne Frank, (Toronto: HarperCollins, 2022), p. 28.
[iv] Lederman, Marsha, “Criticism of The Betrayal of Anne Frank Puts Ppotlight on Rosemary Sullivan.” The Globe and Mail, Feb 5, 2022  https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books/article-criticism-of-the-betrayal-of-anne-frank-puts-spotlight-on-rosemary/

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