»The Betrayal of Anne Frank«: Controversial non-fiction book is taken off the market in the Netherlands

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The Dutch edition of »The Betrayal of Anne Frank« will be withdrawn from the market

Photo: Sem Van Der Wal / ANP / picture alliance / dpa

A controversial book about the alleged traitor of the Jewish girl Anne Frank in Amsterdam during World War II has been pulled from stores in the Netherlands.

"The book is no longer available with immediate effect," said the publisher Ambo Anthos on Wednesday.

He referred to an expert report published the day before, which sharply criticized the study on which the book is based.

The book and research caused a stir in the Netherlands and beyond in January.

Accordingly, the hiding place of Anne Frank, who became world famous through her diary, may have been betrayed by a Jewish notary to the National Socialists in order to save his own family.

The Canadian author Rosemary Sullivan documented the corresponding investigations of a team led by a former FBI agent in the book »The Betrayal of Anne Frank«.

According to the expert report presented on Tuesday, however, the investigation was based solely on speculation and possibly incorrect interpretations.

Dutch historians and representatives of the country's Jewish communities immediately criticized the results of the investigation as "speculative" and "sensationalistic".

DER SPIEGEL also reported on the strong doubts about the alleged results of the investigation.

The publishing house Ambo Anthos, which publishes the book in the Netherlands, had already apologized for not taking a more critical stance and postponed the publication of further editions.

"We would like to once again sincerely apologize to those who felt offended by the contents of the book," the company said.

Booksellers are encouraged to return copies that are in stock.

The US publisher HarperCollins has not yet stopped international sales of the book, according to US media.

The book by Harper Collins is also to be published in Germany.

The originally planned publication date of March 22 had already been withdrawn by the publisher, but the basic publication was maintained.

They are working on a "corrected, supplemented and commented German-language edition to enable all interested readers to form their own, independent opinion on the book and the media discussion associated with it".

DER SPIEGEL has now asked again how the publisher will deal with the book in Germany.

An answer is still pending.

kae/AFP