The Betrayal of Anne Frank

A New York Times Bestseller

Less a mystery unsolved than a secret well kept...

Using new technology, recently discovered documents and sophisticated investigative techniques, an international team—led by an obsessed retired FBI agent—has finally solved the historical mystery that has haunted generations since World War II: Who betrayed Anne Frank and her family? And why?

Over thirty million people have read The Diary of a Young Girl, the journal teen-aged Anne Frank kept while living in an attic with her family and four other people in Amsterdam during World War II, until the Nazis arrested them and sent them to a concentration camp. But despite the many works—journalism, books, plays and novels—devoted to Anne’s story, none has ever conclusively explained how these eight people managed to live in hiding undetected for over two years—and who or what finally brought the Nazis to their door.

With painstaking care, retired FBI agent Vincent Pankoke and a team of indefatigable investigators pored over tens of thousands of pages of documents—some never before seen—and interviewed scores of descendants of people familiar with the Franks. Utilizing methods developed by the FBI, the Cold Case Team painstakingly pieced together the months leading to the infamous arrest—and came to a shocking conclusion. 

The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation is the riveting story of their mission. Rosemary Sullivan introduces us to the investigators, explains the behavior of both the captives and their captors and profiles a group of suspects. All the while, she vividly brings to life wartime Amsterdam: a place where no matter how wealthy, educated, or careful you were, you never knew whom you could trust. 

This riveting work of investigative journalism finally provides answers.

• A Groundbreaking Investigation: See how a dedicated cold case team, led by a retired FBI agent, applied modern techniques to a decades-old historical mystery, analyzing thousands of documents to uncover the truth.
• Life in Hiding: Go inside the secret annex to understand the day-to-day reality for the eight people hidden away, and the constant threat they faced in wartime Amsterdam.
• A Shocking Conclusion: Follow the trail of evidence that profiles a group of suspects and leads to a definitive, carefully reasoned conclusion about the betrayal.
• The Human Element: Meet the investigators, captives, and captors through meticulous research that explains their motivations and behaviors during a time of unimaginable pressure.