Who Betrayed Anne Frank?

   This is one of the most elusive mysteries of the second World War. It was too neat, how quickly and efficiently the Gestapo (secret police of Nazi Germany)found the hidden eight Jews in the annexes of the warehouse, the Gestapo were tipped off and the Jews, betrayed.

Over time, three solid suspects have been put forward:

Willem van Maaren: a man who worked in the warehouse, had great access to keys, and a perchant for stealing and setting traps at night to try and 'catch' the mysterious people who he believed to be there.

Lena van Bladeren-Hartog: a cleaning lady who constantly worried about her husband getting caught in the crossfire because of working in a warehouse that she suspected harboured hidden Jews.

Tonny Ahlers: a petty criminal, Dutch Nazi, and an informant to Kurt Döring at the Amsterdam Gestapo headquarters. After the war, Ahlers tracked down Otto Frank, Anne's Father, and tried to blackmail him.

The above three were the most likely suspects thought to have committed the betrayal; however, all three persons were cleared of any suspicons because lack of hard evidence. While officially cleared, Ahlers, the most nortorious of the lot was also thought to be the most likely, it was documented that Ahlers's brother and son, Cas and Anton, admitted to hearing Ahlers's confession to the repugnant deed.

The betrayal of Anne Frank and her family will never truly be completely uncovered, it will remained one of the sad mysteries of the second World War.

From : http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/191992