The arrest of the people in hiding

On 4 August 1944, around 10:30 in the morning, an arrest team of Sicherheitspolizei und Sicherheitsdienst, (Sipo-SD) raided the premises on Prinsengracht.^[1] The team was led by SS-Hauptscharführer Karl Silberbauer and included the detectives Willem Grootendorst and Gezinus Gringhuis. The first two were working for the Sipo-SD, the latter had transferred from that service to the Dutch State Criminal Investigation Department.^[2] The policemen drove a car ahead, got out, whereupon one of the Dutch detectives asked the warehouse staff something, who directed him to the office floor upstairs. There they found the office staff working.

At least Bep Voskuijl and Miep Gies were sitting there at the time, both of whom knew about the people in hiding. It is not entirely clear exactly where Kleiman was at the time of the raid. Miep and Bep stated in December 1963 that they were together in the front office and that Kleiman only entered when the SD was already in the building. According to them, when they entered he gave his wallet to Bep with a request to hand it over to a drugstore owner friend nearby.^[3]

The detectives walked on from the front office to the office of Victor Kugler. They questioned him and took him to search the building.

According to Silberbauer (who did not understand Dutch), Kugler was immediately taken into interrogation by one of the Dutch SD officers. Afterwards, Kugler allegedly led them directly to the bookcase. Years later, Kugler himself stated that he strung the SDs along for as long as possible. However, according to Kugler: "They knew".^[4] Further statements regarding Kugler during the raid are second-hand, and vary considerably.^[5]

Initially, only Kugler went into the Secret Annex, but later Kleiman was also taken there.^[4]

According to Kugler's statements, Edith Frank-Holländer was the first person he saw when he, followed by the SDs, entered the Secret Annex. He said: 'Ich konnte nur mit vieler Mühe sagen: die Gestapo ist da.'^[4]

Otto Frank later recalled that at the time of the arrest he was in the upper part of the Secret Annex, helping Peter with his schoolwork in his room and just pointing out a mistake in his dictation when he suddenly heard someone running up the stairs: "Suddenly someone came running up the stairs and then the door opened and a man was standing right in front of us with a gun in his hand. Downstairs they were all gathered".^[6]

In 1963, he added:

"He made us raise our hands and then searched us for weapons. (...) Then he ordered us to go downstairs. He came after us with a gun drawn. We first entered the room of the Pels family, where I saw Mr and Mrs Pels, as well as Mr Pfeffer [also] standing with their hands raised. Here too stood a man dressed in civilian clothes, unknown to me, who had also drawn his pistol. Then we all had to go down another floor, where I lived with my family. There I saw my wife and both daughters standing, also with their hands raised. (...) I also saw a man in a green uniform, unknown to me, who had already drawn his gun. I found out later that this man was called Silberbauer."^[7]

Silberbauer also asked the detainees about jewellery and money. He emptied the briefcase in which Anne kept her diary entries and put money and jewellery in it. The detainees were given five minutes to get ready for departure.^[6] Otto Frank said:

"While waiting for all this to happen, Silberbauer walked through our room and he saw a chest next to my wife's bed. It was a grey chest with iron fittings, on which was written my name and my rank in the German army. I then told him that I had been a reserve lieutenant in the German army in the First World War. At once Silberbauer's tone and attitude changed. (...) He then asked me why I hadn't reported back then, I would have been sent to the Theresienstadt labour camp."^[6]

The people in hiding, together with Kleiman and Kugler, were taken to the SD in Euterpestraat for interrogation. The next day, the people in hiding were transferred to Detention Centre at the Weteringschans and from there transported to Westerbork on 8 August 1944. After interrogation, Kleiman and Kugler were locked up in Detention Centre II on the Amstelveenseweg (Havenstraat 6). They stayed there for almost six weeks until they were transferred to Detention Centre I on the Weteringschans (Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen) on 7 September.