Johannes Kleiman and the diary of Anne Frank

Johannes Kleiman had a major role in commemorating Anne Frank and the other people in hiding between the end of World War II and his death in 1959.
He was involved in the first publication of Anne Frank's diary in 1947. He was also involved in the publication of Do You Remember? and the Fables and Short Stories and actively worked to tell the story of the people in hiding to a wide audience. He gave tours of the Secret Annex at Prinsengracht 263 and corresponded about the memory of the people in hiding with several letter writers.

In addition, bij remained involved in Otto Frank's business ventures, acting together with or on behalf of Otto Frank in that capacity. Johannes Kleiman also played a major role in the establishment and opening of the Anne Frank House and the Anne Frank Foundation. In doing so, he often stood in for Otto Frank, who lived in Basel, Switzerland.

No correspondence has survived from the years around the first diary publication, but it has been preserved pretty much from Otto Frank's departure for Switzerland. A few letters give a fragmentary impression of Kleiman's involvement. Otto himself conducted the correspondence with those people who received a copy of the diary. On 13 October 1948, however, it was Kleiman who provided the accompanying letter to Dr J. Groen.^[1]

Several helpers described, possibly at Otto Frank's request, how they had met Anne and what they knew of her writing. Kleiman described how he once laid eyes on a letter Anne wrote to her grandma as an 11-year-old in which she wittily recounted how all the housemates and family members were making out. He also mentioned writing in her diary, and how in it she fantasised how she would later participate in normal life again.^[2]

On 2 September 1952, Kleiman wrote to Barbara Mooyaart-Doubleday about translations of the stories Blurry the Explorer and Katrien. Otto Frank was in Switzerland at the time, and subsequently left for England and America.^[3] Apparently Kleiman took care of the ongoing business.

In a letter dated 27 February 1953, Kleiman called Anne a mediocre pupil, but thought her descriptions of the teachers (Keesing and Biegel) showed 'powers of observation and expression '. He concluded the letter with a promotional P.S.: 'You may be interested to know that a collection of stories and fairy tales by Anne Frank has also been published under the title: Do You Remember?'^[4]

Otto Frank conducted the correspondence with publisher Contact about the diary and payments himself for many years. In a letter dated 2 April 1957, Contact wrote that copies of the letters and financial statements were also sent to Kleiman.^[5]