Monday, May 05, 2025

Almost. Thanks for the diary.

"Otto’s response to Silberbauer was silence  ‘I said nothing,’ he told Schnabel.  '’Apparently [Silberbauer] thought Theresienstadt a rest camp, so I said nothing.  I merely looked at him.  But he suddenly evaded my eyes, and all at once the perception came to me:  Now he is standing at attention; if he dared, he might very well raise his hand to his cap in salute.'

The discovery of Otto’s former rank left the SD sergeant flummoxed.  So, he allowed them extra time to pack.  'Take your time!' he called out several times.  'He shouted these same words to us and to his agents,' Otto recalled.  This was Silberbauer’s single concession. Meanwhile, the man had already made himself busy stealing what meager valuables were to be had.  To carry his booty Silberbauer had confiscated Otto’s briefcase, in the process simply dumping its contents onto the floor.  The contents included Anne Frank’s diary, her notebooks, and her collection of loose-leaf pages, all left behind in the wake of the arrest.  It was Miep Gies who collected the books and page and kept them safe in a desk drawer waiting for the day of Anne’s return."

~ David Gillham and Peter de Bourgraaf

"A New Look at Anne Frank, Her Father, and WWI..."

https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/articles-posts/5909-a-new-look-at-anne-frank-her-father-and-wwi-through-literature-and-history.html

"But, ironically, Otto Frank played a part in determining Silberbauer’s fate. Anne Frank’s diary had already become an international phenomenon by this point. According to Wiesenthal’s biographer, Joseph Wechsberg, Otto’s maintained that Silberbauer may have been condescending, but otherwise had, 'only done his duty and behaved correctly.' Instead, Otto placed blame on the unknown person who had betrayed them to the SD. Owing much to Otto’s statements on the matter, Silberbauer was exonerated. The judicial investigation dissolved and the internal disciplinary hearing concluded with his suspension lifted. He returned to the police force, assigned to a desk job indexing criminal records. After his retirement, he was provided with a government pension. Benefits which, according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, were accruing in part 'from his work for the Gestapo and SD.' He died in 1972, age 61."

~ David Gillham and Peter de Bourgraaf

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