Rosemary Sullivan, the Canadian author of more than a dozen books, knew she’d get some pushback for her latest non-fiction endeavour, a book that casts the Anne Frank story in a troubling new light. But she never expected it to be this bad. The city of Amsterdam demanded 100,000 euros back from the subjects of Sullivan’s story; Dutch newspapers issued bold retractions on their front pages; the book’s Dutch publisher publicly apologized to readers for offending them.

At the root of the controversy is a startling revelation alleged in Sullivan’s new book, The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation. Sullivan details a team of Dutch and American investigators who discover that it was likely a Dutch Jewish man who betrayed the Franks, inviting a Nazi raid that ultimately led to many of the family members’ deaths.

The story, and the resulting outcry, has made international headlines. In Canada, Indigo’s CEO, Heather Reisman, called the book the “one thing you should read this year,” and Sullivan herself stands by the investigators’ findings—even if they’re hard to stomach. She joins The CJN Daily podcast to discuss.

Watch the extended interview here:

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What we talked about:

• Buy The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation at harpercollins.ca
• Read “Chaim Katz’s six-year battle culminates in the University of Toronto withholding $10,918 earmarked for the BDS caucus in a graduate student union” at thecjn.ca

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.