Did Anne Frank's Actions Defy Nazi Law?

Anne Frank and her family broke the law of Nazi Germany by going into hiding in 1942. They were discovered in 1944 and arrested. The people who sheltered them also broke the law, while those who arrested and killed them were obeying the law. The question of whether Anne Frank broke the law depends on one's perspective on the morality of the laws of Nazi Germany.

Hiding Anne Frank was illegal

The officers entered the office, where helper Miep Gies recalled: "A short man came in, holding a revolver that was pointed at me." The police officers walked into Victor Kugler's office, as the managing director, he was responsible for the business operations. They questioned him and took him with them to search the building. During the inspection, they discovered the entrance to the Secret Annex, where the people in hiding were completely taken by surprise.

The group of eight, including Anne Frank, were taken to the SD building and locked in a large room. They were then interrogated to find out if they knew of other hiding addresses, but they kept silent. The helpers and the people from the Secret Annex were then separated and taken to different detention centres.

Killing Anne Frank was legal

The notion that killing Anne Frank was legal stems from the context of the laws enacted by the Nazi regime at the time. During World War II, Germany was under the control of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party, who instituted a set of laws that targeted and persecuted Jews and other minority groups. These laws were designed to systematically discriminate against, dehumanize, and exterminate those who were deemed "undesirable" by the Nazi ideology.

One of the key laws enacted by the Nazis was the Nuremberg Laws, which were passed in 1935. These laws stripped Jews of their German citizenship and civil rights, making them subject to various forms of discrimination and persecution. The Nazis also passed decrees that restricted Jewish participation in various aspects of society, such as education, employment, and cultural life. These laws created a climate of fear and hostility towards Jews, making it easier for the Nazis to carry out their ultimate goal of extermination.

As the war progressed, the Nazis implemented even more extreme measures. The Final Solution, which was formulated during the Wannsee Conference in 1942, marked a turning point in Nazi policy. This plan called for the systematic murder of Europe's Jews, and it was carried out with ruthless efficiency. Jews were rounded up, deported to concentration camps, and subjected to forced labor, inhumane living conditions, and ultimately, mass murder.

In this context, the killing of Anne Frank was, unfortunately, legal under the Nazi regime. Those who carried out her arrest and subsequent deportation were acting within the boundaries of the law as established by the Nazi government. This stark reality highlights the moral complexities of the time and serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked power and ideology.

It is important to note that, while the killing of Anne Frank was legal under Nazi law, it was by no means morally justifiable. The laws enacted by the Nazis were a perversion of justice and a violation of fundamental human rights. The international community recognized this during the Nuremberg Trials, where the principles of international law and human rights were invoked to hold Nazi leaders accountable for their crimes.

Betrayal vs. chance discovery

There are several theories as to how Anne Frank and the seven others in hiding with her were discovered on 4 August 1944. For a long time, betrayal was considered the most likely reason for their discovery and arrest. However, no conclusive evidence has been found, and other possibilities are being explored.

Theories of Betrayal

One theory is that the group was betrayed by a phone call to the SD (Security Service of the Nazi Party) that morning. However, this has never been proven, and regular citizens had limited access to phones at the time. The SD officer who took the alleged call, Julius Dettmann, died in his cell a few weeks after the liberation, and the other officer, Karl Silberbauer, gave inconsistent statements about the caller's identity.

Another theory suggests that the traitor was Willem van Maaren, a warehouse worker whom Anne and the others suspected, even though they had never met him. Otto Frank and the helpers even filed a complaint against him, but the investigation did not find any evidence of his guilt.

Tonny Ahlers, a Dutch national socialist, has also been suspected. He is said to have pressured Otto Frank and extracted money from him after hearing him express a negative opinion about the German war effort. However, there is no indication that he knew about the people in hiding.

Lena Hartog, the wife of a man who worked in the warehouse, has also been accused of betrayal. Her husband, Lammert, spoke to her about people hiding in the building, but it is unclear if this was before or after the arrests. There is also the possibility that she was the woman who allegedly called the SD, but this remains unverified.

Ans van Dijk, a Jewish woman who chose to help the authorities track down Jews after her own arrest, has also been named as a possible traitor. However, there is no concrete evidence linking her to the betrayal of Anne Frank and the others.

Chance Discovery

Recent research has highlighted the possibility that the discovery was not due to betrayal but other factors. For instance, two representatives from whom the helpers bought illegal coupons were arrested for black marketeering. Additionally, there was undeclared work being done in the warehouse, and part of the company income was being kept off the books. These illegal activities may have drawn attention to the building and inadvertently led to the discovery of the people in hiding.

While the exact circumstances of their discovery remain uncertain, the fact remains that those who sheltered Anne Frank and her family were breaking the law at the time, while those who arrested and killed them were obeying the law. This highlights the complex moral dimensions of law and the importance of distinguishing between legality and legitimacy.

The legality of Nazi laws

Anne Frank and her family were arrested by the Nazis on August 4, 1944, and deported to concentration camps, where Anne and her sister, Margot, eventually died. The Franks and those who helped them were breaking the law, and the people who arrested and killed them were obeying it. This was due to the Nazi regime's introduction of an ideology of "biological racism" into the country's legal system, which enabled all subsequent acts of the Hitler regime to be performed legally.

During its rule from 1933 to 1945, the Nazi regime shifted Germany's legal system from the traditional "normative state" to the "prerogative state", which was aligned with the Nazis' ideological mission. This shift allowed the regime's atrocities to be carried out within a legal framework. Judges, lawyers, and civil servants were complicit in this transition, adapting to the new Nazi laws and personnel.

Several principles were invoked to facilitate this transformation. The Führerprinzip ("leader principle") designated Hitler as above the law, while the Volkist Principle of Racial Inequality organized the judiciary by race. Anyone not considered part of the Volksgemeinschaft (people's community) was deemed undeserving of legal protection. The Malicious Practices Act, passed in March 1933, punished social outcasts, including Jews, homosexuals, and political opponents, by sending them to concentration camps or sentencing them to death.

The Enabling Act of 1933 amended the Weimar Constitution, allowing Hitler and his government to enact laws, even if they violated the constitution, without requiring Reichstag consent. This led to the introduction of numerous antisemitic laws and decrees, such as the Reich Flag Law, which established Germany's national colors as black, white, and red, incorporating the swastika.

The Nuremberg Laws, announced in 1935, authorized the arrest and violence against Jews, initially in Germany but later in occupied territories as well. The Citizenship Law, part of the Nuremberg Laws, used ambiguous language to define who was considered a "citizen of the Reich", resulting in the stripping of rights from non-European ethnic and religious minorities, particularly Jews. This law was justified by bureaucrats, law enforcement, and medical professionals as legal acts under the 1935 legislation.

The Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor, also part of the Nuremberg Laws, included five articles that forbade marriages and sexual relations between Jews and Germans, prohibited Jews from employing German women as domestic servants, and banned Jews from displaying the national flag and colors. Violations of these articles carried punishments ranging from hard labor to imprisonment and fines.

The Nazis also passed the Treachery Act in December 1934, which restricted freedom of speech and penalized any criticism of the Nazi state or party. The regime's control over the judiciary and the removal of Jewish and dissenting lawyers and judges further solidified its power.

After World War II, the Nuremberg trials were held to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. The Nuremberg Charter, announced in August 1945, outlined the crimes for which Nazi officials would be tried, including crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Even today, a few laws from the Nazi era remain codified in German law, and the country continues to grapple with the resurgence of far-right ideology and the evolution of laws to combat extremism.

Punishing those who helped Anne Frank

Anne Frank, a young Jewish girl, went into hiding in 1942 to escape Nazi persecution in the Netherlands. She hid with her family and four other Dutch Jews in an annex above Otto Frank's business premises. They were assisted by several Dutch citizens, including Miep Gies and her husband, Jan. On 4 August 1944, the people in hiding were discovered and arrested, along with two of their helpers, Victor Kugler and Johannes Kleiman. The other helpers, including Miep and Jan Gies, avoided arrest and evaded punishment. However, they risked their lives to help Anne Frank and her companions, as the punishment for hiding Jews during this period could have been execution.

Miep Gies was one of the key figures who assisted the Frank family during their time in hiding. She was a trusted friend of the family and provided crucial support. Gies was not a Dutch citizen but an Austrian by birth. She had been taken in as a foster child by a Dutch family in 1920 and later chose to remain in the Netherlands. Gies began working for Otto Frank in 1933 and became closely associated with the family. She and her fiancé, Jan Gies, refused to join a Nazi women's association, which resulted in the invalidation of her passport and a deportation order. However, they managed to marry before her deportation, allowing her to obtain Dutch citizenship and evade deportation.

During the period of hiding, Miep Gies played a crucial role in providing food and supplies for the people in hiding. She employed various strategies to avoid suspicion, such as visiting multiple suppliers in a day and carrying limited quantities. She also avoided entering the hiding place during office hours to prevent arousing suspicion among the Opekta workers. Her husband, Jan, provided additional support by obtaining ration cards illegally. Despite the risks, Gies stated that she was glad to help, as she was deeply concerned about the plight of the Jews in Amsterdam.

On the morning of the arrest, Miep Gies, along with Bep Voskuijl and Kleiman, were confronted by a man with a gun. They were ordered to stay put and remain silent. The families had been betrayed, and the Grüne Polizei arrested the people in hiding, as well as Kugler and Kleiman. The next day, Gies attempted to negotiate the release of the arrestees by offering money, but her efforts were unsuccessful. Fortunately, she avoided arrest herself due to a coincidental connection with the interrogating police officer, who happened to be from her birthplace, Vienna. This connection spared her from the fate that could have befallen her as punishment for aiding the Jews in hiding.

While Miep and Jan Gies avoided formal punishment for their role in assisting Anne Frank and her companions, they undoubtedly faced immense risks and dangers. Their bravery and compassion in the face of Nazi persecution exemplify the courage of those who stood against injustice during this dark period in history.

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