Anne Frank Diary Reference :
Anne Frank Blog
1 April 2006
Theory about Otto Frank
There is a new theory that
Anne's father was an evil mastermind, a controlling,
humorless personality.
But this would mean that so many people were wrong
about him. All
the loyal helpers, who agreed to risk their lives and did
so for over two years, keeping the people in hiding alive and safe.
And not only that, these helpers continued
to be good friends with him during the decades after he returned
from Auschwitz. Also it would mean he fooled his second wife and
his step-daughter. And his biographer, Carol Ann Lee.
Most significantly, it would mean he fooled his daughter, Anne
Frank. She misinterpreted things he did for her and
the good fun they had (for example, the Paula stories).
But if this theory is correct,
should we believe much of anything Anne (and the others) wrote? What
was her mother really like? And their situation and her experiences? Time to toss her diary
out? (Well I wouldn't go quite so far as that, but you can read
the theory yourself: extensive, intense, heavily footnoted report.)