The Day of the Arrest

"I still find it impossible to talk about certain things. And I no longer want to talk about other things. For instance how I felt when we were routed out of our hiding place."

Otto Frank, 1979

It is August 4, 1944, a lovely sunny day. An anonymous tip arrives that morning by telphone at the headquarters of the Sicherheitsdienst (SD or Security Police). The SD-officer in charge, Julius Deetman, takes the call and orders the
officer on duty SS-Oberscharführer Karl Silberbauer to the Prinsengracht. Four Dutch Nazis go with him to assist. Silberbauer and a few of his men go into the warehouse on the ground floor of the building. They approach the ware-
houseman Van Maaren who points in silence, indicating upstairs.