In 1941, Johannes Kleiman and Victor Kugler became directors of Otto Frank’s companies after anti-Jewish measures forced Otto to relinquish control of his businesses. From July 1942 onwards, the two men not only managed the companies but also helped those in hiding in the Annex at Prinsengracht 263 in Amsterdam. They carried out this dangerous work together with four other helpers: Bep Voskuijl and her father Johan Voskuijl, and Miep and Jan Gies. Helping Jewish people was both a great responsibility and an extremely dangerous undertaking, and it took its toll.
Arrest of the people in hiding and their helpers in the Annex
Otto Frank among the helpers, with Johannes Kleiman and Victor Kugler standing from left to right, August 1945.
Aug. 4, 2026 — On 4 August 1944, 82 years ago today, Anne Frank, the seven other people hiding in the Annex, and two of their helpers were arrested. The arrest and the tragic fate of those in hiding are well known. Of the eight, only Otto Frank returned from the camps after the war. Less well known is the fate of two of the helpers, Johannes Kleiman and Victor Kugler. What happened to them?
‘On 10 September 1943, Anne Frank wrote in her diary about Kleiman: “You know how fond we all are of him, and although he is always ill, often in pain, and is not supposed to eat much or walk very far, he is always cheerful and admirably brave.’
‘Kugler, for whom the enormous responsibility for the eight of us is sometimes almost too much to bear, can hardly speak because of the strain and tension he keeps bottled up.’
Camp Amersfoort
For more than two years, the six helpers succeeded in keeping the eight people in hiding out of the hands of the Nazis, until the raid on 4 August 1944. Along with those in hiding, Johannes Kleiman and Victor Kugler were also arrested and imprisoned. Otto Frank felt guilty, but Johannes immediately reassured him, saying: “Don’t worry about that! I had a choice, and I do not regret it.” At the beginning of September, Johannes Kleiman and Victor Kugler were deported to Camp Amersfoort. Because of his poor health, Johannes was released after only a week, following intervention by the Red Cross. Victor remained there for three weeks before being transferred via Zwolle to Wageningen. In March 1945, he was forced to march towards Nazi Germany with a large group of prisoners. When the column came under attack from Allied aircraft, he managed to escape. After several days on the run, aided by strangers, Victor made it back home to his wife, where he remained in hiding until the liberation.
Righteous Among the Nations
The helpers kept Otto Frank’s businesses running and hoped for the return of those in hiding: Otto, Edith, Margot and Anne Frank; Hermann, Auguste and Peter van Pels; and Fritz Pfeffer. Only Otto survived the concentration and extermination camps and returned to Amsterdam after the war. When Otto Frank moved to Basel in 1952, Johannes became his trusted representative in Amsterdam, a role he fulfilled until his death in January 1959. Victor emigrated to Canada in 1956, where he died in December 1981. After the war, both men stated that they had never hesitated to help those in hiding. They were their friends. In 1973, at Otto Frank’s request, five of the Annex helpers were honoured with Israel’s prestigious title of Righteous Among the Nations.