Mr Frank was composed. He said he wanted to do everything possible to help my father make a film that was true to the experience — and he invited us to go with him to the spice factory at 263 Prinsengracht. The three of us entered the four-story building at the centre of a block of rowhouses overlooking a canal. The building was empty and had been out of use for some time. We climbed the stairway until we were in the fourth-floor rooms where the families had hidden. Otto Frank described the day the Gestapo broke through the bookcase door that concealed the entrance. It was determined later that Gestapo Oberscharfuhrer Karl Silberbauer was the man in charge. He snatched Mr Frank’s briefcase and emptied the contents on the floor. He gathered up the silverware and a Hanukkah menorah and left behind papers and other contents as they herded the two families down the stairs.

Anne’s diary remained on the floor.

On that day the normally efficient German war machine failed. Silberbauer left behind evidence — a document that would one day make Anne Frank’s voice and spirit an important part of world literature, a voice for humanity and tolerance. Her memory became an enduring presence that would grow in importance as the once-powerful voice of Adolf Hitler faded into ignominy.

Washington Post