January 2022 saw the publication of the book The Betrayal of Anne Frank: A Cold Case Investigation. In the book a team of investigators identified an Amsterdam notary as the most likely betrayer of the secret annex at Prinsengracht 263. 

A number of Dutch historians wrote a critical response to the investigation and the book. The response centred on ‘amateurish execution’, ‘misuse of sources’, ‘unsound reasoning’ and ‘tunnel vision’. At an early stage of the intended report we were asked whether we could provide a fast, high-quality English translation of the report.

The requirement was for a translation into ‘native-speaker English that was smooth and easy to read’.

We found ourselves facing a large volume of text, by different authors who were still writing, and a ‘fairly tight deadline’, as the time and place of the report’s presentation (in both Dutch and English) had already been fixed. We were asked ‘if this was an assignment our firm could fulfil.’

We like a challenge and got down to work. We engaged a team of three translators, each of whom took on several chapters. We carried out the final checks and editing. The English translation was produced and double-checked within the tight deadline.

There was one other specific feature, or more accurately pitfall. The report, including all the quotations, was a response to the Dutch translation of the original English book (The Betrayal of Anne Frank). However, the report was intended for an international audience. In our translation we therefore had to search for all the quotations and page numbers from ‘Het verraad …’ in ‘The Betrayal ….’, and then adjust our translation to match the English book. We also took on that last-minute editing.

Our final translation was completed on time for the presentation and discussion evening in Amsterdam and is now publicly available, free of charge, through a number of websites.

In response to the report the Dutch publisher has withdrawn the book Het verraad van Anne Frank from sale.
Publishers in other countries are expected to follow suit.