The eight in the Secret Annex weren’t the only ones apprehended in the raid: The Gestapo also arrested Johannes Kleiman and Victor Kugler. At SD headquarters, the two were separated from the rest of the group and questioned by Nazi intelligence officers, but they refused to speak. In retaliation, both were hauled off to prison- without the chance to say goodbye to their Jewish friends- and transported to a camp outside of Amsterdam. Luckily for 48-year-old Johannes, who suffered from stomach ulcers, he was released a week later due to his poor health at the insistence of the Red Cross. Victor wasn’t as fortunate, and was transferred to two more camps before ultimately being selected for a death march headed to Germany in March 1945.
During the journey, an Allied plane shot at the Nazi-led group, and amid the ensuing chaos Victor was able to escape.After a few days, the 44-year-old came upon a village, where he borrowed a bicycle and pedaled more than 50 miles home to his wife. Following Johannes’ release, he returned to work at Opekta. Nine months later, Otto Frank returned after surviving the war and the two partners continued to run the business together- until 1953, when Otto moved to Switzerland and left Johannes in charge. With the popularity of Anne’s diary, visitors regularly showed up at 263 Prinsengracht hoping to see the annex, and Johannes always obliged.
He was also instrumental in establishing the Anne Frank House (AFH), but sadly, died at age 63 while sitting at his desk -a year before the museum opened in 1960. As for Victor, he immigrated to Toronto and worked as an electrician, but remained in touch with his former colleagues. When he retired, he too got involved with the AFH, giving lectures on the girl he once delighted with copies of Cinema & Theater magazine. At Otto’s request, in 1973 the helpers received the high Israeli award Righteous Among the Nations, given to those who helped Jews during the Holocaust. Eight years later, Victor died from Alzheimer’s at the age of 81. When asked why he risked his own life for the people in the Secret Annex, his answer was simple: “They were my friends.”
