【明報專訊】A former FBI agent has set out to uncover who betrayed Anne Frank by turning her family over to the Nazis (納粹黨) during the Second World War. Anne Frank was one of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust (大屠殺). She gained fame posthumously following the publication of The Diary of a Young Girl, in which she recorded her life with her family in hiding from the Nazis in Amsterdam from 1942 to 1944.

A team of 19 forensic experts (法證專家) led by Vince Pankoke, the retired FBI agent, is using modern techniques to investigate the cold case. The team has supervised a reconstruction of the day of the Frank family's arrest. They also analyzed the contemporary witness statements (證人供辭) and interviews.

"We are not trying to point fingers or prosecute. I am just trying to solve the last case of my career.There is no statute of limitation (追溯限期) on the truth." Vince Pankoke said.

The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, now one of the city's most popular attractions having been converted to a museum, published its own study last December, suggesting that the Franks may have been uncovered by chance instead of being betrayed. The house has made available its archives to facilitate Pankoke's investigation.

(Sources: Ming Pao, The Guardian)

■English highway﹕cold case

A cold case is an unsolved criminal investigation that has had no new developments for a long period of time.

e.g. These files record the cold cases that have never been solved.

■Photo Story

Anne Frank's diary documents her life from 1942 to 1944, when her family were hiding in Amsterdam from German Nazis.

■Quiz

Answer the following questions.

(Answers on next text)

1. Is the following sentence true or false?

Vince Pankoke has found out who had betrayed Anne Frank's family.

True/False

2. Where did Anne Frank and her family hide from the Nazis?

______________________________________

3. Find in paragraph three a word that is similar in meaning to "take to court".

___________________

4. Which of the following is true about the Anne Frank House's own study?

a. The Franks were uncovered intentionally by some parties.

b. The Franks were uncovered by chance.

c. Someone betrayed the Franks.

d. All of the above.

■Glossary

set out (phr v) 動身; 開始

uncover (v) 揭露

posthumously (adv) 於死後

archive (n) 檔案

[Smarties' Power English 第195期]