Matt Lucas stunned as he discovers his relative featured in Anne Frank’s diary

Matt Lucas has been left stunned to learn a relative of his featured in Anne Frank’s diary.

The Great British Bake Off host, 48, made the astounding discover during a new episode of BBC One genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? which saw him travel to Amsterdam to learn more about his German-born Jewish family.

And during the exploration into the past, Matt discovered that one of his ancestors – Werner Goldschmidt – lodged with the Frank family before they were captured by the Nazis and even had a mention in the teenager’s world-famous journal.

Can’t believe it: Matt Lucas has been left stunned to learn a relative of his featured in Anne Frank’s diary

The show saw Matt delve into his Jewish heritage and learn about his Jewish grandmother Margot, her aunts and cousins and their experience during the Holocaust. 

Anne and her family hid for two years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands before being rounded up and sent to a concentration camp.

And ahead of them going into hiding in concealed rooms in the building where Anne’s father Otto worked, Matt’s relative Werner is said to have lodged with the family reports The Mirror.

When asked if he was surprised by the link, Matt told the host: ‘Yes, my ancestor would have known Anne Frank, the writer of one of the most important books ever written. And Werner is actually mentioned in the diary.

History: During the exploration into the past, Matt discovered that one of his ancestors – Werner Goldschmidt – lodged with the Frank family before they were captured by the Nazis and even had a mention in the teenager’s [pictured] world-famous journal

See also  JANUARY 6 HEARING: Mark Meadows' top aide Cassidy Hutchinson, 25, testifies in surprise hearing

‘It’s the one story everyone knows if you know no other story, that story about what happened to the Jews in World War Two, you know the story of the Frank family. I read it when I was younger and never realised she was talking about a relative of mine.’

It’s said that ahead of them going into hiding between 1942 and 1944 – during which time Anne wrote her diary – Matt’s grandmother’s cousin Werner was given instructions to give the Frank family cat to a neighbour, with the request featured in the book.

Matt said of this: ‘He didn’t necessarily know that they were about to go into hiding, so he was lurking around slightly unwelcome the night before they were going.

‘He wasn’t to know this momentous event was taking place.’

Past: The Great British Bake Off host, 48, made the astounding discover during a new episode of BBC One genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? which saw him travel to Amsterdam to learn more about his German-born Jewish family

Family: The show saw Matt delve into his Jewish heritage and learn about his Jewish grandmother Margot [pictured as a young woman], her aunts and cousins and their experience during the Holocaust.

Anne died of typhus at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in February 1945, days after the death of her sister, Margot. Their mother Edith had died that January — separated from her daughters in Auschwitz.

Their father, Otto, was the only one to survive. And in 1947 he published Anne’s diary about their life in hiding, submitting to history arguably the most moving testament of World War II.

It remains one of the most widely read books in the world, with more than 30 million people having read The Diary Of A Young Girl in 70 languages.

The episode also saw the Little Britain star travel to Berlin to discover more about his grandmother Margot, who came to the UK in 1939 as a Jewish refugee fleeing Nazi Germany.

Shock: ‘It’s the one story everyone knows if you know no other story, that story about what happened to the Jews in World War Two, you know the story of the Frank family. I read it when I was younger and never realised she was talking about a relative of mine’

Matt explained that he was ‘really close’ to his beloved grandmother, who passed away in 1999, and though he had been aware of his family dying in concentration camp, he had not known the full details until the filming of the programme.

Sharing his upset over the deaths of Werner and other relatives in concentration camps, Matt said: ‘It’s terrible. 

‘Where you are born and what your religion is, that lottery determines your fate, and it is not a lottery you even choose to play.

‘My grandmother never talked about her cousins, but I think she knew what had happened to them. I’d been told in the vaguest terms that my family had died in the camps, but I had never been told their names and I never knew the details.’

Historical figure: Anne and her family hid for two years during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands before being rounded up and sent to a concentration camp

See also  Marine Le Pen's 27-year-old 'general' Jordan Bardella elected president of French far-right party 

A look back: Matt’s ancestor Herta Goldschmidt is pictured alongside Max Salinger, Grete Paradise, Sophie Blumenfeld and others

He added: ‘There is always a risk as a Jew that, because this is recent history, it could happen again. It is so important to tell these stories.’ 

Despite the heartbreaking discovery about his family history, the TV star told how he was fortunate to be able to learn more about his grandmother and ancestors.

‘I think when you grow up, you just take the older figures in your family at face value and you don’t really grill them on what they did before you knew them; you live in the present’, he explained.

‘My grandmother always made it clear how proud she was of me. And now I’m proud of her. So I feel very lucky that I have had this opportunity to learn about my family history and to reconnect with Grandma Margot, who was such a big part of my life.

‘It helps keep her alive for me, because I really miss her.’

Matt Lucas’ Who Do You Think You Are? episode airs June 16 at 9pm on BBC One.

Grateful: ‘I feel very lucky that I have had this opportunity to learn about my family history and to reconnect with Grandma Margot, who was such a big part of my life’