While Mr. Kraler accompanied the police in their search of the building, Mr. Koophuis and the two girls were ordered to remain at their desks. His first concern was to protect the two girls, and he told them to leave the building and insist that they had been unaware of what was going on, if asked. He was taken with the others to Gestapo headquarters, but largely because of his presence of mind, Miep and Elli were not taken too.
As they left the building, Mr. Koophuis relates: "I was the first to step out on the street. People were standing around on the sidewalk, staring as if there had been a traffic accident. They all looked stunned. I was also the first to get into the van and sat down way up in front, behind the driver."
As they waited in the cell at Gestapo headquarters, Mr. Frank told Mr. Koophuis how bad he felt that this had happened to them. Mr. Koophuis replied: "Don't give it another thought. It was up to me, and I wouldn't have done it differently." Koophuis and Kraler did not talk to their captors, who did not invest very much effort in forcing them to do so.
Fortunately, an international welfare organization intervened on behalf of Koophuis, pointing out that he was ill. He was released for medical care after a few weeks of imprisonment, and then he returned to Amsterdam.
