Archaeologists working at the site of a notorious Nazi death camp have unearthed a pendant thought to be identical to one owned by Anne Frank.

Researchers at Yad Vashem revealed that the triangular pendant inscribed with the words ‘mazal tov’ and the details 3.7.1929, Frankfurt, may have belonged to a teenager called Karoline Cohn who perished at Sobibor. On the reverse is the Hebrew letter ‘heh’ and three Stars of David.

Holocaust experts believe the only other pendant like this belonged to the young Dutch diarist Anne Frank, who died at Bergen-Belsen. They are now exploring the possibility that the two girls may have been connected.

A spokesman for Yad Vashem said: “Additional research reveals that aside from similarities between the pendants, both Anne Frank and Karoline Cohn were born in Frankfurt, suggesting a possible familial connection between Frank and Cohn. Researchers are currently trying to locate relatives of the two families to further explore this avenue.”

The pendant was found in an area where it is thought that victims were undressed and had their heads shaved before being sent to the gas chambers. These archaeological findings were discovered by Polish archaeologist Wojciech Mazurek and Yoram Haimi, an archaeologist from the Israel Antiquities Authority and their Dutch associate, archaeologist Ivar Schute. 

Mr Haimi said: “This pendant demonstrates once again the importance of archaeological research of former Nazi death camp sites. The moving story of Karoline Cohn is symbolic of the shared fate of the Jews murdered in the camp. It is important to tell the story, so that we never forget."