It turns out Misha Defonseca's Holocaust memoir was mostly fabricated. Here's a little summary:
"Defonseca wrote in her book that Nazis seized her parents when she was a child, forcing her to wander the forests and villages of Europe alone for four years. She claimed she found herself trapped in the Warsaw ghetto, killed a Nazi soldier in self-defense and was adopted by a pack of wolves that protected her."
This is such an improbable series of events, and yet the publishers and the general public believed it. There are probably a few reasons why. In part, it may have to do with the feeling that a Holocaust-survivor would not lie about her experiences. The Holocaust was in many ways stranger than fiction and therefore to embellish a story taking place during the Holocaust would be a fruitless effort. Another reason it was accepted may be that it was simply too improbable to be untrue. The thinking goes: "This has to be true! If you were lying about your past and wanted people to take your word, why would you say you lived with a pack of wolves?"
1 comment:
What a shame that the Rosenblats lied about their story. I wish Oprah would publicize only checked-out true stories from now on forward.
I read about a genuine Holocaust love story in the NY Times recently and it's better than the Rosenblats anyway. Stan Lee and Neal Adams the famous comic book artists were publicizing the story of Dina Gottliebova Babbitt. I checked and I'm surprised there's no book on this yet. It's a great story! It also appears to be all true, thankfully.
Dina Gottliebova Babbitt who was a 19 year old art student at Auschwitz. There she painted Snow White and the Seven Dwarves on the wall of the children's barracks to cheer them up. Dina's art became her salvation and helped her find true love!
Dr. Mengele, the Angel of Death, found out about the mural Dina painted and called for her. She thought she was going to be gassed, but she bravely stood up to Mengele and he decided to make her his portrait painter, saving herself and her mother from the gas chamber.
After the war, Dina interviewed for a job as an animator based on the art she did in Auschwitz and the person interviewing her turned out to be the man who created Snow White & the 7 Dwarfs for the movie. They fell in love and got married. Show White saved Dina's life twice! I love this story!
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