An author, Misha Defonseca, who claimed that after the Nazis took her parents away, she - at age 7 - wandered across Europe, crossed rivers, was befriended by wolves [wolves?? yup wolves], and managed to survive, has apparently admitted she made the whole thing up.
The European press is full of stories about this as are various American blogs.
Turns out she is not even Jewish. Wilkomirski redux. People like this are beneath contempt.
This woman must really be a true lowlife since she sued her American publisher for not having done enough to make her book a bestseller. She won a $33 million settlement. When have publishers ever done enough???
Here's her publisher's side of the story.
Ugh.
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6 comments:
Thank you for covering this story. What Defonseca did has created 10 years of hell for her publisher Jane Daniel not to mention the contemptible affront to true survivors of the Holocaust. She claims that she never wanted to tell her story but Jane Daniel talked her into it. Yet, after she destroyed Daniel's publishing company and took the rights to the book away from her (along with hundreds of thousands of dollars), she took her book to France and published it there and in 16 other countries --- along with school books for children, an Italian operetta based on the book and the movie now out in France. The movie is beautiful and a wonderful story but based on a destructive lie.
Thank you for your blog article.
Thank you for commenting on my blog. I was drawn to this story when I heard reviews of the film. I know nothing of the background to this story and will read your blog and others on the subject in more detail.
« People like this are beneath contempt. »
Who are you to judge her ? Were both your parents killed by the nazis, as were hers ?
"Who are you to judge her ? Were both your parents killed by the nazis, as were hers ?"
How does that license fraud?
Above and beyond the author's dishonesty is the incompetence of the publishers. How can such a transparently phony tale make it into print, far less a full-length feature film?
The watchdogs are snoozing.
"Who are you to judge her ? Were both your parents killed by the nazis, as were hers ?"
Does that mean she can claim any identity and cause pain to those who have really suffered???
"Who are you to judge her ? Were both your parents killed by the nazis, as were hers ?"
I have a difficult time believing anything this woman claims. How do you know both her parents were killed by the nazis? She's now an admitted liar.
But beyond that, we have every right to "judge" her. She has made herself a public figure by writing the book. She has attempted to profit by lying. Worse, she has attempted to capitalize on the suffering of others. If she wanted to write a novel, that would be fine, and it might have made a compelling story. She had a choice.
-Sara
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