Another Holocaust memoir proves false

[trystinn]

A few of the Jewish lists I belong to are a buzz with the news about yet another fraudulent holocaust memoir being found out. Jews are pretty forgiving about folks who write memoirs of the Shoah. A few factual or timeline inaccuracies are quietly tucked back as being par for the PTSD course, as it were. By and large, memoirs aren't challenged for historical accuracies, of course. There's something vaguely anti-Semetic about those who do, especially the Holocaust deniers. And so, these books are rarely fact checked even as the Red Cross is under increasing pressure to release the Holocaust archives they are still holding tightly to (making this kind of research even harder). In fact, once an author is targeted for fact checking, the publisher and agent are quick to identify these acts as anti-Semetic and anti-Holocaust rhetoric. When these books are fact checked, the reviewer is often scrutinized far greater than the author - see criticism about "Night" by Eli Wiesel for more on this. The only fact checkers who are allowed to criticize these books are Jewish survivors, themselves, or their families left behind (such is the case with the book "Misha", the family's survivors are quick to point out the author usurped their family name and history). Genealogists and historians have become the heroes in this endeavor, thankfully, no matter what their backgrounds are.

The main issue seems to center upon the number of these being written by gentiles claiming to be Jews. Which somehow makes it all that much worse, frankly. If a catholic, gypsy or homosexual is writing about the horrors of their experience with the Nazis - welcome all to Hell's bandwagon and all that. By all means, Jews were not the only victims by any stretch of the imagination. We're often the only ones talked about, but a trip to the Holocaust Museum will educate even the most naive.

So why all these gentiles in Jewish clothing books? There's a lot of psychology floating about to explain this. Identifying with the horror of the Holocaust, malingering of their own situations, the very understandable PTSD making decisions and creating justifications for what was done. The cynical may claim that a Jewish Holocaust story has a greater audience than a catholic one, especially with the very complicated role the catholic church held during WWII. At the end of the day, the explanation seems far more complicated than greed, over-whelming empathy or delusion. And the horrible decision to publish as non-fiction when a book is clearly fiction taints everyone involved.

Comments

[mamaursula.livejournal.com]

Long before you and I ever knew one another, I was horrified by the great slap in the face of humanity known as the Holocaust. I have several posts in my own journal as things come to the surface enough for me to hear about them. I don't seek out the horror, I just cry looking at the faces of those who suffered during it. Millions of people died at the hands of those butchers and they weren't all Jewish. I'm sad to see that that is not recognized in common knowledge. As far as I can tell, nearly all of Poland was wiped clean just because it seemed like the thing to do at the time. It is sad that this is an issue at all.

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

The empathetic mind wants to disbelieve the Holocaust because there's on way we can understand it. In this vein, we cannot understand the Sudan, Darfur, Serbia, etc. either, even as they are on smaller scales. The same way we don't truly appreciate the Holocausts that have happened here in America to the Native Americans, the Mexicans, slaves, etc.

What we MUST take away is an understanding of how these atrocities begin. The mindset of the politicians, the animus of the community, the warning signs. And sadly, these are identifiable in our country: the preoccupation with immigrants, the calling out of various minorities, the ever-shuffling blame game of politicians and religious leaders.

I'm heartened, yet broken-hearted, when I see Eli Wiesel give Oprah a tour of his concentration camp. Two highly revered members of marginalized communities standing together and saying "Never again on my watch". And I remember Spielberg's tearful confession to Oprah that he felt unqualified to direct "The Color Purple" and her adamant response than he held every qualification that mattered.

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

Why is the Red Cross being so stingy with their documents? You'd think it'd be a real healing experience for a lot of people to see that information.

Alex is currently interviewing his mother who was a child in rural Germany during the war, with the idea of turning the interviews into a book (with an historical timeline to put her experiences in perspective). Even in her tiny village, she remembers quite clearly the atrocities committed on the Jews.

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

No one really knows why the Red Cross is delaying release - its been how many decades now? The task itself is over-whelming, its expensive and sadly, the materials themselves are now endangered since so much of the paper is acid-based or carbon copies.

Speaking against the Red Cross is tough, but quietly its being done. Spielberg's "Shoah Project" is handling the human side of history, but written historical side is falling grievously behind.

I have my great-grandfather's story about how my family left Ireland, its one of the truly meaningful pieces of our family lore. And I have my grandmother's story of her father leaving Germany with his family after WWI.

Its not easy hearing these stories and he will most likely have nightmares afterward. Once he's done, he may want to offer the information to the Shoah Project.

Give Alex a hug for me, will ya?

[paigemom.livejournal.com]

Will do. She's already told him about the day all the Jews in her town (Meinengen)(sp?) were massacred. She remembers seeing blood trickle down the front steps of the temple -- they were all killed inside. She was 12-ish at the time.

She's never told anyone else in the family that story.

I will mention the possibility to him of offering the information to the Shoah Project.