Memoirs

[Deleted]

The New York Times is reporting that Berkley Books has canceled publication of the Holocaust memoir "Angel at the Fence" by Herman Rosenblat because they discovered that the central story (that he met his future wife when she threw an apple to him over the fence at the Buchenwald death camp) was a load of horseshit. Berkley's also demanding every red cent they paid out back from Rosenblat andhis agent. Rosenblat's already been on Oprah with this story and sold it to a Hollywood studio, though. The film studio (Atlantic Overseas) says they plan to film the story as is, but promote it as part-fiction and donate all the money Rosenblat would have received to Holocaust-related charities.

[dwanollah]

So I can refer to the book as "The Apple-Chuckers" without guilt...?

[Auroranorth]

Ava Gardner's autobiography is a hoot. She was very good at calling a spade a flipping shovel, and it comes across in the book.

[Deleted]

Dec 28, 2008 21:29:06 GMT -4 @dguzpy said:

The New York Times is reporting that Berkley Books has canceled publication of the Holocaust memoir "Angel at the Fence" by Herman Rosenblat because they discovered that the central story (that he met his future wife when she threw an apple to him over the fence at the Buchenwald death camp) was a load of horseshit. Berkley's also demanding every red cent they paid out back from Rosenblat andhis agent. Rosenblat's already been on Oprah with this story and sold it to a Hollywood studio, though. The film studio (Atlantic Overseas) says they plan to film the story as is, but promote it as part-fiction and donate all the money Rosenblat would have received to Holocaust-related charities.

I've never heard of the book or author, but I'm not surprised by that. I don't think there were any women inmates in that concentration camp, just men.

Tonight I was reminded of Mary Higgin Clark's memoir/autobiography--my father was telling me that he heard her talking on NPR today--she really went through some difficult times. Her husband died young and she raised several young children alone. I think she began her writing career as a way to support her family. It was a very interesting book (more so than her mysteries, imo, though I did love them back in high school).

[Deleted]

Rosenblat and his brothers were imprisoned as children in the camp. That part is true. He claimed that his future wife was a Jew posing as a Christian and living in a village near the camp. So she was outside and he was inside the fence when the apple-tossing happened. His story was doubted almost immediately after he went public with it when historians and survivors pointed out that the camp's fences were higher than most little kids could throw anything, that the fences were closely patrolled, and that there were multiple rows of fences. In short, the future Mrs. Rosenblat would have to have the arm of Willie Mays and the stealth of James Bond to pull this stunt off.

[Deleted]

I feel more sympathetic towards Rosenblat than the usual literary hoax perpetrator. He really did survive a concentration camp, and perhaps created a redemptive storyline in order to get people to listen to experiences he really wanted to talk about. Maybe he wanted people to believe that the story about the apples was true, because he really wished that it had been true.

I don't think Rosenblat should have lied, but it's hard to believe he's as calculating as someone who invented a traumatic backstory in order to land a book deal. (cough*Margaret Seltzer*cough)

[Deleted]

When there are still dirtbags like Mel Gibson's father walking the Earth, it does no one any good for anyone to insert lies into the history of the Holocaust, even if they have the most benevolent motives. While memories can fade and get fuzzy around the edges, there's a difference between ascribing a particular act to Mr. A. instead of Mr. B. because you simply don't remember correctly and making stuff up out of whole cloth. Rosenblat's true story of survival and finding true love (and a happy marriage of more than 50 years!) after a nightmarish childhood was worth telling and worth reading. For shame if his actions cast any Holocaust survivor's history in doubt.

[Deleted]

I'm not saying that Rosenblat did the right thing, only that his motives were probably quite complicated. The story he told seemed dubious from the beginning, and should have been carefully vetted before publication. It could have been published as fiction based on actual events, rather than straight up non-fiction. However, given what he went through, Rosenblat might not have realized that a story which helped and comforted him might be harmful in the grand scheme of things.

[Deleted]

I agree with you, dguzpy. It does more harm than good, and I'd think a Holocaust survivor would be acutely aware of why.

For a (totally factual) memoir that includes survival from Buchenwald, I recommend Balaam's Prophecy by Naphtalie Lau-Lavie. The first half of the book recounts his experiences in the Holocaust as a teenager, including how he risked his life to save his seven year old brother's life (he smuggled him into Buchenwald in a knapsack). It was a very moving story and not graphically written (I have a hard time reading graphic Holocaust memoirs).

[Deleted]

The New York Post is reporting that Herman Rosenblat's son has known about the deception for years and had begged his dad to stop telling the lie, to no avail. The son is disgusted by it all and has little to do with his father. Herman's brother, who was in Buchenwald with him, died a couple of years ago and the two brothers were estranged because of the lie. This makes me question whether Herman had benevolent motives at all. You want to inspire people with a tale of love but you're willing to destroy your relationships with your brother and son to do it? The late brother's wife told the Post that she thinks Herman did it all for the money.