'Wolf woman' invents Holocaust survival taleBy Bruno Waterfield in Brussels Last Updated: 4:14pm GMT 29/02/2008
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Posted on 02/29/2008 8:54:24 AM PST by Stoat
'Wolf woman' invents Holocaust survival taleBy Bruno Waterfield in Brussels Last Updated: 4:14pm GMT 29/02/2008
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The Belgian author who made £10 million from her bestselling autobiography describing how, as a girl of seven, she lived with wolves while trekking 3,000 miles across Nazi Europe has admitted she made the story up.
Misha Defonseca's book, "Surviving with Wolves", tells the story of a young Jewish girl who journeys across Europe to find her parents after they were arrested by the Nazis during World War Two.
But today the author admitted she invented the story to make up for her painful real experiences. She is not Jewish and spent the war safely in Brussels.
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War in Europe: Misha with the grandmother who brought her up, Marthe Coulon, during the World War II. She had claimed her parents were arrested by the Nazis for being Jewish, but has now admitted inventing much of the story
Ms Defonseca told the French newspaper Le Figaro: "It's true, I have always recounted to myself a life, another life, a life that cut me off from my family, a life far from the men I hated."
Doubts over her story emerged recently and she has been involved in a long-running dispute with her publisher over royalties and the marketing of the book.
Misha Defonseca, aged seven in 1942
But critics have said that, contrary to the account in her book, her family was not Jewish and her father was arrested as a member of the resistance.
She said she was called "the daughter of the traitor" because her father was suspected of having talked under torture.
"Apart from my grandfather, I hated the people who looked after me. They treated me badly, I always felt different," she said, adding that she had "always felt Jewish".
She said she had become fascinated by wolves as part of her fantasy escape from her real life.
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A life with wolves: Misha playing with a wolf she has helped to raise at the sanctuary near her home in Massachusetts, USA
"And I mixed everything up. There are times when it is difficult for me to tell the difference between what was reality and what my interior universe was.
"I ask pardon of all those who feel betrayed," she said.
Defonseca accused her U.S. publisher, Jane Daniel, who was ordered by a court in 2005 to pay her £11 million, of pressuring her into writing a book she had never wanted to produce.
Her lawyer, Marc Uyttendaele, wrote to Belgium's Le Soir newspaper saying while the book may be improbable in places, it was a "message of hope".
"In other words, it matters little whether the account is real or partly allegorical, it is the product of absolute good faith, a cry of suffering and an act of courage. In that it deserves only respect," he wrote.
The hugely popular book was recently made into a successful film.
For much of story, the young girl achieves the improbable - sleeping in forests, and being fed and protected by wolves, like Rudyard Kipling's character Mowgli in The Jungle Book.
Well, as long as she felt it, I guess it's OK. This is so Oprah.
Calling Dan Rather! Calling Dan Rather!
Well, as long as she felt it, I guess it's OK. This is so Oprah.
From the Daily Mail article:
"In other words, it matters little whether the account is real or partly allegorical, it is the product of absolute good faith, a cry of suffering and an act of courage. In that it deserves only respect," he wrote.
It's so comforting and heartwarming to know that a lawyer is upholding the tenets of his profession by courageously and tirelessly seeking and defending The Truth at every opportunity.
"snicker"
"In other words, it matters little whether the account is real or partly allegorical, it is the product of absolute good faith, a cry of suffering and an act of courage. In that it deserves only respect," he wrote.
Misha/Monique: Meet Rigoberta Menchu.
And Tawana Brawley.
As to that "message of hope" BS: You have a soul-brother: Barry Obama.
Probably still a good tale. Shoulda published it as a work of fiction...
I don't think that he had to give any of his ill-gotten profits back, did he? And he certainly served no time in jail for fraud.
As a result, it's become an accepted and defensible practice....if you can get away with it, fine. If you get caught, just claim that you believed it in your heart anyway and whether it was true or not is irrelevant because it helped you on your spiritual journey through life.
<<<<banging head on desk
So, who's the 'fool' here? Her for writing and selling that piece of literary fiction or the people who bought it and published it (not to mention the people who bought the books)?
Taking advantage of people with a cockamamie made-up story? What, was she raised by wolves?
No matter if it’s true or not - she believes it is, anyway
Ol' Dan would be envious....he failed in his bid to cause President Bush to lose the election, he lost what little credibility he had with his few remaining viewers and he didn't make over twenty million dollars for his efforts as this woman did.
She will now go on the daytime talk show "I'm so sorry and I'll cry on camera now" tour and will be feted as a 'strong, courageous woman' who 'battled her inner demons in the only way she knew how' by the usual militant feminist and Oprah-esque suspects. Dan, on the other hand, will merely die an extremely wealthy, bitter liberal but without the enduring reputation that he had hoped for.
Sounds like Obama's campaign.
And her publisher might have developed an ounce of interest in fact-checking before they published it and placed their own reputation on the line as well.
From the Daily Mail article:
Ms Defonseca told the French newspaper Le Figaro: "It's true, I have always recounted to myself a life, another life, a life that cut me off from my family, a life far from the men I hated."
Well, there you go. She has 'man issues' and so she gets a pass from a liberal publisher.
Yes, lots of blubbering, fawning, childish reviews at Amazon's German site as well as a four and a half star average..."Best book I've ever read"; "I cried while reading it"; "Best book of my life"; 'Waiting for the sequel" etc. etc.
Amazon.de Misha A Memoire of the Holocaust Years Misha Defonseca English Books
I suppose it's to be expected.....these are people who believe that Socialism works in a multi-ethnic culture and that Capitalism is evil.
pffft!
"In other words, it matters little whether the account is real or partly allegorical, it is the product of absolute good faith, a cry of suffering and an act of courage. In that it deserves only respect," he wrote.
Misha/Monique: Meet Rigoberta Menchu.
And Tawana Brawley.
And Alex Haley, Dan Rather, the list goes on and on and (shocked expression on face) they all appear to be on the Left...who'da thunk it?
As to that "message of hope" BS: You have a soul-brother: Barry Obama.
She will undoubtedly be invited on Oprah's show very soon to discuss her 'personal battle with her inner demons' and her 'courage'.
It would be amusing to see how much she's donated to the Obama campaign....they are undoubtedly on the same wavelength.
At least she didn’t claim to invent the internet.
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