In 1966, the French-Jewish author Jean-François Steiner - with the assistance of the ghost-writer Gilles Perrault - published a book with the title Treblinka, which was highly rated by prominent figures like Simone de Beauvoir. Publicity slogan: 'Treblinka' is one of many true stories written about the fate of the Jews during World War II at the hands of the Nazis. It is told in all its gruesome detail, leaving the reader emotionally drained. - Fourteen years later, the French Jew Pierre Vidal-Naquet, who in the beginning had expressed his admiration for Steiner's book, suddenly spoke of sub-literature, appealing to sadism and admitted that he had walked into the snare set by J.-F. Steiner. Another French critic, Didier Daeningckx, devastatingly described Steiner 's book as a false novel, which is presented as true.

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In 1995, Binjamin Wilkomirski published his book: 'Memories of a Wartime Childhood'. He described that he was interned in tte Majdanek and Auschwitz concentration camps, where he met his dying mother for the last time, and in which he had been the victim of unbearable medical experiments. After his liberation from the death camps, he was brought to an orphanage in Krakow and, finally, to Switzerland. First published in German in 1995 by the 'Jüdischer Verlag' (part of the Suhrkamp Verlag), the book was soon translated into nine languages. The book earned widespread admiration, and won several awards, including the National Jewish Book Award in the United States, the Prix Memoire de la Shoah in France, and the Jewish Quarterly literary prize in Britain. Wilkomirski was invited to participate in radio and television programs as a witness and expert, and was interviewed and videotaped by reputable archives. Wilkomirski was debunked at the end of the 1990s as the Swiss Bruno Dössekker, born Bruno Grosjean in 1941.

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Greatest Love Story Ever Told  

Herman A. Rosenblat, born in Poland in 1929, immigrated to the United States in 1950 and later wrote the Holocaust survival memoir 'Angel at the Fence'. The author  (photo), recounts his experience as a teenage boy during the 'Holocaust' . The book was planned to be published in 2009, but was cancelled after it turned out that many elements of the story were fabricated and some were contrary to verifiable historical facts. - Rosenblat appeared twice on "The Oprah Winfrey Show", who called it "the single greatest love story, in 22 years of doing this show. He has been the subject of newspaper articles and inspirational mass-email chains. A feature film, Flower of the Fence, based on Herman's life, was scheduled to go into production with a budget of $25 million dollars by Harris Salomon of Atlantic Overseas Pictures, the largest film studio in Central and Eastern Europe. A children's book, Angel Girl, was also published . The book 'Angel at the Fence' had all the makings to become a best-seller. Berkley's catalogue for booksellers and reviewers described 'Angel at the Fence' as "the true story of a 'Holocaust' survivor whose prayers for hope and love were answered," noting that it makes "a perfect Valentine's Day gift". - After some dispute, Rosenblat finally confessed the truth. He stated that the apple-tossing part of his backstory was something he only imagined, while stating that the rest of his Holocaust experiences were accurate. Rosenblat apologized and claimed that "It was my imagination, and in my mind, I believed it. Even now, I believe it",and he also said that he did it to bring happiness and hope to world.
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Wolf woman' invents Holocaust survival tale

Misha Defonseca's book "Surviving with Wolves", first published 1997, has been translated into 18 languages and was turned into a film. But in a statement issued by her lawyers in 2008, Defonseca, who was born Monique De Wael, confessed that her family was not Jewish and most of the events of the book were made up. "Ever since I can remember, I felt Jewish," she said. "There are times when I find it difficult to differentiate between reality and my inner world. The story in the book is mine. It is not the actual reality - it was my reality, my way of surviving. At first, I did not want to publish it, but then I was convinced. I ask for forgiveness for all those who feel betrayed. - In her book, Defonseca describes the she was given a new name, a new home, and forced into a new religion. Knowing only that her parents had gone East, the young Misha sets out to find them equipped only with a tiny compass. After crossing Belgium, Germany and Poland alone on foot, close to starvation in a vast forest, she was adopted by a family of wolves. Mrs Defonseca's book became a runaway bestseller after its publication in Italy and France and has made her a millionaire. - Despite growing evidence of inconsistencies in her story, including a birth certificate showing she was not Jewish, Mrs Donfonseca insisted she was telling the truth until she released her statement. At the film's premiere in France she even turned up with a little compass, "my most precious talisman", which she said had helped her find her way on her journey east through the forests of occupied Europe.
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Im Jahr 2010 stellte sich ein Mann bei der Jüdischen Gemeinde zu Oldenburg vor. Er legt Papiere vor, die ihn als Juden ausweisen. Die Gemeinde nahm den Mann als Mitglied auf. Otto Uthgenannt, so hieß der Mann, war erst vor kurzem aus den USA nach Deutschland zurückgekehrt. In seinem neuen Wohnort arbeitete er im Arbeitskreis „Gedenken“ mit. Er trat als KZ-Überlebender im Stadttheater Wilhelmshaven auf und hielt Vorträge in zahlreichen Schulen. Ein Lehrer lobte ihn nach einem Vortrag in seiner Schule: „Nur mit Zeitzeugen, von denen es immer weniger gibt, können wir unseren Schülern das Ungeheuerliche jener Zeit wirklich vorstellbar machen.“ - In Goodyear, Arizona-USA, hatte Uthgenannt bereits im Januar 1994 einen fünfseitigen Aufsatz geschrieben. Darin schilderte er, wie er als Kind das Konzentrationslager Buchenwald überlebt hat. Und wie er 72 Verwandte verlor, darunter Vater, Mutter und Schwester. Schließlich fand man in den Archiven der Stadt Göttingen Meldekarten, die bezeugen, dass Otto Uthgenannt am 28. Mai 1935 in Göttingen geboren wurde, dass er evangelisch getauft wurde, dass er und Vater, Mutter, Schwester bis in die 60er-Jahre in der Stadt lebten.
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