387:, a nonprofit educational organization which helps to guide how the Holocaust is studied in schools. According to Lee, when the organization's representative told her that the story she was describing was impossible, she tried to bring her concerns to Daniel, only to be rebuffed. When she was told that Defonseca had burned diaries from her teens in which she had written down her story, because the French version of her book had told her story so completely, Lee was surprised because she had never been told of the existence of these diaries, much less been given access to them to assist in writing the book. Nevertheless, Lee would profess surprise in 2008 when Defonseca confessed that she was not Jewish and the story was fictional, saying that no research she did had led her to think the story was anything but true.
326:. Disney declined to make the film, however, in part because of legal difficulties: by 1998, Defonseca and Lee had brought a lawsuit against Daniel, alleging that she had failed to market the book properly in the U.S. and had failed to give the co-authors their proper share of overseas royalties. In 2001 a jury awarded Defonseca and Lee over $ 10 million. A judge's decision later tripled the amount Daniel was required to pay to over $ 32 million, with $ 22.5 million to go to Defonseca and $ 11 million to Lee. The rights to the book were also awarded to Defonseca.
785:
440:
412:, Sergeant turned up documents from de Wael's life, such as a baptismal record and a school register showing de Wael enrolled in elementary school in 1943 when Misha was supposed to be wandering through Europe. After Daniel published these documents on the blog in late February 2008, the Belgian newspaper
321:
When Jane Daniel, the owner of a small publishing company, Mt. Ivy Press, heard of Misha's dramatic and supposedly true story, she signed
Defonseca to write a memoir of her experiences, with Vera Lee, a friend of Daniel's, as co-writer. The book was published in April 1997, and sold only around 5,000
329:
Defonseca's contract with Daniel and Mt. Ivy Press did not include the
European print and film rights, which were sold separately. The book became a bestseller in France, selling more than 30,000 copies, and Defonseca toured France to promote it; in Italy the book sold even better, surpassing 37,000
399:
was shown to be a fraud. Daniel wrote "Is Misha's story fact or invention? Without hard evidence one way or the other, questions will always remain ... It is left to the reader to decide." Later, after the first jury award, Daniel would say "I have no idea whether [Misha's story] is true or
252:
According to de Wael's
February 2008 statement, her guardianship went first to her grandfather Ernest de Wael, and then to her uncle Maurice de Wael. De Wael says that with the exception of her grandfather, those who took her in treated her badly, including calling her "the traitor's daughter"
400:
not. My experience is that all
Holocaust stories are far-fetched. All survivor stories are miracles." By 2007, however, Daniel was trying to actively debunk the story of Misha in hopes that it would provide a way to challenge the judgement against her. In August 2007, Daniel began a
257:
in St. Gilles prison. She remained with her uncle's family, and did not go off in search of her missing parents as "Misha" did, but according to her statement, this time with her uncle's family was when she began to "feel Jewish" and to fantasise about running off with the wolves.
317:
and
Germany and Poland (where she sneaks in and out of the Warsaw Ghetto), to Italy by boat and back to Belgium through France. Before the war is over, the character has taken human life to survive, stabbing to death with a pocket knife a rapist Nazi soldier who attacks her.
225:
It is difficult to be sure of de Wael's true history, since it was obscured for so long behind the falsehood she told. However, at least a fragmentary version can be put together from documentation turned up by researchers and from de Wael's own admissions.
27:
390:
As the publisher of the book, Daniel had made many public statements which addressed the issue of whether
Defonseca's memoir was truthful. One of these public statements came in 1999, and was prompted by the public controversy that occurred when
380:: "Falsehood or not a falsehood, that is the question here. Aside from [the existence of a compass allegedly used by Misha] no objective proof exists. And all witnesses who could confirm Misha's story are either dead or disappeared."
211:, claiming that the story of "Misha" "is not actual reality, but was my reality, my way of surviving" and that there were moments when she "found it difficult to differentiate between what was real and what was part of my imagination."
249:, which led to them being arrested by the Nazis on 23 September, 1941. Nazi records indicate that Robert de Wael was executed on May 3 or 4 of 1944, and Donvil died sometime between 1 February and 31 December 1945.
703:
Fälschung oder nicht Fälschung, das ist hier die Frage. Bis auf den 'Kompaß' liegt kein sachlicher Beweis vor. Und alle Zeugen, die Mishas
Geschichte bestätigen könnten, sind entweder tot oder verschwunden.
293:
The character of Misha is eight when her parents are taken away (unlike de Wael, who was four). Before their deportation, her parents placed her with a Roman
Catholic family, who give her the pseudonym
181:
However, on 29 February 2008, Defonseca publicly admitted what many had already suspected, that her book was false. Her real name was
Monique de Wael; while her parents had been taken away by the
298:(the author's real name). When this family treats her cruelly, Misha goes off in search of her parents, walking through Europe and living by stealing food, clothing and shoes.
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370:, asked for her blurb to be removed because she found the book unbelievable. As early as 1996, questions of authenticity were being aired publicly, for instance by
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Doubts about the truthfulness of the book surfaced even before the book was published. At least two people who were asked by the publisher to contribute
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is a 2021 documentary film written and directed by Sam
Hobkinson that examines the memoir and its exposure as a fraudulent narrative.
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took up the controversy, unearthing and publishing more detail on de Wael's parents. Within a week, Defonseca had acknowledged that
278:. She was telling people the fictional story of Misha as a recollection of her own life, and presented it to the congregation of a
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girl, wandering Europe searching for her deported parents. The book sold well in several countries and was made into a film,
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record) or 2 September (according to records from the school Monique attended in the year 1943–44). Her family was
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titled "Best-Seller", telling the story of how the book came to be published, and attracted attention from
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and worms. All in all, she treks over 1,900 miles (3,100 kilometers) through Europe, from Belgium to
237:, to Robert De Wael and Josephine Donvil. Sources differ as to her birthdate: 12 May (according to a
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Crying Wolf: Why did it take so long for a far-fetched Holocaust memoir to be debunked?
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Crying Wolf: Why did it take so long for a far-fetched Holocaust memoir to be debunked?
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At a time when she faces starvation in a forest, she is adopted by wolves, becoming a
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for the book instead warned the publisher that the story was not true. One of them,
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Untrue Stories, article & video on how Holocaust memoir hoaxes are busted
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Even Defonseca's co-author Lee had doubts, leading her to consult
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A Life in Pieces: The Making and Unmaking of Binjamin Wilkomirski
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copies. French film rights were sold to French, Jewish filmmaker
822:, Jane Daniel's blog telling the story of the book's publication
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174:), named after the claim that Misha was adopted by a pack of
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Belgian Writer Admits Best-Selling Holocaust 'Memoir' a Hoax
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was her real name and that the life of Misha was a fantasy.
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copies in the United States, but was optioned for a film by
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telling the supposed true story of how the author survived
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Misha' Publisher Files to Overturn $ 33 Million Judgment
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Fragments: Memories of a Wartime Childhood 1939–1948
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366:, who also thought the story impossible. A third,
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305:. Protected by the pack, she survives by eating
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485:Hannah: From Dachau to the Olympics and Beyond
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360:Holocaust Testimonies: The Ruins of Memory
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500:was inspired by the story of feral child
266:By the late 1980s, de Wael was living in
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717:Writer admits Holocaust book is not true
290:as her own experience of the Holocaust.
20:Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years
656:Writer Says Holocaust 'Memoir' Not True
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141:Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years
245:, and her parents were members of the
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674:, New York and London: Norton, 2002,
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692:Broder, Henryk (December 12, 1996).
229:Monique de Wael was born in 1937 in
794:", Boston Globe, February 29, 2008.
719:", Boston Globe, February 29, 2008.
356:National Book Critics Circle Award
338:, opened in Belgium in late 2007.
207:, de Wael attempted to defend the
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879:Written fiction presented as fact
37:Misha Defonseca (Monique de Wael)
801:", Slate.com, February 29, 2008.
556:", Slate.com, February 29, 2008.
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215:The real author, Monique de Wael
592:Holocaust: A children's version
734:"Le vrai dossier de " Misha ""
362:) consulted Holocaust scholar
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694:"Verliebt in eine tote Kobra"
624:". Boston Globe, 2001-10-31.
395:'s alleged Holocaust memoir
385:Facing History and Ourselves
358:for Criticism, for his book
740:(in French). Archived from
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572:Le vrai dossier de 'Misha'
525:"Defonseca's statement to
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766:Defonseca's statement to
185:, they were not Jews but
172:Surviving with the Wolves
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884:Fictional feral children
874:Holocaust-related hoaxes
334:and the resulting film,
280:Holliston, Massachusetts
775:Survivre avec les loups
336:Survivre avec des loups
324:The Walt Disney Company
167:Survivre avec les loups
354:(a 1991 winner of the
288:Holocaust Memorial Day
831:Jane Daniel on NPR's
869:Wolves in literature
730:Metdepenningen, Marc
470:Benjamin Wilkomirski
426:Misha and the Wolves
393:Binjamin Wilkomirski
133:PS3554.E367 M57 1997
658:, February 29, 2008
466:by Herman Rosenblat
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859:Literary forgeries
622:Incredible Journey
577:2008-02-28 at the
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352:Lawrence L. Langer
247:Belgian resistance
191:Belgian Resistance
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682:. pp. 197-8
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303:feral child
160:as a young
848:Categories
748:2008-03-01
581:" (French)
508:References
498:Eva Sallis
201:newspaper
474:Fragments
284:synagogue
239:baptismal
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342:Exposure
262:The book
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199:Brussels
42:Language
768:Le Soir
738:Le Soir
596:Haaretz
527:Le Soir
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270:in the
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