Oprah's Holocaust Memoir Recommendation "Angel At The Fence" Defended By Author, Publisher Following Scrutiny

NEW YORK — The author and publisher of a disputed Holocaust memoir defended the book's story of love between two survivors, but also called it a work of memory and not of scholarship.

"This is my personal story as I remember it," Herman Rosenblat, 79, said in a statement issued Thursday through Berkley Books, which will release his "Angel at the Fence" in February.

Berkley added its own comments, noting that a leading Holocaust expert, Michael Berenbaum, had found the story's "general outline" credible, but also saying that "any memoir based on the memories of a survivor is verifiable only by him or her alone."

Rosenblat's book is based on his well-publicized story _ embraced by Oprah Winfrey among others _ of how he met his future wife, Roma Radzicki, on opposite sides of a barbed-wire fence at a Nazi concentration camp. Scholars have questioned whether such an encounter could have happened.

"The events that are its background are part of history; the book, however, reflects my memories of how the events affected my life. I was a young child at the time my family was caught up in the Holocaust, and I saw things through a young child's eyes. But I know and remember what I saw," Rosenblat said in his statement.

"What I offer in this memoir are the images, sounds, smells and feelings that have stayed in my mind for some seven decades."

As the Rosenblats have recounted on numerous occasions over the past decade, he was a teenager in a concentration camp in Nazi-controlled Germany and she was slightly younger, her family pretending to be Christian and living nearby.

They met at the camp's fence, where for months she would sneak him apples and bread. Rosenblat was eventually transferred to another camp and lost track of his friend until years after the war, when both were living in New York and met on a blind date. Upon talking about their lives, they recognized each other and were soon married, in 1958.

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The couple live in the Miami area in Florida.

Since going public with their story in the 1990s, the Rosenblats have been celebrated by Winfrey, among others, and have been the subject of a children's book, Laurie Friedman's "Angel Girl." A feature film is scheduled to begin production next year.

But scholars, some of whom were quoted in a recent story by The New Republic, have been highly skeptical, saying the layout of the camp _ Schlieben, a sub-camp of Buchenwald _ made it virtually impossible that Rosenblat could have approached the fence without being spotted. According to maps of Schlieben, the area where he and Roma might have met was located next to SS barracks.

"Some serious historians as well as other historical sleuths have done some pretty serious research on this story," Deborah Lipstadt, a professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University, wrote on her blog on Dec. 15.

No one questions that Rosenblat was a prisoner, but Lipstadt worries that Holocaust deniers would be encouraged should his meetings with Rosa be disproved.

"There are also survivors who are very upset about this story," she wrote. "They just don't believe it."

___

Berkley is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA).

Comments

[ldperianez]

I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU HALVIN!!!!!!!!

[contemporarymom]

He's calling it a memoir not autobiography - there is a difference. It's his story, no biggie.

[robertjames]

Oh really? Are memoirs not based upon actual events? The "biggie" is that this guy lied to enhance the salability of his book - to make more money form the tragic backdrop of the suffering of others! No "biggie"?

[contemporarymom]

Besides what has recently come out, that it is a lie, yes that is a biggie, however, a memoir does not have to be an exact telling. But yes, now that they have reported that they made it all up, it is now a biggie, for the publishers and agents who dropped the ball.

[HARVIN]

After half a lifetime I am utterly sick,exhausted and bored with the endless,perpetual tidal wave of Holocaust movies,films,books,plays,recollections and diaries.The Holocaust has evolved from tragedy and mass murder to a thriving marketing tool and exploitative industry.

[JohnnyL]

Correction: I think you mean the Holocaust as it relates to Jews. The Armenian Genocide, the multiple African genocides, the mass killing of non-Jews during the Nazi Holocaust, and of course countless other examples hardly get covered. At the end of Schindler's List--one of my top five favorite films of all-time, incidentally--it says "In memory of the more than six million Jews murdered." This is the only fault I find with the film because it perpetuates the notion that the only Holocaust victims--of the Nazi Holocaust or any other--that matter are the Jewish ones.

[NoSillyName]

Great point! Gays and many other "undesirables" were brutalized and killed by Hitler's minions. Did any other group get a country?

[TheBlackCat]

I agree. Gypsies, Catholics (especially the clergy), the disabled, socialists, communistsm, union workers, homosexuals, intellectuals, many many others were killed as well and often forgotten. In Amsterdam they have the "Homomonument" which is a memorial for gays killed in the Holocaust.

[KillgoreTrout43]

Real people were the victims of real brutality. Real people are where we get films, books and plays from. Not interested, don't watch or read these types of stories. The survivors most definately have the right to get their stories told.

[kerpin]

Harvin, you are one pathetic human being.

[TheBlackCat]

After WWII, there was a big push by many prominant Americans and Germans to essentially "just forget" about the Holocaust, sweep it under the rug, pretend it never happened. This lead to an extremely volitile relationship between Germans of the Nazi generation and their children's generation.

Massive student movements by Germans born in the post Nazi years ocurred throughout the country in response to the concentrated efforts to essentially just brush aside the Holocaust. There were even calls to stop the Nazi trials a few years after the war ended, to pretty much just "Forget the whole thing."

That is why Jewish authors, film makers, publishers, etc, are so intent on publishing as much as they can. The same with younger generations of German film makers and publishers. So that we never forget.

Although cases in which memoirs are fabricated are OF COURSE exploitative of the Holocaust, simply documenting as many stories as possible, while the Holocaust survivors are still alive to tell their tale, is our moral obligation.

The world had plenty of years before the war started to come to the aid of the Jews, and they were silent. America turned away thousands of Jewish refugees and deported them back to Germany, and their death.

The least our country can do now is bear witness to the consequences of those actions.

[robertjames]

Please, Tamron - you entirely miss the point. This guy lied about his past to make a buck. No credence should be given to liars, regardless of their heritage. There are plenty of other real true stories of survival out there during these times that a liar's story is unneeded, and only serves to make some question the veracity of others.

[yorkville7]

historically nobody ever challenged the ridiculous assertions and ludicrous atrocity stories until recently and the whole myth is falling apart with the advent of the internet and the access to true historical facts

[jeplanet]

I distinctly remember seeing this man tell his story on Oprah, about 12 years ago. He wasn't a guest, just a guy that stood up in the audience and told the story about how this girl came to the fance some days and passed him bread and threw an apple over the fence. I remember bawling my eyes out because he was SO genuine. He wasn't shopping a book then, so I see no reason why he would lie. In any case, his story is his own and he should be able to tell it.
I will definately read it.

[SaulBloodworth]

How do you know he wasn't shopping a book then? Are you his agent?

http://cabal-thenovel.blogspot.com/

[KillgoreTrout43]

So what if he was? He has every right to tell his story.

[cinemaven]

My mom-in-law was sent to Spandau work camp (Sachsenhausen) when she was 15. We lost her last year but for years she would tell funny stories about her time in the camp that was her home for 2 years. I asked why she joked about her time there and tears sprang to her eyes. She told me those few good memories were a gift to her soul and it was important for her to keep those at the front so the others didn't push through.

I wouldn't know about the reality of her time there if it wasn't for the stories her sister told. My mom-in-law was pulled from her family and sent to the camp by herself. She was the youngest and her sister believes she survived it because she looked like the daughter of an important man at the camp. She was put into a work detail that was relatively easy... she picked the seams of the thousands of pieces of clothing that showed up daily. They removed the money, jewels and religious symbols sown into the seams and set the good pieces of clothing aside for repair.

I know that one good memory from that time can be built into a wall to hold back the reality so it's possible that the author fell in love through a fence and in his mind built his own wall that protects him and insulates him and has become his truth that he can live with.

[spartanmom]

Absolutely.

There are things that are more important than strict literalism.

[formerprosecutor]

"life " is never factual; it's existence is crafted only by memory.

[slinkymom]

God Bless your mom-in-law. To be taken from her family and sent to one of these hell holes alone is pure horror. The fear and pain she and the millions of other prisoners suffered is beyond my ability to imagine.

[cinemaven]

She really was blessed :) She was the most extraordinary woman. An artist, the most amazing cook you can imagine and so funny and loving. When she first met me, I was 18, couldn't cook and had no discernible talent but she embraced me because I adored her son and she could tell. She tried hard to teach me to cook but to no avail. I ended up sending her son over for the lessons and they had a wonderful time together... and I get the benefit of having a hubby who's now an amazing cook.

Hard to get too down during difficult times when you had such an example of grace and love in the family. Like you, I can't imagine what she must have endured but I know she overcame it so it gives me hope that I can overcome everything life throws at me too. :)

[SaulBloodworth]

Sachsenhausen was a camp for political prisoners and Russian POWs. I doubt they had a lot of jewelry

http://www.stiftung-bg.de/gums/en/index.htm

[cinemaven]

Saul, it was common for people to sew items into their clothing in order to hide them from soldiers. Sadly, if someone was sent to the ovens, their clothes were sent to be checked... a lot of clothing. My mom-in-law was a wonderful seamstress and part of what she did was rip seams and she also helped to make the striped uniforms the she and the other prisoners had to wear.

My mom-in-law was just a young girl who showed up in her hometown (Odessa) on the day it was her turn to get her rations. When she presented her papers, they were removed from her and she was told to return the next day to the train station. If her story can't be found on one of your websites, perhaps you should visit some survivors and hear their stories.

When we lost her last year, we were a bit stunned at the jewelry she had amassed in her life. She had always told us that when money has no meaning, you can always buy bread with gold...

[KillgoreTrout43]

Political prisoner was very often a euphemism for JEW.Uttering a simple sentence that was negative about the Nazis could get you labled, "political prisoner."

[jenzoe]

Umm... sersioulsy Saul Bloodworth? Do you really need to add that weird "correction" to this person's incredible story?

[cinemaven]

Not sure why my answer to you didn't go through but I'll repost. The site you posted has very little information so it might be worthwhile for you to speak with a few real survivors...

Mom-in-law was 15 and lined up with her papers on her day for picking up her rations in her hometown of Odessa when her papers were taken from her and she was told to be at the station the next morning for transport. She was the baby of her family and they were horrified but she went.

She was an accomplished seamstress and clothing was delivered every day from the other camps. It was so common to have your small valuables sewn into your clothes that a whole team of women spent the whole day ripping them out and sorting them. She also made the striped outfits she and the other workers wore since their clothes were taken on arrival and she repaired the best of the clothes that were sorted.

She always told us that when money is worth nothing, you can always use gold to buy bread. We didn't realize how deeply she believed it until she passed away last year and we found the hoard of jewelry she had set aside.

[formerprosecutor]

Thank you for sharing this amazing woman with us. Pay no attention to the spoliers and deniers. They cannot take anything away from others or their stories. Diminishing the stories of others is some sort flaw in their mentality. I have seen it a thousand times in the courtroom: desparage, challenge, deny the suffering of the victim in order to justify their own warped mind (or actions, or inactions). I would have liked to meet your mother-in -law and hear her own words.

To minimize the suffering of others only delivers more guilt at your door; never lessens the reality.

[cinemaven]

Thank :) No fear of my being bothered by the deniers. I know their agenda and they are pretty transparent. Unlike my mom-in-law, they would likely not come out of such a trial stronger and more determined to make life pleasant for those around them...

[yorkville7]

its a lie like the other 8 that have been exposed in the last 6 years , and now we have no less than 5 holo-caust movies being relesed this year , its all a pr campaign. im from missouri prove to me it happened

[SurrealPumpkin]

From Wikipedia
Gore Vidal, in his own memoir Palimpsest, gave a personal definition: "a memoir is how one remembers one's own life, while an autobiography is history, requiring research, dates, facts double-checked." It is more about what can be gleaned from a section of one's life than about the outcome of the life as a whole.

[catgirl666]

I love Oprah.

[Bitsko]

Oprah is a holocaust survivor? Guess I should read the article...

[spartanmom]

'Oprah's Holocaust Memoir Recommendation, "Angel At The Fence", Defended By Author, Publisher Following Scrutiny'

Amazing what a properly placed comma can do

[jagoneely]

I have read that most of the camp fences were electrified, and guards shot anyone who came close to the fence; on either side.
That said, there's a possibility it may be true, or a possibility that it was his fantasy, that someone would come, anyone, and he imagined. Who knows?

[slinkymom]

One can only imagine what the poor people had to do to survive. If they had to create an alternative reality, so be it. I think this man's book will be a beautiful story, whether it is partially true or completely true.

[yorkville7]

it was a lie you read that didnt you

[DavidATolucaLake]

Honestly, if you have read about the Holocaust, you get it. It was horrific.

I got it the first time.

[gwynece1]

It sounds like a great book, but I have to disagree about their being little harm if in fact this book is not completely factual. The appeal of this memoir hinges on a young girl and boy, vicitms of the holocaust in the own ways, meeting at a fence and then magically meeting up later in life. If this story is not true, this is disheartening. Yes, they are a lovely older couple who thankfully survived that horrible situation, but lets not forget that book isn't being given away, it is being sold for profit. Money is so hard to come by, I would not want to by a memoir that was not totally based on fact....

[SurrealPumpkin]

I"m reminded of the author of Empire of the Sun. In the movie he was a young child alone in a Japanese prison camp. In reality his parents were with him. But he found that including his parents in the story diminished the sense of isolation that he felt. In order to tell the true story of his emotion he had to falsify the facts of the story.

No memoir can be based totally on historical fact. It is a memory and how we experience things influences how we perceive them. That influence is also a fact. The best example I've heard of that is this: It's Christmas Eve, the church is glowing with candles, the children's choir is singing like angels. In truth, the children's choir is just as off-key and out of rhythm as ever, and the hangings and decorations are just as battered as always, but in the joy of the moment there is perfection. That is also a truth.

I don't have a clue how I meant to tie this into the article.

[KillgoreTrout43]

So these poor souls should just tell their stories for free and recieve 0 compensation for years of brutality? Don't trust the author, don't buy the book. Pretty simple.

[yorkville7]

their story is a lie to sell books like all the others were on the subject

[harriettubman]

We've had oral history for years so what's the problem here?

[NoSillyName]

Oral history is FREE.

[formerprosecutor]

That reasoning is really silly, obviously, don't buy the book. Since when paying for something is guarantee ot accuracy or factuality (which isn't the issue in a memoir anyway) (?)

[whoajack]

Okay, this book may not be completely factual, but is meant to be a love story, and a feel good story about people who survived something horrendous, why is there criticism? I am not Anti-Semitic, in any way whatsoever, but I don't believe that everything about the Holocaust is off limits to speak on without being exactly correct on every detail. I enjoyed very much, and cried very hard when watching Schindler's List. It was a heart wrenching devastating and beautiful story, rooted in fact, but also with touches of fiction. It was brilliant! I loved the Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, which chronicled a fictional character born in the DARKEST time of this nation, and represented the Torture and Devastation of Black people, my people, and though it was not a "real" story, the storyline was, and it was devastating, uplifting and wonderful! Lighten up people, nobody's history is sacred, it is history, and meant to be told, and stories are meant to live on! Just look at the Bible, it has been retold millions of times, a little different, sometimes factual, sometimes not, but always brilliant!

[yorkville7]

schindlers list was a work of fiction that was exposed by his wife after the movie came out , show me one book,or movie that can stand up to inquiry

[JamesM]

Anyone who still harbors some skerrick of faith in this preposterous idiotic fantasy should read Gabriel Sherman's story on it at the National Review http://www.tnr.com/booksarts/story.html?id=f458c2c8-0d4f-4dc7-8cba-15e465c2201a&p=11)

Then read Peter Kubicek's (a survivor of 6 camps) comment at the end.

I'll quote

" So, here is 9-year old Roma, ... her family lets her walk out every day, ... [near] the [electrified] fence of the local concentration camp .... Herman takes his daily walk to the fence ... There are watchtowers all along the fence ... [enforcing] a no-man's land on either side ... [anyone approaching will be shot dead] . So here comes Little Red Riding Hood -- Roma -- ambling down a country lane next to the camp fence. Magically, the guards do not see her. Magically, she has unlimited access to apples -- a fact that every single German in the country would have envied. She sees this boy on the other side of the fence. By his own description, Herman is gaunt, skeletal, dressed in rags. Yet Roma finds him "handsome, good looking." ... But ... magic can transform any frog into a prince. So, Roma throws him an apple. The guards never see [the magical apple] flying over the fence .... "Every day for seven months I went to the fence and thew him an apple" says Roma. ... A Jewish mother hiding under an assumed identity lets this small child wonder outside on a daily basis, without knowing where she is going."

[darkday]

Why are you so threatened by the possibility that this memoir is true? Your hysterical obsessive attempts to falsify a story about an era you know nothing about are becoming increasingly desperate.

[RudyV]

And if >you< had read any survivor accounts you would know that the prisoners had neither the time nor the energy to go wandering around the camp--they were kept on the brink of starvation and exhaustion every day for the duration of their stay. Yet if some truly energetic individual had loitered near the same stretch of fence every day, the guards would likely have have shot him, suspicious, no doubt, that he was planning to escape.

Sorry to sound like a wet blanket, but this sounds like a fairy tale, dreamed up by someone desperate for attention.

[yorkville7]

why are you so obsessed with justifying a hoax is it because the world is starting to see through the whole traditonal account is bogus and ludicrous

[quindy]

I had similar thoughts. There was no food in those camps, leave alone apples. Also I would like to know in what period of time does this story take place? He is now 79 years old. The war started in '39 and ended in '45. How could he have been a teenager? Maybe a preteen? I am very suspicious of all the stories coming out now, where there was plenty of time to write them earlier. I might be wrong, and I hope I am, but there are quite a few people coming out with stories that turn out not to be true.

[CaDesertRat]

you might not be suspicious if you at least took the time to read the book or at least do the math out loud. 2008-79=born 1929. war from 1939-1945= 10-15 years old during the war. any story is possible. where you there to experience it?

[SurrealPumpkin]

Frankly, I have no problem imagining a young Roma getting close enough to the fence to see it and picturing toss food the starving people she sees. I also have no problem with Herman also coming close enough to the fence to see people outside. Note, you don't have to get very close to see past a fence. Did they actually see each other? Who knows. But the story isn't about the fact of concentration camps and surrounding villages, it's about the experiences and emotions of two teenagers who had no control over their lives trying to exert some control, whether in reality or fantasy. The story could end there, but it doesn't. To me the marvel of the story isn't whether or not they could actually see each other and exchange gifts, the marvel is that they met much later in life. Just think how many chance occurrences happened to make that come about.

[yorkville7]

actually the red cross was allowed to deliver 15 pound food parcels from relatives to camp inmates along with mail.. google it it just doesnt fit with the official story they portray in hollywood

[greendream]

I can't make any judgment about this particular as I know little about the details of concentration camps but I wonder why people pass these things off as memoirs. They are obviously good enough to get published-why not just promote them as fictional stories?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article643387.ece

Not a book about the Holocaust but apparently there have been some questions concerning the veracity of the book -Kathy’s Story: a Childhood Hell in the Magdalene Laundries- on which the the movie the -Magdalene Sisters- is based.

[yorkville7]

ellie weisel book "night" was calso exposed as a fraud