A Genealogist Reveals the Painful Truth About Three Holocaust Memoirs: They’Re Fiction

discrepancies among names and dates in different translations helped to reveal the author’s true identity. A genealogist reveals the painful truth about three Holocaust memoirs: they’re fiction Untrue Stories BY cAleB dAniloff Detractors have called Sharon Sergeant a witch-hunter, a Holocaust denier, and even a Nazi. 32 BOSTONIA Summer 2009 PHOTograph by vernon doucette Summer 2009 BOSTONIA 33 In her 1997 autobiography, Misha: A Memoire The tools of her profession include photographic timelines and data- of the Holocaust Years, Belgian-born Misha bases — vital records, census reports, Defonseca claimed to have trekked war- property deeds, maps, newspaper interviews, obituaries, phone direc- pocked Europe for four years, starting at the tories — and living relatives. Skype, online records, and blogs have also age of seven, in search of her deported Jewish broadened her reach, and DNA testing parents. Along the way, she wrote, she took up is an option if she needs it. “The generic view of genealogy with a pack of wolves, slipped in and out of the is that it is about tracing relatives, the ‘begats,’” says Sergeant, a board Warsaw Ghetto, and killed a Nazi soldier. member and former programs director with the Massachusetts Genealogical In Europe, the book was a smash, court’s decision by proving the author Council. “It’s evolved.” translated into eighteen languages was a fraud. But her involvement in cracking and made into a hit film. In the It was there online, one day in open three Holocaust hoaxes is about United States, however, it had sold December 2007, that Sharon Sergeant more than an interest in the latest poorly — so poorly that Defonseca (MET’83), now an adjunct faculty technology. A former college dropout and her ghostwriter successfully member in BU’s genealogical research who raised a family and worked sued their publisher for $33 million program, stumbled upon the contro- in computer engineering before for inadequate promotion, one of versy. And she thought she might be discovering genealogy, Sergeant was the largest judgments in publishing able to help. drawn to the Defonseca case because history. Two years ago, publisher Since then, Sergeant has become it offered a rare opportunity to Jane Daniel fought back, twenty- widely known as a hoax buster, putting showcase her field and to set the record first century style: she launched a to work the forensic skills she’s honed straight on what she believed were blog, called Bestseller, questioning over twenty years to help debunk unconscionable attempts to exploit Defonseca’s story, hoping to nullify the three fraudulent Holocaust memoirs. human tragedy for personal gain. Red Flags and Zigzags In her memoir, Misha Defonseca, born Monique De Wael, claimed that she spent four years of her childhood searching for her Jewish parents, who had been deported by Nazis from their native Belgium. After genealogist Sharon Sergeant began investigat- ing, Defonseca admitted she had made up the tale. Here are some of the discrepancies. Misha Defonseca 3 School records showed that 1 Photos published Defonseca was enrolled in only in the American the first grade in Brussels edition of the book at a time she claimed to be contradicted details in 2 In the French edition of the book, titled Survivre avec trekking in Ukraine in the the French edition. les loups (Survival with Wolves), the author changed com pany of wolves. her surname from De Wael to Valle, but Sergeant could not find any record of the name Valle in likely street and phone directories. v Monique De Wael 5 Monique Valle 34 BOSTONIA Summer 2009 “I got involved because I knew the Records show that De Wael was solution would have two benefits,” enrolled in grammar school she says. “It would illustrate the methodology in a high-profile case, at the time she was supposed whatever the results were, and it would raise awareness for other to be living with wolves. Holocaust families about what could be done with modern genealogy techniques and records access. Simply put, I viewed it as an opportunity for the profession.” world who might have known her? At the same time, Serge Aroles, a CONNEctinG THE Dots “Part of figuring out the story French expert on wolf child stories, was It was one little thing that first raised is connecting the right dots,” says questioning Defonseca’s story on blogs Sergeant’s eyebrows about Defonseca: Sergeant. “When we do our research, and in a Jewish magazine. Sergeant the peculiar omission, in the French we use lots of information in the posted the baptismal certificate and edition, of photos used in the Ameri can form of names, dates, places, events, school register on Bestseller and sent a edition. Sergeant worked with photo activities, but they can create lots of link to Aroles. Within two days, Belgian identification experts, includ- different stories. The true story can be media picked up the story and Le Soir, ing occasional genealogical collab- mixed in with other stories.” Belgium’s newspaper of record, tracked orators Colleen Fitzpatrick and Sergeant mined the various transla- down relatives and published several Maureen Taylor, to create visual and tions of the book and used the discrep- stories. Sergeant also pro duced a photo geographic timelines. Sergeant also ancies among names and dates to piece that contradicted Defon seca’s claim wondered why Defonseca had changed together Defonseca’s true identity, of deformed legs and feet. Less than what she said was her adopted name, which was in fact Monique De Wael. two weeks after Sergeant’s posting on Monique De Wael, to Monique Valle. She also noticed a number of Catholic Daniel’s blog, Defonseca confessed to Could it have been an effort to conceal references in the text, and through con- Le Soir through her lawyer. the facts from people in that part of the tacts in Belgium, including Evelyne Daniel, meanwhile, is still battling Haendel, a genealogist who herself had the judgment against her and her been an orphan hidden during the war, small publishing company and has she came up with a baptismal certifi- turned her blog into a book, also cate proving De Wael was not Jewish. called Bestseller (Laughing Gull Press, School records showed De Wael was 2008). A $425,000 inheritance, held enrolled in grammar school, along with by her father, has been written over to Å n the sister of Defonseca’s future hus- Defonseca, and Daniel has had to sign band, at the time she was supposedly over her house, as well. 4 Curious about many running across the countryside, hiding references to Catholic from Nazis and living with wolves. THE BIRTH OF A HoaX BUstER rituals and literature in Official documents later showed Sergeant’s path to her profession has the book, Sergeant’s team that De Wael’s father was, in fact, a been long and winding. After studying searched for and found a Catholic resistance fighter turned math and physics for two years at baptismal certificate for collaborator. In the end, it took Northeastern University, she dropped De Wael, who claimed to Sergeant a little more than a month to out, had two children, and took work be Jewish. expose Defonseca, who had moved to in computer software development. the Boston area in 1985 and who had In the early days of minicomputer been telling her tale of desperation for engineering, Digital Equipment twenty years. Corporation, where Sergeant’s YY “It didn’t start out as personal,” husband at the time worked, had 5 Official documents showed Sergeant says. “Once I began working partnered with Metropolitan College that De Wael’s parents had with Evelyne, it became personal. I to host academic programs for adult been Catholic resisters felt horrible that Evelyne had to be students. Sergeant enrolled. arrested by the Germans, reminded of so much to do this work. “I was in a classroom environment rather than Jews rounded up It was very difficult for her to stand where the students were relatively by the Nazis, as alleged in on the steps of the Schaerbeek town homogeneous in that computer the book. hall — where her own mother had been industry boom,” she recalls. “We were EFONSECA PHOTO: AP PHOTO/MARY SCHWALM AP PHOTO/MARY PHOTO: EFONSECA D rounded up for Auschwitz — and to be all juggling work and family. We were there to investigate a woman who had focused, serious, and practical.” committed such a devious fraud.” Later, divorced and raising her Summer 2009 BOSTONIA 35 kids alone, Sergeant chipped away at Show in 1996. In her university credits. It was a time, 2007, Rosenblat she says, when “the only stability and his wife, Roma, and validation was my academic life returned to Oprah, through MET.” where they publicly In 1985, inspired by a genealogist celebrated their cousin, Sergeant began exploring her fiftieth wedding home’s property records and dabbling anniversary. The in family history. “I realized, in the talk show host mid-1990s, that my father’s generation called it “the single was beginning to die,” she says. “I knew greatest love story Web extra Watch a video of Sharon Sergeant talking I had better start gathering oral history . we’ve ever told on about the methods she used to crack Holocaust hoaxes at to see what this generation knew about air,” and it inspired www.bu.edu/bostonia. our ancestry.” a children’s book Sergeant listened to her father, called Angel Girl. wrote things down, studied her In 2008, Rosenblat writings, and found herself smitten. published a memoir (Riverhead). A split off from the women. That’s what After years in computer engineering $25 million film adaptation was being happened in Herman’s family.

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