What is Digg?4 Comments
- danbloom, on 12/15/2008, -0/+1COMMENTS BY DANNY BLOOM
danbloom wrote on 12/14/2008 09:27:45 AM:
Even a top Holocaust historian as Deborah Lipstadt on her own
professional blog, a year ago, she wrote: "Apples over the Fence: A
Holocaust story that beggars the imagination" and then she added:
"There is a Holocaust story making the rounds on the Internet which is
clearly not true. It's about an inmate of a camp ...who connects with
a young girl outside the camp. She throws him an apple everyday over
the fence. He tells her one day in May 1945 that she should not throw
any more apples because at 10 the next morning he has appointment to
appear at the gas chamber to be killed. This story has so many
shortcomings that one hardly knows where to begin." And this is
written by a Holocaust historian of the highest caliber, who sued
Holocaust denier David Irving in the UK and won. The media should also
listen to Dr Lipstadt here. Not me. I am nobody. I worry that this
"story" might backfire and hurt the Jewish people. If it later turns
out to be "embellished". Oprah should pay attention.
The children's book by Laurie Friedman, which I highly recommend, it's
a great book, is presented as fiction ..."based on a true story".
Which is a good way to present the story to children and teachers. But
what if the backstory upon which the story is based turns out to be
something other than what it is? We all love this story, because we
want to believe in miracles, and magic, and God, and happy endings.
All people the world over will love this story. I love it. But is it
true? If even Herman's own older brother Sam, may he rest in peace,
Avenu Malcanu, didn't believe it because he had never heard it before,
then what's up with that? Many people say that Herman began telling
this story only after the 1992 robbery in NYC when he was shot and
went to the hospital for surgery. It's such a wonderful story: so why
didn't the world hear of it before? The problem with Holocaust stories
is that if they turn out to be untrue, even somewhat "embellished",
they hurt real Holocaust studies.
I hate to be such a pest here, and I hope readers will bear with me. I
am really a nice guy. And I like Herman and Roma, I respect them and
admire them for their life history. I am 99 percent sure their story
is true, but there is one percent that wonders if the apples over the
fence story and the girl being the same girl he meets on a blind date
is really really really true. Does Oprah believe it? She must, because
she had them on two times. But something very strange is going on with
this story, too. When I politely wrote emails to Laurie Friedman, the
author of this wonderful kids book -- and yes, it is a wonderful book,
with great illustrations -- she refused to reply to me. Me! A nice
Jewish guy with legitimate questions. Also, the book publishers refuse
to answer my emails, as does the book's agent, as does the national
speakers' bureau that represents Herman. I am just politely asking if
the story has been properly vetted, with evidence to back it up, or is
this a mere fable?
There is also something very strange about this case. The national
speakers bureau that represents Herman is a Christian faith-based
agency that mainly promotes Christians (and one formerly Jewish woman
who found Jesus in her 20s, Dawn Eden). Why would a Christian talent
agency represent Herman and Roma? I don't know, but is "is" curious.
Also, Herman and Roma were invited to speak at a Texas church run by
Richard Booker who is an "end times" preacher (and Herman and Roma
spoke there, too). Of course, all of this is kosher, Christians and
Jews are friends and get along well these days. But why is the
Christian community so keen to promote Herman's backstory? Is it
because they deeply feel the tragedy of the Holocaust and want to
repent for the historic Christian antisemitism that led to the
Holocaust in the first place?
It's true. Many people have read about Herman and Roma's love story in
an e-mail chain letter and many do wonder if it is true. Most people
accept that it must be true, since the news is on the Internet and in
newspapers. But some people doubt the veracity of this wonderful love
story, and the fact must be faced, too. That there are some doubters
out there. Not to vilify Herman and Roma, not to be churlish or to
engage in schadenfreude, but to find out if indeed this story really
"is" true. One man, a Holocaust survivor himself, who was in the same
camp as Herman and knows him well, said recently that he believes the
apples over the fence story is a figment of Herman's imagination.
Other doubters note that even Herman's late brother Sam could not
understand where the apples/fence/girl story was coming from, as he
had never heard it before Herman went on the Oprah show in the 1990s.
So where does truth lie? I do not know. Only God knows. Questions must
be asked... - danbloom, on 11/02/2008, -0/+1Another emailer told me: "I just don't think investigating the Rosenblat's 'backstory' is a worthy use of my time. However, if you or someone else find proof that they have made this up, some news organization will undoubtedly publish the results."
- danbloom, on 11/02/2008, -0/+1A book reviewer who reviewed the kids book about the Rosenblat story told me: "The relevant portion of the snopes.com forum is, for me, at the end where it reads" ....."It is churlish to doubt this life-affirming tale." .....However, if you find out the Rosenblats made this whole story up and waited 60 years before personally profiting from it, let me know......But as a book reviewer, this is not an investigation I am willing ....or interested.... in taking on. "
Fair enough. - danbloom, on 10/16/2008, -0/+1http://www.rushprnews.com/2008/10/15/an-oprah-mome ...
An ‘Oprah Moment?’: Truth and Consequences!
October 15, 2008
“Angel Girl” creates a media stir with touching backstory of how Herman and Roma Rosenblat first “met” in wartime Germany — but some observers question accuracy of elderly couples “memories”
It’s just a 24-page children’s book written by popular kids author Laurie Friedman, but the story behind the book’s genesis is causing a stir among grown-ups nationwide. You probably have read the Associated Press news wire story by ace AP reporter Matt Sedensky that hit the newspapers recently and exploded on the blogosphere with touching blog posts and commentaries from coast to coast.
Boy meets girl in wartime Germany, girl throws apples across a guarded security fence to boy, boy and girl move to different countries after the war, never see each other again …. until they go on blind date in New York in 1958 and “realize” they knew each other “back then”.
He proposes on the spot, she accepts, they marry, raise a family, move to Florida, go on Oprah Winfrey show, get two book contracts and a movie deal. Life can’t be more wonderfull that this, right?
But now, in the wake of the AP story’s huge reader response and with some critical reviews of the children’s book on amazon.com’s website, some questions have arisen over the “truth” of “Angle Girl” — the children’s book about Herman and Roma Rosenblat that Laurie Friedman published this year. It is important to note here that the Rosenblat did not write the book, a third party wrote it, and she based her text on independent research she did and on long conversations she had with the elderly couple face to face. Herman’s now 80, Roma a few years younger. Wonderful people, sweet smiles, salt of the Earth.
In fact, the book’s cover notes that the book is “based on a true story”. The key word here is “based”. The book does not say it is a true story, only that it is based on a true story. So the children’s book works nicely and is a touching, wonderfull read. Friedman has a gift for words, and she tells the story in a way that both children and adults can understand.
But what some observers want to know is this: did the “events the Rosenblats describe to Friedman and the AP reporter and Oprah really take place as they say they did? Michael Berenbaum, a Holocaust historian in Los Angeles, told the AP reporter that he had read the children’s book and “I see no reason to question it”.
But even AP story seems to question the backstory: “It all seems too remarkable to be believed,” the AP reporter wrote. “[But] Rosenblat insists it is all true.”
Let’s cut to the chase now. One amateur book reviewer on amazon’s book website writes: “The publicity relating to this book and the proposed movie has raised several questions about inconsistencies between the story and the known facts of the Holocaust. Recognizing that the Rosenblats were children, he was 12, she was 9, they said, living during unbelievably horrific times, it is possible that their understanding at the time and their interpretation in later life do not accurately reflect what truly happened.”
One reviewer who liked the children’s book by Ms Friedman wrote on the amazon site: “This is a touching story with a miraculous ending. The idea that this is a true story really seems remarkable. I have read other comments that question whether it is a true story or not. I’ll be very disappointed if I ever learn that it is not.”
And that is the crux of the matter here. If the backstory that the Rosenblats have been telling the media for years — they first went on the Oprah Show in 1996 — turns out to be sort of made-up due to faulty memories or other circumstances beyond anyone’s control, the authenticity of their story will be called into doubt.
And if a movie
is ever made about the Rosenblat’s lives based on the children’s book or Herman’s own autobiography, which is due to be published in 2009 by a major book company in New York (with 350 pages inside it), then the entire project might be at risk and some enterprising investigative reporter for a major newspaper like the New York Times might undo the magic that the Rosenblats so far have created.
When RushPRnews contacted the publishing company that released “Angel Girl” in 2008, a quick and polite reply was forthcoming by email:
“Thank you for your e-mails regarding our book. That picture book you write about is based on the true story that Herman and Roma Rosenblat told Laurie Friedman. Ms. Friedman spent months researching the story and discussing the details with the Rosenblats. Herman and Roma are two senior adults recalling a memory that occurred during very dark and difficult times in their pasts. That picture book is based on Ms. Friedman’s interpretation of that story and due to the nature of a picture book there are obviously details left out and the text has been aimed at a younger reading level.”
The email added: “Just as it says on the cover of the book, it ‘is “based on a true story.” The quotes from the book are not necessarily the exact lines that Herman spoke to Roma. I believe that after much research done by both Laurie Friedman and the publisher of the book that they did their best and have no reason to doubt that the story Herman and Roma told the author is true.”
Attempts to reach Laurie Friedman and Michael Berenbaum for this story were not successful, although the children’s book company did reply, as noted above.
The AP story can have the last word here: “It all seems too remarkable to be believed. Rosenblat insists it is all true.”
Truth and consequences? You decide.
MOVIE LINK:
http://www.atlanticoverseaspictures.com
BOOK LINK:
http://www.lernerbooks.com/angelgirl/
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