Has anyone written - critically and analytically - about people who lie about being Holocaust survivors or victims of other historical atrocities? I have found what can only be described as a Martin Guerre of My Lai, but I need some context for writing it up... Thanks in advance 🙏 - ThreadSky

kimatiwagner.bsky.social • 8 days ago

Has anyone written - critically and analytically - about people who lie about being Holocaust survivors or victims of other historical atrocities?

I have found what can only be described as a Martin Guerre of My Lai, but I need some context for writing it up...

Thanks in advance 🙏

Comments

henryjmiller.bsky.social•7 days ago

Don't know about the historical literature, but there are a few mentions of Holocaust hoaxers mentioned in this article in the Atlantic about 'identity' hoaxers. Perhaps leads to follow up
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2021/03/krug-carrillo-dolezal-social-munchausen-syndrome/618289/

kimatiwagner.bsky.social•7 days ago

🙏

pnwgeographies.bsky.social•8 days ago

Would this be imposture? And why do people make these claims and for what purpose?

kimatiwagner.bsky.social•8 days ago

Well - that is the very question...

pnwgeographies.bsky.social•8 days ago

https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=835884
I tried looking that up but google scholar seemed not to understand the question. But this is interesting. Reminds me though of the stolen valor stuff in the US where people claim they are vets, etc. But that doesn't quite hit the mark either.

koushist.bsky.social•8 days ago

Hi Kim - you might find Andrea Reiter's essay on Binjamin Wilkomirski useful. It's in a collection I edited a couple of decades ago called The Memory of Catastrophe. Interested to learn more about your findings when it's a good moment to share.

kimatiwagner.bsky.social•8 days ago

🙏

drjamesconnolly.bsky.social•8 days ago

If work in French is useful; Coralie Vankerkhoven, 'Se rêver rescapé. Essai sur des faussaires de la Shoah,' Mémoires en jeu, 2019. There's a review of it here: https://journals.openedition.org/temoigner/8744?lang=nl

kimatiwagner.bsky.social•8 days ago

Very useful!

kimheriotdarragh.bsky.social•7 days ago

It may not be relevant for what you’re working on, but intuitively I wonder if there’s overlap with ‘stolen valour’ cases.

kimatiwagner.bsky.social•7 days ago

Definitely...they're closely related phenomena

kimheriotdarragh.bsky.social•7 days ago

I’ve interviewed folks who posed as service members - though not as a historian. Of course contexts and motivations varied but I saw their medals as a symbol for a scar - the medal was a lie, but the pain underneath it wasn’t. There was a sociologist who had helpful views, need to remember his name

kimheriotdarragh.bsky.social•7 days ago

Matthew Hornsey at University of Queensland.

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