RTBF in Belgium released a documentary about the Misha Defonseca fraudulent Holocaust story in October 2008. This 5 minute clip gives an overview of the forensic genealogy methods and some of the team that made the exposure possible. The entire documentary is 65 minutes and primarily in French. The following is a summary of the English translation for this segment. There are also several trailers for the French film "Survivre avec les Loups" on Youtube, as well as videos from the Paris premiere and European news reports once the fraud was exposed.
The truth about Mishas real identity ultimately came from the United States publisher. Jane Daniel who had created a blog about her legal troubles as a kind of therapy, a way of finding help.
http://bestsellerthebook.blogspot.com
Jane Daniel Publisher:
Five months after starting the blog, I received an email, which I will never forget. I opened the email and it said: I do not know where you are in your story at the moment, but perhaps I could help."
Federal Archives, Waltham, Massachusetts:
The person who contacted Jane was a professional genealogist. Sharon Sergeant began with a bank signature card filled out by Misha that had turned up among cases of documents after the trial. On it is Mishas mothers surname which Misha had claimed not to know: Donville.
RTBF's "Devoir d'Enquete" documentarians Emmanuel Allaer and Philippe Lorsignol were fascinated with the reams of additional documentation.
The genealogist also noted changes in Mishas account in the various editions of the book.
Sharon Sergeant Généalogist:
I went through all the versions of the book that I could find, in search of clues. I concentrated on the beginning and the end of the book, and the passages where the characters are identified in Brussels. I then sought sources to be able to determine who these people really were.
And surprise! an edition where the names had been changed. Misha is called Monique Dewael in the American edition and Monique Valle in the French edition.
Sharon Sergeant contacted a Belgian genealogist, herself an orphan of the Holocaust, Evelyne Haendel.
The genealogist researched the Dewael family in the municipal and church registers in Brussels. She considered every possibility.
Evelyne Haendel, Généalogist, orphan of the Holocaust:
I thought she could be Catholic ...
The baptismal certificate of Monique DeWael was a key piece of evidence, but the genealogist sought more proof. The parents address is on the document. She went to the house and walked around the corner where she comes upon an elementary school.
Evelyne Haendel:
I found a school on rue Gallait and I obtained a photocopy of an attendance record. Misha was registered there in first grade in September 1943 ...
In 1943, at the height of the War, Monique Dewael was at home in Brussels.
Jane Daniel:
At that time Misha in reality was in first grade. In the book she said she was in the Ukraine, living with wolves. Right in the middle of her journey! We caught her!
In Belgium, Marc Metdepenningen, a journalist with the newspaper "Le Soir," was moved by the account and offered to help Misha find the records of her parents. During his research he discovered Janes blog, learned of the surname Dewael and launched out on this new tack.
Marc Metdepenningen, Journalist « Le Soir » :
I went to the phone directory and found a cousin of Monique Dewael ...
Emma Dewael, 88 years old, was completely unaware that her cousin Monique Dewael had changed her identity. She never knew her by the name of Misha, or heard any part of the fabricated escapade across Europe in search of her allegedly Jewish parents.
Emma Dewael, Cousin of Misha Defonseca:
She never left Brussels; she lived with her grandfather ...
Official records from the town of Anderlecht confirmed that Moniques father was Robert DeWael and her mother Germaine Donville, as the American genealogist had discovered.
Both are Belgian and Catholic.
Moreover, at the beginning of the War, Robert Dewael was a municipal employee with the town of Schaerbeek. Very early on, he joined the resistance.
His colleague Robert Vandenhaute, 98 years old remembered him well.
Robert Vandenhaute:
Everybody trusted him ...
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survivre avec les loups 2by dsarahmd4,657 views
Hello,
I'm a journalist student, and i'd like to see the complete program. Where could I find more about this tv program?
I think the name is "Devoir d'Enquête: Mowgli chez les Nazis" and it last about 1h05 min
I find it very interesting.
Thank you in advance.
thedancer22 2 years ago