Misha Defonseca
Author of Surviving with Wolves
About the Author
Works by Misha Defonseca
Survivre aved les Loups 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Defonseca, Misha
- Legal name
- De Wael, Monique
- Birthdate
- 1937
- Gender
- female
- Occupations
- con artist
- Short biography
- Misha Defonseca is the alias of Monique De Wael, the daughter of Belgian Catholic parents. She and her husband moved to the USA in 1988. In 1997, she published a fraudulent memoir in which she claimed to be a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust. The book, called Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years, was translated into 20 languages and sold millions of copies. It inspired a 2007 French film, Survivre Avec les Loups (Survival with the Wolves) and attracted the attention of Disney and Oprah Winfrey. Eventually the hoax was exposed by infighting between Defonseca and her ghost writers and by historians of the period. Lawsuits followed, and in 2014 a civil court ordered De Wael to repay more than $22 million in profits from the book. A 2021 documentary called Misha and the Wolves, explains how De Wael was revealed to be a fraudster after years of peddling her false story.
- Nationality
- Belgium
- Birthplace
- Etterbeek, Belgium
- Places of residence
- Belgique
Etats-Unis
Mills, Massachusetts, USA - Associated Place (for map)
- Mills, Massachusetts, USA
Members
Reviews
Terrific read, painfully diminished by the realization that the memoir was fiction. Author finally confessed, to her shame. Would have been easy to simply write it as fiction.
Regardless of the controversy surrounding the validity or not of this book,this memoir left me incredulous – at two levels. Firstly, that young Misha, the seven year old Jewish girl could journey as she did, hungry often starving, blistered, alone and yet survive. She travelled across three thousand miles through Nazi occupied Europe - a trek that defies belief and yet reflects the strength of the human spirit.
Secondly that man’s inhumanity to man was so evident and that a child of seven show more should have witnessed so much murder, brutality and even rape. Yet there is hope in this - the wolves of the forest were to be relied upon – Misha lived with wolves and became a wolf in body and spirit. She learns to be at one with the pups and their mother but even this experience is terribly marred by the actions of man.
Inspirational and honest as she shares insights into her life in far off America her journey through life remains challenging. Yet her hope shines through as in the following quote
… ‘I shook with fear again one September 11th on soil that I’d believed was safe from war. Did I have to begin running again? I didn’t run. I started writing again …’ As to the final words dear reader – read them for yourself – you will not be disappointed. show less
Secondly that man’s inhumanity to man was so evident and that a child of seven show more should have witnessed so much murder, brutality and even rape. Yet there is hope in this - the wolves of the forest were to be relied upon – Misha lived with wolves and became a wolf in body and spirit. She learns to be at one with the pups and their mother but even this experience is terribly marred by the actions of man.
Inspirational and honest as she shares insights into her life in far off America her journey through life remains challenging. Yet her hope shines through as in the following quote
… ‘I shook with fear again one September 11th on soil that I’d believed was safe from war. Did I have to begin running again? I didn’t run. I started writing again …’ As to the final words dear reader – read them for yourself – you will not be disappointed. show less
A nice book about a Jewish little girl who sets out to find her parents. Misha does not realise that her parents are in a concentration camp. She walks all through Europe and is adopted by wolves at some point.
I liked the story, but I am not sure whether Misha remembers everything correctly.
I liked the story, but I am not sure whether Misha remembers everything correctly.
1941. u vihoru rata Misa,djevojcica od 7 godina krece da trazi svoje roditelje.na putu po Evropi koji ce trajati do kraja rata i tokom koga ce ona obici pun krug jedan od saputnika bice joj copor vukova.
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Statistics
- Works
- 4
- Also by
- 2
- Members
- 228
- Popularity
- #98,696
- Rating
- 3.1
- Reviews
- 13
- ISBNs
- 32
- Languages
- 7
