A few days ago, in the state of Veracruz, left wing politician Celestino Rivera Hernandez was caught in the act of sodomizing and raping a 12 year old boy that he had picked up on the street. Celestino is a “respected” pillar of his community, but he had done this before. No less than 5 [...]
(CNN) — Oprah Winfrey once dubbed it the “greatest love story” she had ever heard: a boy held at a Nazi concentration camp during World War II and a girl on the outside who tossed him apples to keep him alive. They eventually married and grew old together.
Herman Rosenblat has acknowledged his Holocaust love story is fake: “I am sorry.”
The two had told their love story for years and years, inspiring a book deal, an upcoming movie, and stories across the globe on television, in papers and on the Internet. A children’s book, “Angel Girl,” was also based on their love story.
When the couple appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” more than a decade ago, the famed host called it “the single greatest love story in 22 years of doing this show.”
But over the weekend, Herman Rosenblat issued a statement through his literary agent, Andrea Hurst, acknowledging the story of how he met his wife was made up.
“Why did I do that and write the story with the girl and the apple, because I wanted to bring happiness to people, to remind them not to hate, but to love and tolerate all people. I brought good feelings to a lot of people, and I brought hope to many. My motivation was to make good in this world,” he said in the statement.
“In my dreams, Roma will always throw me an apple, but I now know it is only a dream.”
Herman Rosenblat really was in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II — a subcamp of Buchenwald — and he really has been married to Roma for decades. Beyond that, the truth is murky.
Berkley Books immediately canceled publication of Rosenblat’s memoir, “Angel at the Fence,” which was set to be released in February.
“Berkley will demand that the author and the agent return all money that they have received for this work,” Berkley spokesman Craig Burke said in a statement.
A movie version of the Rosenblats’ story — even though now proven a hoax — remains in the works. Atlantic Overseas Pictures says the movie is a fictionalized adaptation and that “the story retains its power to grip audiences worldwide.”
Many Holocaust scholars had long cast doubt on the Rosenblats’ story.
Professor Ken Waltzer, the director of Michigan State University’s Jewish Studies program, said he began raising questions to the agent and publisher in November, suggesting that the story was fabricated. But he says his numerous queries went unanswered.
He says he told the editor that the story is “at best embellished and perhaps invented.”
“The idea of a prisoner being able autonomously to approach the fence not just once, but every day at the same time, … none of it seemed plausible,” Waltzer says. “That fence was right next to the SS barracks, so to go to the fence, which was also punishable by death, was to risk death.”
In a letter to “The New Republic,” which first began questioning the validity of the Rosenblats’ story, Waltzer said he was also disturbed about why few others had come forward to point out holes in the couple’s account.
“Less understandable is the widespread belief in their story — by the culture makers, including the publisher and movie maker and many thousands of others who have encountered it over a decade,” he said. “Second, such belief suggests a broad illiteracy about the Holocaust and about experience in the camps — despite decades of books, serious memoirs, museums, and movies. This shakes this historian up.”
“This memoir was at the far end of implausibility, yet until yesterday, no one connected with packaging, promoting, and disseminating it asked questions about or investigated it. Some actively resisted such investigation and tried to shut mine down.”
New Republic special correspondent Gabriel Sherman told CNN another disturbing element is that Herman Rosenblat really is a Holocaust survivor who “didn’t need to embellish his love story, because his own story is so powerful.”
Sherman said Rosenblat was shot during a robbery in the 1990s at his workplace. When he was was in the hospital, Rosenblat said he had a vision from his mother to tell his love story. “From that moment on, he started telling his story in public,” Sherman said.
In his statement released over the weekend, Herman Rosenblat said, “To all [who] supported and believed in me and this story, I am sorry for all I have caused to you and everyone else in the world.
Holocaust scholars say they hope the revelation that the love story is fictitious doesn’t distract from the reality of the Holocaust, when Nazi Germany killed 6 million Jews.
“On the far extreme, something like this could give fuel to those who are in the business of denying that the Holocaust ever took place,” said David Marwell, director of The Museum of Jewish Heritage.
Anyone surprised?
ROME, Italy (CNN) — Pope Benedict XVI reiterated the Roman Catholic Church’s opposition to homosexual behavior — warning that humanity could destroy itself — in his year-end message to Church leaders.
The Church “demands that the order of creation be respected,” he said Monday, defining “the nature of the human being as man and woman,” according to excerpts released by the Vatican.
He did not specifically mention homosexuality in his speech.
The Catholic Church considers homosexual intercourse to be a sin — as it does all sex outside of marriage — but does not consider homosexuality itself to be one.
“Homogenital behavior is objectively immoral, while making the important distinction between this behavior and a homosexual orientation, which is not immoral in itself,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has said.
Part of the Church’s mission is to “protect the human beings against self-destruction,” the Pope said in his annual address to the cardinals, archbishops and others who make up the Roman Curia.
The Church has as much responsibility to preserve what it sees as man and woman’s God-given roles as it does to protect endangered species, he implied.
“The rain forest deserves, yes, our protection,” Benedict said, “But mankind does not deserve it less as a creature.”
The Pope spoke of an “appropriate ecology of man,” the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales said. “This is rooted in central Catholic teaching of the dignity of the person. It is a central message for all Christians. It is central to what it means to be human.”
Eeeehhhh? The catholic church has outlived itself – definitely. When will people wake up?
Just saw results from a boxing match, stating that Evander Holyfield lost to Nikolaj Vajulev. Something that would have rocked my world some 15 years, ago, since I liked to watch boxing… thing is Holyfield is big, in good condition, but OLD – 46 years old. Vajulev is huge: 213 cm = 7 feet tall, 35 years old. Holyfield 6″3 = 190 cm tall.
Anyway, Holyfield lost after 12 rounds of fighting. 12 rounds? Yes… he actually stood up all of the rounds. He even looked more fit than Vajulev, 11 years younger, entering round 12. Now that is a great joke. Holyfield should be pursuing a career selling kitchen utensils or something like that. Like a recently retired boxer, George Forman (yes, the man who became a pro in 1969, fought Ali in Zaire – the famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’, back in 1974, and retired from boxing in 1998, at 48 yrs old). He should not be allowed to be near a boxing ring. He has made his millions… let it be. Jeez. That shows, however, how the boxing associations are battling to survive… MMA (mixed martial arts) have consistenly gained popularity over the last 5 years… UFC have clearly a “Don King”-lead, personified by Dana White.With that, the UFC have a huge lead over other associations (that might have just as good fighters, but suffer from lack of coverage).
Boxing is dead – MMA is here to stay.
…you can read about the proved (by Swedish Law) illegal harassing of me and my family further down on this page or by clicking on the Cyberharassing button above… won’t post anything more about this matter unless necessary. People like this lonely, sad, awful, despicable and insane person don’t need to be fed to continue their insane rants. Law enforcement is taking action into this matter at the moment and I know they will do their job.
On another note, I just read that, according to the AARP, 86% of all hispanics in the US believe in miracles, angels and “divine cures”… In addition, 56% claim they have witnessed a miracle.
WOW
Is that why Latin America suffers so much? The church has a stronghold on people, indoctrinating them into believing fairy tales, and in those fairy tales condemning the people if they don’t believe in the same fairy tales. Is it strange that more people every day leave the church?
It is time to take a stand against religious dogma and indoctrination. People die everyday as a result of the (catholic, primarily) church.
@BestBuyMexico Tienen algun plan de abrir tienda en Cuernavaca? Segun Expansion en 2009, tenian el plan de abrir 11 nuevas tiendas en Mexico
Peña Nieto sale a caminar y ve un pájaro de color azul: "Mira! Un Twitter!" #soyprole #LibreriaPeñaNieto
#Telmex has taken so far 12 days to move a phone line and an Internet line within city limits. Only phone is working so far. Telmex SUCKS