"Still, it's not surprising that Rosenblat's ghost writer, his agent and his editor were taken in, and didn't ask enough questions."

Because :

1. Israel is currently engaged in a worldwide PR campaign, due to both it's 60-year anniversery, and the current invasion of Gaza. I am sure book promotions about the Holocaust are part of that campaign.

2. To question the historical details of the Holocaust is to be a Holocaust-denier. (It is actually illegal in some countries)

3. To questions a Jewish Holocaust survivor's veracity is to be an anti-Semite.

So why were Oprah and company duped? How could they possibly not be.

But it's far closer to the truths of the Holocaust -- that in the face of this rampaging evil, acts of heroism and mere kindness were few and far between, and often only in a minor key -- truths that decades of memoirs, films, histories and Holocaust education courses don't seem to have brought home."

I doubt that. I am sure there countless acts of heroism and kindness in the most mundane affairs. But to modern Americans, who believe people can outrun bomb-blasts, and who are living under a growing facist regime, it is hard to portray the heroism and kindness of the victims of the Nazi regime without gross exaggeration. It might open some eyes as to what is going on in America today.

When I read the AP article about this, I steamed over it all day. So it's not actually true. But the story's a pretty damn good story, isn't it? And it's a children's book! I think it's a-ok to have a fictional account for a children's book. Last time I checked, they weren't all non-fictional books. Having an allegory in a fictional story, as long as it's well written and delivers the intended message to the intended audience is what it's all about.

Or did taking enough classes in college to earn two degrees fail me?

GBT - why such an emotional reaction? What if anon had called the Stalinist purges, the Khmer Rouge, or the Chinese Cultural Revolution a myth? Would you be as angry? Why or why not?

anan is either a plant to make us think the country is full of anti-Semitic Holocaust deniers, or is a fool. Either way, there is no need for such fear, and rage. It gives energy to the dynamic - the same dynamic that allowed these atrcotites to manifest in the first place.

Salon removed the option for anonymity well over a year ago. So how are you Anonymous? (And it can't just be your screen name, because the option to read your other letters is gone as well.)

My guess is that you are somehow hacking Salon's letter-writing system to use the previous Anonymous function. Maybe they removed the buttons but not the mechanism to be Anonymous?

The only other possibility would be if you're a Salon administrator with capabilities that average users don't have. (Or do Salon subscribers have extra options that non-subscribers don't have?)

I would also question whether you're really a Holocaust denier, or somebody posing as a Holocaust denier just to be a troll. I think we can all safely assume you're a troll, because if you sincerely believed the Holocaust was a myth, you'd have the guts to use your real alias.

At this point I don't know how any thinking person can credibly deny the Holocaust -- unless photos, historical records, archival footage, and countless witness testimonies are meaningless to you.

What I have seen are questions regarding the actual numbers killed in the Holocaust. I don't see why those questions shouldn't be asked, but unfortunately most of the people asking that question tend to have ugly ulterior motives (often anti-Semitic ones, or desires to minimize the horror of what happened).

There are also questions regarding whether Nazis killed people with poison gas, or whether such chambers were for de-lousing. These are also questions that should be asked free of ulterior motives. Getting the facts straight etc. is fine.

I do agree with those who want the Holocaust to be put in context. Stalin probably killed 2 or 3 times as many people as Hitler did. I think calling something a "Holocaust" but referring to everything else as "genocide" is strange. Why not call the Holocaust "genocide" as well? Why use a special term that sets one form of ethnic cleansing/mass murder apart from others?

"I would also question whether you're really a Holocaust denier, or somebody posing as a Holocaust denier just to be a troll. I think we can all safely assume you're a troll, because if you sincerely believed the Holocaust was a myth, you'd have the guts to use your real alias.

I think you are correct. However, I disagree with the hiding part. If Anonymous really believed what he/she was saying, then they would post countless links to actual hoaxes, historical anomolies, and wrong "facts." Believe me, there are plenty of them - and no self-respecting Holocaust Revisionist would pass up the chance to share them with the public.

That being the case, I hope Salon is safeguarding our identities. If this is a right-wing activist troll, then they are probably downloading all of our identity information for the Department of Homeland Security.

1. It's both a children's book and an adult memoir. "Angel Girl" is the children's version of "Angel at the Fence."

2. Yes, it is fiction. But he told us it was non-fiction. That's fraudulent.

There are good examples of memoirs that, while labeled non-fiction, are obviously not meant to be read as literal fact; the fantastical content or metaphoric storytelling deliberately challenges the very nature of memory or meaning. Authors of such works are truthful about their intentions--that the story not be taken as a literal history.

Rosenblat told people that the story was a factually accurate account of what happened to him. It wasn't.

3. I've never believed it was okay to lie to children for the sake of a nice story. Children need to know the truth as much as any of us do.