Herman Rosenblat, a Miami Beach Holocaust survivor, has already made quite a mess of things.
First there was the whole made-up tale of triumph in the face of tragedy. Rosenblat sold the world and every authority that matters (ahem, Oprah) on a story that, in hindsight, just seems pretty ridiculous: that a young girl, pretending to be a Christian to avoid the concentration camps, threw him apples over the fence of his camp every day for 7 months, and years later became his wife after they randomly met on a blind date in NYC.
All lies, in fact. Shaking everyone's faith in the veracity of Holocaust memorials is bad enough, Herman. But, perhaps even more dismayingly, Riptide isn't sure it will ever be able to read another edition of "Chicken Soup for the Soul" with an uncritical eye again.
But things got even worse this morning, when Lerner Publishing offered to refund all buyers of "Angel Girl," a children's book based on Rosenblat's fantasies.
"While this tragic event in world history needs to be taught to children, it is imperative that it is done so in a factual way that doesn't sacrifice veracity for emotional impact," Lerner Publishing president Adam Lerner told the NY Times. "We have been misled by the Rosenblats, who gave us and our author what we believed to be an authentic and moving account of their lives."
Why did you mislead the children, Herman? Why, dammit?!
-- Tim Elfrink
