The Wilkomirski Affair (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Stefan Maechler
- First Published: 2000
- Type of Work: History
- Time of Work: 1941-1995
- Setting: Poland and Switzerland
- Principal Characters: Binjamin Wilkomirski, The Dössekers, Eva Koralnik, Daniel Ganzfried, Eli Bernstein, Verena Piller, Karola, Stefan Maechler
- Genres: Nonfiction, History
- Subjects: 1950’s, 1960’s, 1970’s, Abused persons, Twentieth century, Europe or Europeans, Mistaken or secret identity, 1940’s, 1980’s, Child abuse, Domestic violence, Identity, 1990’s, Holocaust, Jewish, Poland or Polish people, Fraud, Switzerland or Swiss people, Concentration camps
- Locales: Switzerland, Poland
In 1995, Fragments, a short Holocaust memoir written in a staccato style, was published in Germany. Binjamin Wilkomirski, its author, presented his account as virtually a verbatim report of his fragmentary memories of a childhood at two concentration camps, Majdanek and Auschwitz, both in Poland. Wilkomirski made no claims for his book as literature; indeed, he emphasized that he could provide only a literal picture of the shards of his memory. However, these shards, he maintained, were absolutely authentic. They had remained a vivid part of his life and had been uncorrupted by...
[The entire page is 1775 words long]
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