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Publisher Yanks Kid Spinoff of Holocaust Fake

Refunds offered for picture book based on hoax love story

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 31, 2008 5:54 AM CST

(Newser) – Publishers are now pulling a picture book inspired by a Holocaust love story revealed to be a fake, Publishers Weekly reports. Lerner Publishing has announced it will cancel reprints of Angel Girl and offer refunds for returned copies. Herman Rosenblat's memoir Angel on the Fence was canceled by another publisher after he admitted inventing the story of a girl who gave him food through the fence at the Buchenwald concentration camp.

The author of Angel Girl, who contacted Rosenblat and his wife after reading their story in an online newspaper, said she was upset and disappointed after learning it was untrue. Lerner's president echoed her sentiments. "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," he said.

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Fake memoir author Herman Rosenblat poses with his wife, Roma, for a photo in their North Miami Beach, Fla., home. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter, file)

Herman and Roma Rosenblat pose for a photo earlier this year as they talk about "Angel Girl," a child's book written by Laurie Friedman based on Herman's memoir that turned out to be fake. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)

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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.
- Adam Lerner, president and publisher of Lerner Publishing Group

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Publisher Yanks Kid Spinoff of Holocaust Fake