Stunning Development: The True Story of Misha's Father

Update: There has been much objection to the article that appeared in Le Soir on the part of readers who felt it was unfair... consequently in fairness we are adding the disclaimer that the story, as reported in Le Soir, may be unfairly biased or not properly researched. If Le Soir retracts or modifies their reporting we will post accordingly.

Sometimes things take turns and twists that are even more stunning than one could have imagined. Le Soir, the Belgian newspaper that on Thursday printed Misha Defonseca's confession that she invented her entire tale about being Jewish and her experiences during the Holocaust, now reveals that her father Robert DeWael was, in fact, a traitor. The article in French is titled The Dark Past of Misha's Father in today's edition of the paper.

My translation skills are not worth reproducing here but the story says basically Robert DeWael cooperated with the Gestapo and became so despised by the people of his town, when the story became known after the war, that his name was chiseled off of a memorial to the town's war dead (shown at left, image from LeSoir). The story was based on information provided by Misha's 88-year old cousin Emma De Wael (below, right) and a former coworker 98-year old Robert Van den Haute, the story was written by Marc Metdepenningen. In a companion story Le Soir says that once the newspaper received the information that Misha's birth name was "De Wael" and not "Valle" as given in the French edition, they contacted 48 of the 375 De Wael's listed in the region. That is how they were able to find Emma De Wael, Misha's cousin, who provided them with information.

I have to say I am speechless --- what a sad, sad tale and a horrible thing for a child to have to live with. While I think this in no way gave her license to perpetrate the hoax that she did, it is still a horrible thing to have to live with.

Yesterday, when I read the article in the Boston Globe about Misha and her lawsuit against Jane Daniel I was stunned into virtual incredulity by the nearly gleeful crowing of Frank Frisoli, the attorney who represented Vera Lee, in the lawsuit. His gloating remark, "She's a very unhappy camper. And when I find a buyer for that house, she is out" was so repugnant I was trying to imagine any scenario in which I could revel comparably in someone else's misfortune (not to mention the fact that anyone over the age of fourteen who uses the expression "happy camper" should be sent to their room for life.) After hearing about the article in Le Soir and reading it, all I could feel was sadness for Misha despite my distaste for what she has done and what she has put others through. It is not much consolation to realize one is not as reprehensible as someone like Frisoli.

So, this bizarre and unimaginable case has taken yet another bizarre and unimaginable twist. Clearly, no matter what anyone can make up, reality can be even more astonishing.

Thanks for reading.