A life in pieces

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In 1997, Binjamin Wilkomirski arrived in New York to promote his acclaimed memoir, Fragments: Memories of a Wartime Childhood, recounting his early years lost to the concentration camps at Majdanek and Auschwitz. He attended a family reunion of the Wilburs, seeking to connect with the unrecorded link between their families. The Wilburs and the media hailed him as a humanitarian, embodying the experiences of many child survivors. However, in 1998, German novelist Daniel Ganzfried publicly accused Binjamin of being a gentile imposter, claiming to have evidence that Fragments was fictional. Despite this, Binjamin maintained that his memories held more significance than the documents against him, stating, "Nobody has to believe me." Supporters, including child survivors and psychotherapists, continued to believe his story. Blake Eskin, a Wilbur family member, explores the controversy surrounding Binjamin's authenticity through interviews and a visit to Riga to seek actual Wilkomirski relatives. His narrative captures the media's reactions and the perspectives of the child-survivor community and the Wilburs, addressing broader issues of memory, testimony, and individual history. This work stands as a significant contribution to Holocaust literature.