False Papers: Deception and Survival in the Holocaust [Hardcover]

Robert Melson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 6, 2000

"False Papers" is the astounding story of a Jewish family who survived the Holocaust by living in the open. By sheer chutzpah and bravado, Robert Melson's mother acquired the identity papers that would disguise herself, her husband, and her son for the duration of the war. Always operating under the theory that one needed to be seen in order not to be noticed, the Mendelsohns became not just ordinary Polish Catholics, but the Zamojskis, a Polish family of noble lineage. Armed with their new lives and their new pasts, the Count and Countess Zamojski and their son, Count Bobi, took shelter in the very shadow of the Nazi machine, hiding day after day in plain sight behind a faade of elegant good manners and cultivated self-assurance, even arrogance: "you had to shout [the Gestapo] down or they would kill you." Melson's father took advantage of his flawless German to build a lucrative business career while working for a German businessman of the Schindler type. The Zamojskis acquired beautiful homes in the German quarter of Krakow and in Prague, where they had maids and entertained Nazi officials. Their masquerade enabled them to save not only themselves and their son but also an uncle and three Jewish women, one of whom became part of the family. "False Papers" is a candid, sometimes funny account of a stylish couple who dazzled the Nazis with flamboyant theatrics then gradually, tragically fell apart after the war. Particularly arresting is Melson himself, who was just a child when his family embarked on their grand charade. A resilient boy who had to negotiate bewildering shifts of identify-now Catholic, now Jewish; now European aristocrat, now penniless refugee who becomes an American college student-Melson closes each chapter of his parents' recollections with his childhood perceptions of the same events. Against the totalizing, flattening, unrelenting Nazi behemoth, Melson says, "I wished to pit our very bodies, our quirky, sexy, funny, wicked, frail, ordinary selves." By balancing the adults' maneuvering with the perspective of a child, Melson crafts an account of the Holocaust that is at once poignant, entertaining, and troubling.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Concluding that the best way to remain inconspicuous was to remain in sight, Robert Melson's family obtained false identity papers (as Aryan Poles) and managed to pull off the nearly impossible: they remained at large and were able to rescue four other Jews... As an adult, [Melson] has managed to recapture his youthful point of view and gives us a picture that is compelling and stimulating." -- Jewish Book World "[Melson's] gripping narrative, based primarily on extensive interviews with his parents and his own memories, is a frank and exceptional story of survival." -- Morton I. Teicher, National Jewish Post and Opinion "This book is different in both form and content ... It is the remarkable story of the Melson's family survival as told by the various members... We learn not only about the events, but how different participants experienced and understood them... Melson ... has created both a survivor's account and an academic document... Finally it is a study in memory and the process of recalling and coming to terms with memory." -- Peter J. Haas, Shofar ADVANCE PRAISE [see LCM for longer versions of blurbs] "False Papers is an extraordinary story of a family's ingenious struggle to outsmart the Nazis against great odds. Robert Melson has brought us the wit, humor, terror, and honesty of his parents in a way that engages the reader page after page. This is a deeply human and morally important book." -- Peter Balakian, author of The Black Dog of Fate "There are a variety of reports of survival under Nazi occupation in existence. False Papers is one of the most creative, dramatic, and unique... Wonderful reading and a major contribution to the understanding of the literature of the Holocaust dealing with survival." -- Samuel P. Oliner, author of The Altruistic Personality: Rescuers of Jews in Nazi Europe "Robert Melson's fascinating, honest, and disturbing memoir is both thriller and sensitive reflection on the dilemmas of being human. I found the book deeply moving and impossible to put down." -- Roger Smith, past president, Association of Genocide Scholars "[O]ne of the most unusual and boldest tales of survival that we have. It is quite simply a great reading adventure." -- Christopher R. Browning, author of Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland "A momentous period for a child, a family, and an entire civilization is recalled with such power, beauty, grace and even humor, one is left dazzled." -- Thomas J. Cottle, author of Like Fathers, Like Sons: Portraits of Intimacy and Strain "Melson has brought Primo Levi's 'Gray Zone' to life. He has written an epic of survival whose characters are immensely attractive, heroic, and flawed. Melson has made Nina and Willy imperishable." -- Jacques Kornberg, author of Theodor Herzl: From Assimilation to Zionism

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (September 6, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252025946
• ISBN-13: 978-0252025945
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,426,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars False Papers and the Search for Idenity, October 25, 2000

By 

Hinda K. Sterling, Ph.D. (Salem, MA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: False Papers: Deception and Survival in the Holocaust (Hardcover)

Many books have been written about the holocaust both by impartial observers and intimate survivors. False Papers: Deception and Survival in the Holocaust by Robert Melson will stand out among them because it is more than observation and personal reflection-it is a psychological study of a young man's search for identity and meaning in a world that keeps changing the rules.

False Papers tells the story of the Melson (Mendelsohn) family's escape from the Nazi ovens by posing as Polish royalty, a feat they are able to accomplish because Nina Melson, the author's mother, was able to buy false papers. What is unique about their life during the war was that they not only lived openly among the Gestapo, but also became quite friendly with their neighbors. The story of their deception and survival as told through the eyes of Nina, Willy (the author's father) and Bobi (the author's reflections through his own youthful memory) is compelling enough to keep the reader involved in the book. This is only one dimension of the book-an incredibly true adventure story.

Bt there is another important dimension to the book that cannot, and must not, be overlooked: the search on the part of the author-first as young Bobi and later as American Bob-for his true identity in a world that is constantly changing for him. First he knows himself as Count Boguslaw Zamojski the Catholic; after the war as Bobi Melson the Jew until he is enrolled in Le Rosey, an exclusive Swiss prep school, when he must again become Catholic; next to America where he settles in New York as a young Jewish immigrant; then against his deepest wishes he is dragged to Japan where his father has set up a sewing machine factory. Each time young Melson must learn to survive and question "Who am I this time?". Fortunately, he is clever enough to pick up environmental clues to guide his behavior and survival, but the reader feels his sense of pain as he struggles to find his true self.

What makes this a deeply probing psychological exploration of one's search for identity is Melson's ability to step back from the action to view his family dynamics-his father's struggle with his compulsive need for adoration, his mother's deepening depression and her inappropriate use of the young Bobi as her personal confidant, and the parent's obsession with appearances.

It is in the Epilogue that everything comes together. We are told about the deaths of Willy and Nina, how Bobi becomes Robert the MIT PhD, and how Robert finally realizes who he is. The reader feels at peace at the end of the journey.

Of all the writers on the holocaust, his writing style is closest to that of Primo Levi. However, there is a difference: Levi always keeps the cool distance of a scientist in his descriptions of behavior and events while Melson uses warm, personal description of the behavioral scientist that he is. It is a must reading for those who want to know more about the holocaust, family dynamics or a young man's search for self. No matter what your reason is, False Papers: Deception and Survival in the Holocaust is a book you will read, reread, and pass on to others.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Story--Life and Death Gamble, May 30, 2001

By 

sara lelevier (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: False Papers: Deception and Survival in the Holocaust (Hardcover)

This book gripped me from start to finish. Melson draws you in to this suspenseful story using the voices of his mother and father to narrate this unbelievable tale of a young couple, baby in tow, outwitting the Nazis and surviving the holocaust while posing as a Count and Countess! I can't believe it's true. A must for anyone interested in WWII, or in a great love story for that matter...

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Story--Life and Death Gamble, May 30, 2001

By 

sara lelevier (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: False Papers: Deception and Survival in the Holocaust (Hardcover)

This book gripped me from start to finish. Melson draws you in to this suspenseful story using the voices of his mother and father to narrate this unbelievable tale of a young couple, baby in tow, outwitting the Nazis and surviving the holocaust while posing as a Count and Countess! I can't believe it's true. A must for anyone interested in WWII, or in a great love story for that matter...