A Pennsylvania man is asking for forgiveness after admitting he lied about a personal history which he claimed included escaping Auschwitz.
Joseph Hirt, 91, has come clean after years of saying he was in the concentration camp and escaped.
“I am writing today to apologize publicly for harm caused to anyone because of my inserting myself into the descriptions of life in Auschwitz,” Hirt wrote.
He had given many presentations and lectures on his false experiences, and those lectures are what led to the truth; a history teacher from New York saw him speak and found many inconsistencies in his story.
READ MORE: Former Auschwitz guard sentenced to 5 years in prison for helping kill 170,000 people
Andrew Reid then sent a letter to media outlets and Hirt himself, along with research that shows off contradictions between Hirt’s story and proven historical facts. (The full research can be found on the Lancaster Online’s website)
Reid didn’t call for any punishment, just for Hirt to come clean.
“I appeal to you to use any opportunity given you to publically recant your fraudulent claims and apologize to the communities and school children that you have deceived,” Reid wrote.
Since the letter went public, Hirt has done as Reid asked and apologized for the lies.
“I was not a prisoner there. I did not intend to lessen or overshadow the events which truly happened there by falsely claiming to have been personally involved…
“I was wrong. I ask forgiveness.”
In his letter, Hirt explains that he wanted to make sure the world wouldn’t forget the horrors of the Holocaust and Auschwitz.
He also says the number tattooed on his arm was actually the number of Primo Levi, whom he admires.
He says it wasn’t in an attempt to steal Levi’s identity, but to honour him.
“I had his number tattooed on my left forearm … as a way of remembering him and mourning his loss,” he wrote.
Read the full letter on the Lancaster Online website here.
Comments