Holocaust Survivors and Remembrance Project

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following the sickening trail of Eric Saul

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Eric Saul
A Desperate Attack by Eric Saul,
the (Great) Holocaust Research Impostor
(with Zero Academic Credentials)
on Kalman Brattman and iSurvived.org
(with a
Supplemental Note)

by
K. K. Brattman
Managing Editor

June 1, 2007
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"You can fool all the people some of the time,
and some of the people all the time,
but you can not fool all the people all of the time."
[Attributed to Abraham Lincoln.]

Responding, in brief, to Eric Saul's desperate public attack
as silence for us is not an option ...
   

Kalman Brattman's lunch

I.  On Eric Saul's Bogus 'Visas for Life' Exhibits, and
His "Beef" with Kalman Brattman and iSurvived.org

Kalman Brattman's lunch


 
by Kalman Brattman The fraudulent Holocaust work of Eric Saul was first exposed by us in our June 29, 2003 study under the title "The Eric Saul Case and his 'Visas for Life: The Righteous Diplomats' Project --An Issue of Credibility and Accountability." Following the sickening trail left behind by Eric Saul, on August 7, 2003, we posted our Study on the Hiram "Harry" Bingham IV Case that Yad Vashem was examining as a result of Eric Saul's Petition to Yad Vashem to award the late Bingham IV with the "Righteous Among the Nations" title. (Yad Vashem, in the end, rejected Eric Saul's Petition and sided with our opposing standing. See in here, if you will, the final outcome of the Bingham IV case.)

by Kalman Brattman Continuing on the sickening trail of Eric Saul, we stumbled upon his "discovery" of Solly Ganor, a Holocaust Lithuanian Survivor and, on March 11, 2004, we posted our Study of The Solly Ganor Case of Credibility and Deceit and followed on May 9, 2005 by "Solly Ganor's Deceit and Fabrication in the PBS Documentary on Sugihara" under the series " 'Solly Ganor -- Eric Saul' Misrepresentations of the Holocaust."

by Kalman Brattman A surprising number of people, Holocaust survivors, and institutions where Mr. Saul was invited to 'exhibit' his work later regretted very much their associations with him. Ironically, over the years, Dr. Stephen Feinstein of Minnesota --from all people-- contacted numerous times this editor with respect to Eric Saul as Dr. Feinstein was baffled and quite intrigued how Eric Saul could have duped so many people when he appears of having no academic credentials of any sort.
(After the posting of our critical views on Dr. Feinstein's teachings of the Holocaust, "things" have changed in a hurry and, Eric Saul [as well as Solly Ganor] found sympathy from Dr. Feinstein as the odd triangle, Feinstein-Ganor-Saul, was born in a hurry!)

by Kalman Brattman Mudslinging is an old and tried method where issues could be diverted if the focus is no longer on the issues involved but deflected on hearsay evidence rumored to exist that always has noting to do with the subject and issues presented. And Eric Saul, as a master of concocted stories, created such a concocted website at <K a l m a n B r a t t m a n.info> under the title "Report on K a l m a n  K. Brattman (K. K. Brattman) and the Holocaust Survivors Network."
(Dr. Stephen Feinstein, in a hurry, referenced on the CHGS site, a site that is funded with public money acquired by University of Minnesota, Eric Saul's derogatory website on this editor as "proof" of the unreliability of the <iSurvived.org> Holocaust memorial and remembrance site! Dr. Feinstein's desperate move is indeed a highly unethical undertaking that may reflect, in the end, his current sorrow state of mind --but that is an entirely different subject altogether.)

 

 

Kalman Brattman's breakfast

II.  On Eric Saul from People that Actually Knew Him:

Kalman Brattman's breakfast

David L. Israel, American GI Stationed at Dachau and author of the book
"
The Day the Thunderbird Cried: Untold Stories of World War II"

Jan Zwartendyk, son of the Dutch Diplomat Jan Zwartendijk,
Holder of the 'Righteous Among the Nations' Title,


and
Anne Akabori, Chairperson of the Visas for Life Foundation


"The man [Eric Saul] is as phony as a three dollar bill."
David L. Israel  

Eric Saul: for some a devious operator ...
Jan Zwartendyk  

"Unless we are willing to go into litigation,
we cannot do anything about the confusion [generated by Eric Saul]"
Anne Akabori

"In Sweden there were regrets about bringing Eric Saul's exhibit to  Stockholm in the year 2000."
Dr. Stephen Feinstein  

 

Eric Saul In one of his emails (that of July 15, 2005), Dr. Stephen Feinstein apparently obsessed by Eric Saul's lack of academic credentials referred Eric Saul to this editor as the "mystery man!" as Dr. Feinstein begins his stated email to this editor with these lines:
"What I am still curious about are the credentials of Saul. Mystery man!"[sic!]

Well, for people who actually knew Eric Saul for a number of years, Mr. Saul was no longer a mystery man but an ordinary unscrupulous cheat and manipulator. Some four (4) years ago, fate put us in contact with someone who actually knew for years Eric Saul. His name is David L. Israel, a military man who in 1945 (at age 19) was in Dachau as part of the United States 522nd Rescue Combat Team (RCT). When we asked him of his candid view of Eric Saul, Mr. David Israel stated this to us in his June 14, 2003 email:

 
"In answer to your request for info about Eric Saul:
The man is as phony as a three dollar bill.

I met him in the early ninties after he had set up a sushi and bagel breakfast in SF for"survivors of the Dachau concentration camp and their Liberators, members of the Japanese-American 522nd Rct.

Articles were printed up in the SF Chronicle, the Asian News and any number of Jewish publications which were happy to give the story all the publicity Eric Saul craved.

I had been stationed, as an American GI in Dachau for one year. I had never heard of any Japanese troops being involved in the liberation of the camp. I was also in the process of writing a book about the liberation of Dachau, which I am now completing. I took it upon myself to visit Eric Saul at his Picture framing business in SF. We went out for a three hour lunch and conversation. At that time I had no idea how untruthful a man he was..."
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(For those interested in seeing the entire email of Mr. David L. Israel, please click in here.)

From Jan Zwartendyk, son of the Righteous Among the Nations Dutch Diplomat Jan Zwartendijk we post, without comment, this email of June 30, 2003, that we received:


Re: Eric Saul's "Visas for Life" project

I became acquainted with Saul's activities in 1996. He had teamed up several years earlier with Chiune Sugihara's oldest son in S.F. to start a travelling photo exhibition using the Sugiharas' large collection of photos of around 1940 in Kaunas, Lithuania, where Sugihara had been vice consul for Japan. Sugihara issued transit visas for travel through Japan to Polish Jewish refugees. Some 2,200 actually reached Japan with the help of these transit visas. Half of these moved on beyond Japan, and the other half was interned in Shanghai in late 1941.

In 1996 Saul first(?) heard that my father,Jan Zwartendijk, who was the Dutch consul in Kaunas in 1940, had issued destination visas to these refugees to the Dutch island of Curaçao (actually, they were notations masquerading as visas), on the basis of which Sugihara had been able to issue Japanese transit visas. Eventually an addition was made to the Visas for Life exhibitions with some photos of my father and a brief text. The text was not entirely correct, but I had not been given the opportunity to vet it beforehand in spite of my requests for it. Worst of all, the text gave no inkling that the Curacao "visas" and the Japanese transit visas had any connection with each other. That had to be deliberate. Historically, the texts left much to be desired.

The story of the escape from Lithuania of these 2,200 mostly Polish Jews was thoroughly researched by the USHMM in Washington, D.C., and published in a book "Flight and Rescue" (2001?). (According to Visas for Life, first 3000, then 4000, 6000, 8000, and finally 10,000 were saved that way. No explanation ever of the derivation of these imaginative numbers).

When Saul and Sugihara Jr. were still running "Visas for Life" jointly as a company - it must have been some time in 1997 - they sent me a blank contract for my signature which would give them the sole rights to publish my father's photos which I had sent them the previous year. In exchange I would receive something like a couple of videos. That showed rather crudely that Saul was an operator, a member of the "Holocaust industry". I did not reply to him and have not replied to any of his mail or invitations to embellish his road shows since then.

I have forwarded your website, section V, to a number of people who may have something to say about Eric Saul, both good and bad. To some he is a saint, to others a devious operator (what if he is both??).
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And from Anne Akabori, Chairperson of the Visas for Life Foundation (dedicated to perpetuate the legacy of Consul Chiune Sugihara and nothing else, and not be confused with Mr. Saul's photo exhibit project bearing the same name), we post here, again with no additional comment, this direct quotation of an email of her:

 

"Unless we are willing to go into litigation, we cannot do anything about the confusion in our names. We do not want the notoriety that comes with litigation, nor do we have the time or money to consider it. Unfortunately, when Hiroki first met Eric, he believed him to be sincere and most passionate about his father's story. Due to an incident, Hiroki had second thoughts and asked that he not exhibit his father's entire story other than to mention him as among the righteous."

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Kalman Brattman's breakfast

III.  Concluding Remarks

Kalman Brattman's breakfast


Eric Saul's trashby Kalman Brattman It is too bad that Eric Saul who proclaims to be "a respected Holocaust educator" [sic!] saw fit for the advancement of the Holocaust education to create, in his whole life, only the trashy <K a l m a n B r a t t m a n.info> website and nothing else on the Internet! Some people have an affinity towards trash and, if that is Mr. Saul's inclination, then --by all means-- let him have it!

by KALMAN BRATTMAN Assuming for a moment that everything posted by Eric Saul in his trashy referenced website is true, it is not clear what exact point he has attempted to make. Specifically, the questions that still remain are these ones:
  • What all that "information" provided by Mr. Saul has to do with his bogus Holocaust work that was exposed --without challenge--in iSurvived.org?
  • How the Holocaust education is being advanced by a "a respected Holocaust educator" of the Eric Saul type and caliber?
  • How in God's name, the message can be tainted by the messenger? Is anybody there that cannot see the message because of the messenger? Do we have any takers?

by KALMAN BRATTMAN Is anybody there that will choose Eric Saul's pathetic website over <iSurvived.org> website when the interest is in learning about the Holocaust and its tragic legacy? Is there anything remotely educational on the study of the Holocaust from Eric Saul's stated website? Again, do we have any takers?

Respectfully submitted,

K. K. Brattman
Managing Editor
   June 1, 2007.

 

by KALMAN BRATTMAN PS (of June 8, 2007). A surprising number of people, asked us to reveal at least one past email received from Dr. Stephen Feinstein where he questions the credibility and/or the academic credentials of Eric Saul. Well, we have no problem with this sort of request and, without comment, we post herein below three (3) such emails from Dr. Feinstein.
.The first one is Dr. Feinstein's email of June 17, 2005, to this editor, where this exact paragraph can be found:

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"I saw that Eric Saul page but was impressed there were no academic credentials listed. Being a consultant can mean you got a 5 minute phone call to being almost a producer. I would agree he can put together an exhibit, but my question was always about academic credentials. Nothing there. He seems to have a lot of interest in Asian Americans and the Holocaust, two distinct subjects sometimes. Most press releases at Universities give an academic background for speakers, such as University of last degree, but I don;t see that."
The second email is with respect to Eric Saul's bogus "
Visa for Life" Holocaust project. This editor received this email (of April 5, 2005) from Dr. Feinstein that is posted in full, again with no added commentary:

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"Just a factoid. I received a call from Manli Ho, daughter of Feng Sheng [aka Shan] Ho about a month ago who indicated she was upset with the Visas for Life exhibit that was circulating and some of the chatter about what her father did and did not do. So, this sort of frantic search for diplomatic rescuers seems to be a complex process, to say the least. She has apparently broken contact with the organizer of the exhibition."

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Editor' Note: See, in here, a firsthand rebuttal of Eric Saul's Holocaust work with respect to the late Dr. Fen Shan Ho.
And finally, as a third illustration, is Dr. Feinstein's long email of July 16, 2003 where, in its PS, this editor is being advised of the following:

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"A colleague in Sweden just wrote me that he felt Eric Saul's work was very thin on content and thought and there were regrets about bringing his exhibit to Stockholm in the year 2000."

Go away Eric Saul
Good riddance, Eric Saul !   Why Don't You Go Away ?
Go away Eric Saul
  Your past bogus Holocaust "Visas for Life" exhibits are here to stay exposed.  
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by KALMAN BRATTMAN Note of February 21, 2008:

On February 9, 2008, Eric Saul finally has created a website with respect to his Holocaust work at <israh.org>, ISRAH standing for his newly created bogus Institute for the Study of Rescue and Altruism in the Holocaust that according to him is an umbrella organization for his Visas for Life project that now has been expanded as "The Righteous and Honorable Diplomats Project and the Jewish Rescuers Project."

  • The Jewish Rescuers Project is an important project in the grand rescue operation of the Holocaust that needs to stand by itself and not be incorporated into some bogus Visas for Life project dealing with the diplomats and the issuing of visas during the Holocaust years.
  • The Righteous Diplomats are the ones recognized by the State of Israel through Yad Vashem and awarded with the medal and the title of "The Righteous Among the Nations."
  • The Honorable Diplomats in Eric Saul's exhibits are those diplomats that happened to serve in various countries during the Holocaust years, and Mr. Saul --for a buck or two-- has decided to place them, with concocted and/or unverifiable evidence, into his list of heroes making a mockery of the true heroes of the Holocaust. In his stated website, Mr. Saul acknowledges openly that "the Visas for Life Project has a somewhat different set of criteria from Yad Vashem for honoring diplomats," but the reader is left in suspense as to what those criteria may be and WHY do we need to have separate criteria from the ones used by Yad Vashem.

The convoluted incorporation of these three distinct projects under one single roof and riding under the tail coat of the true Righteous people, as recognized by the Jewish State, raises serious credibility issues taking into consideration the lack of credible evidence in support thereof and the chosen method of presentation.

Go away Eric Saul from Kalman Brattman
Eric Saul


by KALMAN BRATTMANby KALMAN BRATTMAN


by KALMAN BRATTMAN.

Selected Links:

Solly Ganor Deceit in PBS Documentary on Sugihara Masterminded by Eric Saul

Jonathan Tilove's "Kafkaesque Dilemma"
(in 6 acts)

The Odd Triangle: Feinstein-Ganor-Saul
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Eric Saul gone ...

Eric Saul gone ...

Eric Saul gone ...