Rosemarie Pence (formerly Hannah Pence; born 1938) is a German-American woman who posed as a child

Holocaust survivor Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its allies before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universally accep ...

from the

Dachau Concentration Camp , , commandant = List of commandants , known for = , location = Upper Bavaria, Southern Germany , built by = Germany , operated by = ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) , original use = Political prison , construction ...

. Pence became the subject of a fake biography titled '' Hannah: From Dachau to the Olympics and Beyond'' published in 2005. Her fabrications, which included a fake Jewish background (as Hannah), were discovered in 2009. By 2012 she was wanted in Colorado's

Boulder County Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder. Boulder County comprises th ...

on an

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a j ...

for

check fraud Cheque fraud (Commonwealth English), or check fraud (American English), refers to a category of criminal acts that involve making the unlawful use of cheques in order to illegally acquire or borrow funds that do not exist within the account balanc ...

and the theft of more than $20,000.

Claims

Pence claimed that as a three-year-old she was taken from her family of

German Jews The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

and deported to the

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. While at the camp, she was the subject of

medical experimentation Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

and

starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, dea ...

before being freed by American forces. After liberation, she went to live in a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

with

nuns A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

who taught her how to

ski A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...

. Using those skiing skills, Pence claimed that she competed on Germany's 1956 Olympic ski team in the

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games ( it, VII Giochi Olimpici invernali) and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( lld, Anpezo 1956 or ), was a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from ...

. Other claims included living in a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

in Israel, her

fighter pilot A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...

husband being shot down during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, "a scare during the 1972 Olympics, an audience with the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, an encounter with

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

at the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

and an airplane hijacking by a Palestinian terrorist." She also claimed that she was to be awarded an honorary degree by the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

by her "old friend, the

Queen of the Netherlands The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a large portion of it is devoted to the monarch. Roughly a third of ...

." Building on her claims, Pence earned

speaking fee A speaking fee is a payment awarded to an individual for speaking at a public event. Motivational speakers, businesspersons, facilitators, and celebrities are able to garner significant earnings in speaking fees or honoraria. In 2013, $10,000 wa ...

s at schools and other organizations because of her incredible life stories. One such school was the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

, where Pence led a seminar called "A Horrifying Experience." It was revealed that her husband Wayne Pence, who had supposedly been shot down during the war, was actually living in another state and had been searching for their son Brian that Pence took from him when Brian was still a toddler. Rosemarie had made an engraved

headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, da ...

for her husband to corroborate her story, even though the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

master sergeant was alive. He stated that Pence suffers from

schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

and had been institutionalized in the 1960s. He also stated that Rosemarie was indeed ethnically German, but that she had no Jewish ancestry.

Messinger's biography of Pence

Jean Goodwin Messinger, a local Colorado author, wrote a biography on Pence in 2005. The book was titled ''Hannah: From Dachau to the Olympics and Beyond''. Messinger failed to investigate the claims that Pence made, however, and took Pence's stories at face value. When information came out that Pence had lied and the biography was then fictional, Messinger stated, "I was terribly embarrassed. Not only for me, but for everyone else touched by this." Messinger continued with "I regarded this woman as a sister for the years I have known her. This revelation is shocking and disappointing to all of us who knew her and loved her, and counted her as a trusted friend."

Criminal charges

A woman in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

, loaned Pence over $70,000. When confronted about the money, Pence wrote her a $200,000 check to cover the loans, interest and time, but the check bounced as Pence was unable to cover the funds.

Longmont The City of Longmont is a home rule municipality located in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Longmont is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder and north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. Longmont's ...

residents David and Deena Kicera let Pence move in with them during 2009 and supported her. David was a police officer and Deena owned a small Christian bookstore. Pence had asked Deena to carry her biography in the store, and the two struck up a friendship and Pence eventually moved into their home. After living with the couple for almost a year, when they questioned Pence about the stories, she fled their home and moved to

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

, where she began working at a

Super 8 Motel Super 8, formerly Super 8 Motels, is an American hotel brand, being the world's largest budget hotel chain with over 2,000 locations worldwide. The chain is a subsidiary of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. The original room cost was $8.88 per night. ...

. The

authorities did not seek extradition to Colorado for Pence because of the associated cost, but if she returns to Colorado she will be arrested. She is wanted for

felony theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

and

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pence, Rosemarie 1938 births German emigrants to the United States American people convicted of fraud Living people Impostors

Claims

Messinger's biography of Pence

Criminal charges

See also

References