Stefan Mächler (born 30 May 1957 in Baden, Switzerland) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

historian and expert on

antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

's treatment of Holocaust refugees during and after

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 ...

Biography

Education

Maechler studied history and

German literature German literature () comprises those literature, literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy a ...

at the University of Zurich.

Wilkomirski affair

He was commissioned by the Schocken Books specializing in judaica to conduct a full-scale investigation into the life of writer

Binjamin Wilkomirski ''Fragments: Memories of a Wartime Childhood'' is a 1995 book, whose author used the pseudonym Binjamin Wilkomirski, which purports to be a memoir of the Holocaust. It was debunked by Swiss journalist and writer in August 1998. The subsequent di ...

whose memoir ''Fragments'', published by Schocken in 1996, sparked international controversy. Maechler studied hundreds of personal documents, and has interviewed eyewitnesses and families of survivors in seven countries. He was given unrestricted access to government files, and subsequently, discovered facts that completely refuted Wilkomirski's bestselling book as a

forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally refers to the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific intent to defraud anyone (other than themself). Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be forbidd ...

. Maechler published his findings in a book called ''The Wilkomirski Affair: A Study in Biographical Truth'' by Schocken Books, New York, in 2001 (496 pp.); originally in the German language as ''Der Fall Wilkomirski: über die Wahrheit einer Biographie'' by Pendo Verlag AG, Zurich, 2000.

Personal life

Maechler lives and works in Zurich.

Notes

References

* Good Reads
The Wilkomirski Affair: A Study in Biographical Truth by Stefan Maechler, John E. Woods (Translator).
Good Reads: Book. Retrieved February 7, 2015. * Alibris
BOOKS by Stefan Maechler.
''The Wilkomirski Affair: A Study in Biographical Truth'' 2015 Alibris for Libraries. Retrieved February 7, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Maechler, Stefan 20th-century Swiss historians Swiss male writers 1957 births Living people 21st-century Swiss historians Writers from Zürich