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His grandfather’s Holocaust stories didn’t add up — so he set out to tell the fact-checked version

JL;DR SUMMARY Ari Schneider, an investigative journalist, uncovered inconsistencies in his grandfather Louis' Holocaust survival stories, prompting him to fact-check and document the true history of their family's experiences during the Shoah. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

HolocaustMemoirHolocaust DenialHolocaust EducationFamily HistoryHolocaust NarrativesFact CheckingAri SchneiderLouis SchneiderTrauma And Memory

Places mentioned

Bagneres de Luchon, Gers, France
"Ari Schneider on his reporting trip in Bagneres de Luchon, France."
Fossano, Cuneo, Italy
"He placed them in the care of the Catholic Church in Fossano, Italy, where they found refuge hiding their Jewish identities."
Boulder, Colorado, United States
"The Forward spoke with Ari over video chat from his residence in Boulder, Colorado."
Belgium
"Ari decided the truth mattered more than those who would seek to distort it. Plus, the 29-year-old had the ideal career for researching the story, as an investigative journalist and senior writer at the Mountain Gazette."
France
"After Louis death last year, Ari set out to write the official account of his familys story, traveling to Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Poland on the Mountain Gazettes dime to visit the sites his family traversed while escaping the Nazis."
Switzerland
"After Louis death last year, Ari set out to write the official account of his familys story, traveling to Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Poland on the Mountain Gazettes dime to visit the sites his family traversed while escaping the Nazis."
Poland
"After Louis death last year, Ari set out to write the official account of his familys story, traveling to Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Poland on the Mountain Gazettes dime to visit the sites his family traversed while escaping the Nazis."
Burlington, Vermont, United States
"Hannah Feuer joined the Forward as a general assignment reporter in May 2025 after two years as a culture reporter at Seven Days, an independent weekly in Burlington, Vermont."
Washington DC, United States
"Originally from the Washington, D.C., area, she is a 2023 graduate of Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism."

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Cairo Item ID 58918
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Retrieved 2025-08-09 05:30:46 UTC
Curated 2025-08-09 08:30:54 UTC