Marie Sophie Hingst (1987–2019) was a German historian and blogger who falsely claimed to be descended from Holocaust survivors. Born into a Protestant family, she fabricated a Jewish background and sent documentation for 22 misrepresented or non-existent relatives, who she claimed were Holocaust victims, to the official Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem. She maintained a blog about her supposed Jewish background, identity and experiences as a German expatriate in Ireland, where she moved in 2013. The blog received hundreds of thousands of views. Throughout her life, Hingst falsified much of her background, connections, and achievements. She used her fraudulent credentials to gain awards and recognition, and held positions of prestige in Jewish communities across Europe. A journalist exposed her claims as false in 2019. She was castigated in the German media, destroying her reputation. Hingst committed suicide at the age of 31. Her fraud and death attracted attention across Europe. (Full article...)
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