Stefan Mächler

Stefan Maechler (born 30 May 1957) is a Swiss historian and expert on antisemitism and Switzerland's treatment of Holocaust refugees during and after World War II.

Biography

Education Mächler was born on 30 May 1957 in Baden, Switzerland. He studied history and German literature at the University of Zurich.

Wilkomirski affair He was commissioned by Schocken Books, a publisher specializing in Judaica, to conduct a full-scale investigation into the life of writer Binjamin Wilkomirski, whose memoir Fragments, published by Schocken in 1996, sparked international controversy. Maechler studied hundreds of personal documents, and interviewed eyewitnesses and families of survivors in seven countries. He was given unrestricted access to government files, and discovered facts that completely refuted Wilkomirski's bestselling book as a forgery.