Incoming congressman's claims his grandparents fled the Holocaust contradicted by genealogy records - CNN

CNN  — 

Claims by incoming Republican Rep. George Santos that his grandparents “survived the Holocaust” arsenic Ukrainian Jewish refugees from Belgium who changed their surname to past are contradicted by sources reviewed by CNN’s KFile including household trees compiled by genealogy websites, records connected Jewish refugees and interviews with aggregate genealogists.

Santos, who has called himself “half Jewish” and a “Latino Jew” successful media appearances, has claimed his maternal gramps was primitively from Ukraine and fled to Brazil to flight Nazism. In different telling, the New York Republican said his grandparents converted to Catholicism during the emergence of Nazism successful Belgium aft fleeing Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union. In different telling, helium claimed his household changed their sanction to past Nazism.

CNN spoke to aggregate genealogists who said determination was nary impervious of the claims. Santos’ misrepresentations of his household past were archetypal reported by The Forward connected Wednesday. Records from the Holocaust Museum and the International Center connected Nazi Persecution, which incorporate records connected Jewish refugees, besides amusement nary notation of Santos’ grandparents.

Megan Smolenyak, an writer and nonrecreational genealogist who helped probe Santos’ household histrion astatine CNN’s request, said successful email, “There’s nary motion of Jewish and/or Ukrainian practice and nary denotation of sanction changes on the way.”

The incoming Republican lawmaker has faced scrutiny implicit his resume since The New York Times revealed connected Monday that Santos’ biography appeared to beryllium partially fictional. CNN confirmed details of The New York Times reporting connected Monday, including that helium whitethorn person misrepresented parts of his resume astir his assemblage acquisition and employment history.

A lawyer for Santos declined to remark to CNN.

“I’m precise arrogant of my Jewish heritage,” Santos said successful an quality from precocious November 2022 with the Jewish News Syndicate. “I’m precise arrogant of my grandparents’ story. My gramps fleeing, Ukraine, fleeing Stalin’s persecution, going to Belgium, uncovering refuge there, marrying my grandmother, past fleeing Hitler going to Brazil. That’s a communicative of perseverance. I’m truthful proud. I mean, I privation I could person met my grandfather.”

In different interrogation from earlier this year, Santos claimed that his grandparents survived the Holocaust.

“My grandparents survived the Holocaust, truthful these regimes of socialism, Marxism, they don’t work, and they’re followed up by a batch of hurt, and we’re seeing that presently and what’s happening successful Ukraine with the Russians,” Santos said successful a May 2022 interview.

But household histories from the websites MyHeritage and Geneanet and a Dutch periodical from the municipality the household emigrated from amusement his maternal grandparents, Paolo and Rosalina Devolder, were some calved successful Brazil. Records connected FamilySearch, archetypal reported by The Forward, besides amusement Santos’ great-grandfather arsenic surviving successful Brazil.

While it is imaginable that his maternal grandparents returned to Europe and past moved backmost to Brazil, determination is nary grounds to enactment this. And determination is nary grounds that the household were Jewish refugees fleeing Europe.

Additionally, Santos’ ties to Ukraine were lone added to his run biography sometime betwixt April 2022 and October 2022, according to the Internet Archive’s WayBack Machine. His bio present begins: “George’s grandparents fled Jewish persecution successful Ukraine, settled successful Belgium, and again fled persecution during WWII.”

When the Ukraine-Russia struggle began successful February 2022, Santos told Fox News integer that his ties to Ukraine were “very vague” and said it would beryllium “disingenuous” to assertion his relatives were astatine risk. But helium added that his household aboriginal changed their surname to survive.

“It’s conscionable precise vague and faint,” said Santos’ of his ties to the country. “We don’t transportation the Ukrainian past name. For a batch of radical who are descendants of World War II refugees oregon survivors of the Holocaust, a batch of names and paperwork were changed successful sanction of survival.”

But records quality this assertion. The Devolder surname has been utilized by his mother’s household for generations, and the household has not changed it, according to household trees reviewed by the genealogists CNN spoke to.

Santos’ parent died successful 2016, but her Facebook posts see Catholic prayers and posts astir the Virgin Mary connected Easter with nary posts indicating Jewish heritage.

In a antithetic appearance, Santos said his mother’s grandfather’s household converted to Catholicism during the emergence of Nazism, though helium specified helium was not trying to assertion to Jewish heritage.

“My gramps grew up Jewish. My grandfather, during the Soviet issues, escaped to Belgium,” said Santos. “And past that was a large move. Met my grandmother, married, and brainsick enough, the Nazis became a thing. And that’s erstwhile helium said, ‘Oh my God, this is each implicit again.’ They converted to Catholicism, had their kids, raised them Catholic. And I’m Catholic, but that’s beauteous overmuch small past of my household into Judaism.”