Also my grandparents were Jewish, and, uh, Holocaust survivors from . . . wait for it . . . Ukraine!
By 
The great thing about making up your identity is you can just tack on more and more stuff as needed:
Claims by incoming Republican Rep. George Santos that his grandparents “survived the Holocaust” as Ukrainian Jewish refugees from Belgium who changed their surname to survive are contradicted by sources reviewed by CNN’s KFile including family trees compiled by genealogy websites, records on Jewish refugees and interviews with multiple genealogists.
Santos, who has called himself “half Jewish” and a “Latino Jew” in media appearances, has claimed his maternal grandfather was originally from Ukraine and fled to Brazil to escape Nazism. In another telling, the New York Republican said his grandparents converted to Catholicism during the rise of Nazism in Belgium after fleeing Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union. In another telling, he claimed his family changed their name to survive Nazism.
CNN spoke to multiple genealogists who said there was no proof of the claims. Santos’ misrepresentations of his family history were first reported by The Forward on Wednesday. Records from the Holocaust Museum and the International Center on Nazi Persecution, which contain records on Jewish refugees, also show no mention of Santos’ grandparents.
Megan Smolenyak, an author and professional genealogist who helped research Santos’ family tree at CNN’s request, said in email, “There’s no sign of Jewish and/or Ukrainian heritage and no indication of name changes along the way.”
The incoming Republican lawmaker has faced scrutiny over his resume since The New York Times revealed on Monday that Santos’ biography appeared to be partly fictional. CNN confirmed details of The New York Times reporting on Monday, including that he may have misrepresented parts of his resume about his college education and employment history.
A lawyer for Santos declined to comment to CNN.
“I’m very proud of my Jewish heritage,” Santos said in an appearance from late November 2022 with the Jewish News Syndicate. “I’m very proud of my grandparents’ story. My grandfather fleeing, Ukraine, fleeing Stalin’s persecution, going to Belgium, finding refuge there, marrying my grandmother, then fleeing Hitler going to Brazil. That’s a story of perseverance. I’m so proud. I mean, I wish I could have met my grandfather.”
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