The Lampshade: A Holocaust Detective Story from Buchenwald to New Orleans

The Lampshade: A Holocaust Detective Story from Buchenwald to New Orleans is a 2010 nonfiction book by U.S. author Mark Jacobson. It recounts the attempt to ascertain the origin of a lampshade claimed to be made out of human skin.

Synopsis

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a lampshade, purported to be made from the skin of a Jewish Holocaust victim, turned up in a sidewalk rummage sale in New Orleans. Purchased for $35 by Skip Henderson, the lampshade was sent to his friend Mark Jacobson, a writer living in New York. Jacobson embarked on a quest to discover the origin of the lampshade. Genetic testing initially confirmed it was made from human skin. However, because of the condition of the tanned skin, there was no way to determine the ethnic origin of the person whose skin was used, or if it was indeed a relic of the Holocaust.

Over the course of the next few years, Jacobson attempted to track down the origin of and examine the meaning of the lampshade, how it ended up in New Orleans, and to decide what to ultimately do with the gruesome object. Both the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Yad Vashem museum in Jerusalem, declined to take possession of the lampshade, saying that the concentration camp lampshades made of human skin were probably a "myth". Over the course of his investigation, Jacobson examines the history of the Buchenwald concentration camp, where such objects were reputed to have been made, as well as the racial and post-Katrina history of New Orleans, the world of Holocaust deniers, the black market trafficking in such goods, and the mythology surrounding objects made from human skin.

Dan

Dan is an old Scandinavian given name with disputed meaning. Dan is also a Hebrew given name, after Dan, the fifth son of Jacob with Bilhah and founder of the Israelite Tribe of Dan. It is also a given name or a nickname for people named Daniel.

Dan, or the acronym DAN may refer to the following:

People

People with the surname

Places

Douglas G. Hurley

Douglas Gerald Hurley (born October 21, 1966) is an engineer and NASA astronaut. He piloted Space Shuttle mission STS-127, which launched July 15, 2009. He was assigned and flew as pilot for STS-135, the final flight of the Space Shuttle program, in July 2011. He is also the first Marine to fly the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet. His call sign is "Chunky" and was sometimes referred to by this name on the communication loops.

Biography

Early years and education

Hurley was born on October 21, 1966 in Endicott, New York. He graduated from the Owego Free Academy in Owego, New York in 1984. He graduated magna cum laude with honors from Tulane University, earning his B.S.E. in civil engineering in 1988. He was also a distinguished graduate from both Tulane's NROTC program and from USMC Officer Candidates School.

Marine Corps career

Hurley received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps from the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1988. After graduation, he attended The Basic School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, and later the Infantry Officers Course. Following aviation indoctrination at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, he entered flight training in Texas in 1989; he was a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Navy Pilot Training program and was designated a Naval Aviator in August 1991.