Enric Marco Batlle's Deception: From Holocaust Hero to Imposter

The film Marco: A Fabricated Truth tells the story of Enric Marco Batlle, a Catalan man who pretended to be a Holocaust survivor. In 2005, it was revealed that Batlle had never been in a concentration camp.

José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, then Prime Minister of Spain, was scheduled to visit Mauthausen in 2005, with Batlle by his side. Documents received by Zapatero from journalist Benito Bermejo exposed the deception.

Born in Barcelona in 1921, Batlle claimed to be a member of the anarchist movement and a volunteer worker in Germany during World War II. He began claiming to be a Holocaust survivor in 1978, earning the Cross of St. George and the presidency of the Spanish association of Holocaust victims.

Neus Català, a real Holocaust survivor, challenged Batlle's claims, leading to the exposure of the fraud by Bermejo. Batlle resigned and returned his award, but insisted he was trying to keep the memory of the Holocaust victims alive. He died in 2022 at the age of 101.

The film, directed by Aitor Arregi and Jon Garaño, starring Eduard Fernández, Nathalie Poza, and Jordi Rico, is now in Greek cinemas.