I am so curious about this.  Looking forward to the answer.  Only tangentially 
related story I know of is:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Desnos

 

One day Desnos and others were taken away from their barracks. The prisoners 
rode on the back of a flatbed truck; they knew the truck was going to the gas 
chamber; no one spoke. Soon they arrived and the guards ordered them off the 
truck. When they began to move toward the gas chamber, suddenly Desnos jumped 
out of line and grabbed the hand of the woman in front of him. He was animated 
and he began to read her palm. The forecast was good: a long life, many 
grandchildren, abundant joy. A person nearby offered his palm to Desnos. Here, 
too, Desnos foresaw a long life filled with happiness and success. The other 
prisoners came to life, eagerly thrusting their palms toward Desnos and, in 
each case, he foresaw long and joyous lives.

 

The guards became visibly disoriented. Minutes before they were on a routine 
mission the outcome of which seemed inevitable, but now they became tentative 
in their movements. Desnos was so effective in creating a new reality that the 
guards were unable to go through with the executions. They ordered the 
prisoners back onto the truck and took them back to the barracks. Desnos never 
was executed. Through the power of imagination, he saved his own life and the 
lives of others.

 

Griffin, Susan. 1996. “Can Imagination Save Us?” Utne Reader, July−August.

 

Where's original source?

 

 

From: hasafran-boun...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu 
[mailto:hasafran-boun...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu] On Behalf Of Hasafran
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2014 12:12 PM
To: hasafran@lists.service.ohio-state.edu
Subject: [ha-Safran] Fwd: A request to pick your brain

 


The following message was forwarded to me. Can someone help?

In the current Harvard Alumni magazine there is in inquiry that prompts me to 
write.
A reader is looking for the source of a work that describes children queuing 
for the gas chamber while a palm reader tells their fortunes. The refrain is 
"the wrong parents, the wrong parents."
Does this sound familiar to you?

 

Please respond to NNPATZ < <mailto:nnp...@optonline.net> nnp...@optonline.net>

 

Yossi

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