The Holocaust is a blight on human history – an occurrence filled with so much pain, horror, and terror that it simply boggles the mind that it was allowed to happen. The persecution and mass murder of nine million Jews during the 1930s and 1940s has been documented in many different books, in many different ways. Here are 7 Books that shouldn’t be missed when studying this devastating time.
The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition by Anne Frank, ed by Otto Frank, Miriam Pressler, Susan Massotty
One of the most well-known records of the Holocaust, Frank’s diary documents the time she spent in Holland hiding from the Nazis. Not only is it a true life account of the fear and terror so many Jews experienced during the time, it is also a wonderfully written account of a girl coming of age in a time of war and strife. This edition contains passages that were previously omitted, making the text that much fuller and richer, and more real.
Frank, Anne. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition. Ed Otto Frank, Miriam Pressler, Susan Massotty. Bantam, 1997.
ISBN: 978-0553577129
Night by Elie Wiesel
This book will change your life forever. Wiesel’s first-hand account of Auschwitz concentration camp is so vivid, so horrible, yet so beautifully rendered that the thing that will strike you most is the author’s ability to wring the beauty out of words despite the atrocities he has suffered. It is haunting, powerful, and heartbreaking.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Bantam Books, 1960.
ASIN: B001OVNHZ4
The Complete Maus – A Survivor’s Tale by Art Speigelman
You wouldn’t think that a graphic novel with mice, cats, and dogs as the characters would fit a Holocaust story, but Spiegelman’s amazing style, haunting images, and gripping text do the job, and create one of the most powerful works about the Holocaust to date. Told from the point of view of “Artie,” a struggling comic book artist, the story unfolds as Artie listens to his father’s account of the Holocaust. You won’t forget the imagery and words.
Spiegelman, Art. The Complete Maus: A Survivor’s Tale. Pantheon. 1996
ISBN: 978-0679406419
The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man’s Survival in Warsaw 1939-1945 by Sladyslaw Szpilman
For realism, this book will not disappoint. For likability of main characters, however, prepare to feel conflicted. Published in Warsaw at the end of World War II but held back by Communist rule, this account is a first-hand tale by a Polish pianist who lived in the Jewish ghetto during the German occupation of Poland. This is a brutal, unforgiving tale that disheartens and chills.
Szpilman, Wladyslaw. The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man’s Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945. Picador. 2000.
ISBN: 978-0312263768
I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in The Holocaust by Livia Bitton-Jackson
Although this is considered a book for young adults, this memoir delivers a realistic account of a 13-year-old Hungarian girl’s journey from her home town, a concentration camp, and a narrow escape of the gas chambers. The account is extremely detailed, but the tone is uplifting and positive.
Bitton-Jackson, Livia. I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing Up in The Holocaust. Simon Pulse, 1999.
ISBN: 978-0689823954
The Politics of Memory: The Journey of a Holocaust Historian by Raul Hilberg
This narrative has been highly criticized for its insinuation that there was a lack of resistance on the part of the Jews during the Nazi Holocaust. Hilberg is acerbic, witty, bitter, and unforgiving in his examination of the role of the Jewish councils, the bureaucratic nature of the Holocaust, and his criticism of other Holocaust historians and scholars. It is an interesting read for its perspective, and for the writing – which is outstanding.
Hilbert, Raul. The Politics of Memory: The Journey of a Holocaust Historian. Ivan R. Dee, 2002.
ISBN: 978-1566634281
War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust by Doris L. Bergen
This is a great resource for a critical overview of the social, political, and cultural aspects of the Holocaust, as well as containing plenty of information about the racial implications and military structure of the conflict. Bergen explores not only the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, but the many other groups who were persecuted and murdered by the Nazis.
Bergen,Doris. War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust. Maryland, Rowman & Littlefield, 2009.
ISBN: 978-0742557154
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