January 27th is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In commemoration of such a grievous period of history, it can be hard to truly grasp the tremendous horrors of something of this scale. How can we best come to terms with it?
Our now-President gave an address today during which he stated, “We must pass the history of the Holocaust on to our grandchildren and their grandchildren in order to keep real the promise of ‘never again.’ That is how we prevent future genocides.”
One way to pass on this history, to never forget and thereby never repeat, is to read the true stories, fictional yet reverent interpretations, and poignant writings on the subject. Here are a few we recommend — each of them eye-opening, educational or moving in their own way.
Death March Escape by Jack J. Hersch
Cilka’s Journey by Heather Morris
Death March Escape is the true, unimaginable story of the author’s father, the Hungarian soldier David Arieh Hersch, who twice escaped death marches during the Nazi Holocaust. He suffered extreme physical abuse, emotional torture, and other unspeakable horrors in the concentration camps; but it also is the tale of how Jack, having long heard his father’s story of survival and escape, came upon a photograph of his father on the Mauthausen Concentration Camp Memorial’s website — launching him into an all-consuming mission to learn the secrets his father never told him. (Read our review here.)
The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer
The Unanswered Letter by Faris Cassell
Heather Morris’s follow-up to The Tattooist of Auschwitz, this expertly written novel shines a light on the heartbreaking story of an extraordinary teenaged Jewish girl whose life changes for the worse. Captured by the Nazis and forced to act as a mistress to SS officers, she’s eventually rescued, but her Russian liberators accuse her of spying and collaborating with the enemy and condemn her to 15 years of hard labor in a Soviet gulag. This is a sobering premise, indeed — even more so because it draws upon real events — and yet Morris has crafted a flinty heroine who actively pursues her own redemption by way of human connection. (Read our review here.)
The Art of Resistance by Justus Rosenberg
The True Adventures of Gidon Lev by Julie Gray
An incredible, important work of fiction with a touch of humor, this novel is a harrowing Holocaust story and, thankfully, a survival story. It focuses on a concerned American who dedicates himself to saving famous artists by assisting in their often difficult and convoluted departure from France during the war. Orringer packs a punch with a multileveled, engaging story inspired by the courageous, real-life Varian Fry. Here is someone brave enough to put his life on the line, time and time again, for the good of others and the preservation of art in Nazi-occupied France. (Read our review here.)
Survivors of the Holocaust: True Stories of Six Extraordinary Children by Kath Shackleton
In 1939, a letter was sent. Many, many years later, this letter opens the door to an incredible story about a desperate couple during the Holocaust. Author and journalist Faris Cassell uncovered numerous heartbreaking and shocking stories and tracked relatives and descendants all over the world in researching and writing The Unanswered Letter, a powerful book that illuminates one of the darkest times in history. This read truly packs a punch. (Read our review, which includes an interview with the author, here.)
As Nazis descended upon his town of Danzig, Justus Rosenberg flees to Paris in a quest for safety. When the Nazis followed him there, Justus went underground, and so began a daring chapter in his life that would force him to grow up immediately. Joining the French Resistance, he stayed alive and active, a young Jewish man without a nation, fighting against the Nazis and the hate they represented. Now, more than half a century later, as a new Resistance amasses to combat the rise of nationalism in America and Europe, this memoir is as timely as ever. (Read our review here.)
Independently Published
Of the approximately 15,000 children imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camp of Térézin (Theresienstadt ) near Prague, less than 100 survived. Gidon Lev is one of those children. The True Adventures of Gidon Lev offers a primer on Jewish and Israeli history, insights into the culture of the modern state of Israel, and the inspiration to carry on after hardship and loss. Gain a better understanding of the Holocaust from Gidon’s story as he faces and overcomes horrifying circumstances and obstacles, and appreciate the spunk of a young man who attempts to find a silver lining even in the stormiest weather.
Perhaps there is no simple, easy way to educate children about the Holocaust. Yet an extraordinary work in the form of a nonfiction graphic novel for children is a valiant attempt to do just that. In Survivors of the Holocaust, we meet six Jewish children and young people who lived through the unthinkable. From suffering the horrors of Auschwitz to hiding from Nazi soldiers in war-torn Paris to sheltering from the Blitz in England, each true story is a powerful testament to the survivors’ courage and serves as a reminder never to allow such a tragedy to happen again. Geared to children 10 years old and up, the book is based on the BAFTA-nominated animated documentary series, Children of the Holocaust. The artwork has been reinvented in this unique children’s graphic novel, which aims to bring the survivors’ stories to a new audience. (Read our review here.)
