The end of World War II in 1945 marked the end of one of the darkest periods in history – the Holocaust. The brutal torture and killing of millions of Jews by the Nazis showed us the amount of evil humans are capable of, and how discrimination and extreme ideologies can have destructive consequences. As we celebrate the birth anniversary of Anne Frank, one of the victims of the Holocaust, we need to be reminded of this tragic past so that we ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself. Reading these Holocaust books, and the subsequent destruction it brought about, might help in understanding the horrors of one of the most brutal tragedies humans were forced to endure.
01
Anne Frank: The Diary Of A Young Girl
Anne Frank
In 1942, as the Nazis occupied Holland, a 13-year-old Anne Frank and her family were forced to go into hiding. The Frank family, along with another family, remained hidden in the annexe of an old building for two years. Anne nicknamed her diary Kitty and documented details of her life, feelings, dreams and worries in it. Facing constant hunger and the fear of being discovered and imprisoned, Anne’s diary entries paint a picture of one of the darkest periods in history. While Anne did not survive her family’s capture and deportation to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, her diary did. The Diary Of A Young Girl still remains a timeless classic about the horrors of war, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Buy it here.
02
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
The Book Thief is the story of a young German girl named Liesel who is taken in by foster parents during World War II. Her foster parents also hide a young Jewish boy from the Nazis. When Liesel’s foster father teaches her how to read and write, she shares this knowledge with the young boy as well. As Liesel begins to grasp the true nature of the atrocities inflicted on the Jews, she also begins to understand the power of words and starts stealing books that the Nazis are out to destroy and burn. Though this is technically a YA novel, The Book Thief can be read by everyone to understand how children tried to survive such a dark period of history.
Buy it here.
03
MAUS
Art Spiegelman
A harrowing tale of torture and survival during the Holocaust, Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel is a study in human kindness and hatred. The Jews are illustrated as meek mice in The Complete Maus and the Nazis as sly cats. Divided into two parts, the first part portrays the traumatic experiences of Vladek, the author’s father, who is a concentration camp survivor. The second part is about Spiegelman’s feelings on writing about the Holocaust, his thoughts about the strained relationship with his father, and how the children of survivors survive. The book is a chilling narration of the tortures in the Nazi-run concentration camps, which had a death toll of about 6 million Jews.
Buy it here.
04
Night
Elie Wiesel
Born in Romania, Elie Wiesel was a teenager when he and his family were sent to the concentration camps in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. There, Wiesel experienced the horrors of the gas chambers, the stench of death all around him, and witnessed the murders of his mother and sister. His father died shortly before their liberation. In Night, Wiesel evocatively narrates his experiences, and his simple words are enough to send a chill up our spine. The mental, physical and emotional torture that he survived is unlike any other, and Night serves as a stark reminder as to why such an event should never happen again.
Buy it here.
05
The Boy In The Striped Pajamas
John Boyne
Bruno, the nine-year-old son of a Nazi officer, is innocent of the tortures being committed in Germany. When his family is relocated to Auschwitz due to his father’s promotion, Bruno catches glimpses of the concentration camps without knowing the horrors they hold. One day, he meets a Jewish boy named Shmuel on the other side of the fence where he roams, and befriends him. When Shmuel confesses that he is unable to find his father in the camp, the two boys concoct a plan to sneak Bruno into the camp to help find Shmuel’s father. What follows is the tragedy of a lifetime as Bruno gets locked up in the camp. Harrowing and terrifying, this novel reminds us of the thousands of children like Shmuel who became innocent victims during this heinous period in history.
Buy it here.
06
Schindler’s List
Thomas Keneally
Oskar Schindler was many things – a businessman, a womaniser, an alcoholic, and the saviour of around 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust. A member of the Nazi Party, he employed Jews in his factories, and hid them so they couldn’t be sent to the concentration camps. The great thing about Thomas Keneally’s book is that it shows Oskar just as he is, a man with good and bad characteristics, and how even a glimmer of good in a person can save thousands in the face of tragedy.
Buy it here.
07
Man’s Search For Meaning
Viktor Frankel
When psychologist Viktor Frankel was imprisoned for being a Jew, he only managed to survive because he found a way to cope with the mental and emotional anguish that he was put through. Man’s Search For Meaning is based on his experiences and observations, where he concludes that though suffering is not optional, the way we survive it is very important. Frankl’s book portrays the importance of learning that a lack of control over our circumstances doesn’t mean we can’t control our attitude towards them, and that man’s primary motivation is to find meaning in his life.
Buy it here.
08
If This Is A Man
Primo Levi
An Italian-Jewish member of the anti-fascist resistance in Italy, Primo Levi was imprisoned in a camp for almost a year. If This Is A Man is an account of his days in the camp, where torture and death ran rampant, and the uncertainty of life and death proved to be a harrowing experience for many prisoners. This book does not glorify the agony or the brutality of the situation. Instead, it seeks to showcase mere facts about the evils of humanity, along with the hope that keeps them alive.
Buy it here.
09
Everything Is Illuminated
Jonathan Safran Foer
A young man arrives in Ukraine with one mission – to find the woman who might have saved his grandfather’s life from the Nazis. There, he meets Alex, who is an American pop-culture enthusiast; his grandfather, who is tormented by the horrors of the war; and a dog, who helps him on his journey. Together, they set out to find the truth shielded by time and to uncover the reality of what actually took place. With layered storylines that delve into the lives of the people who experienced the Holocaust, this is unlike most Holocaust books we have come across.
Buy it here.
Prasanna is a human (probably) who makes stuff up for a living. When she’s not sleeping or eating, you’ll find her in the quietest corner of the library, devouring yet another hardbound book. She vastly prefers the imaginary world to the real one, but grudgingly emerges from her writing cave on occasion. If you do see her, it’s best not to approach her before she’s had her coffee.
She writes at The Curious Reader. You can read her articles here.
