Witness: Voices from the Holocaust

Author: compiled by Joshua M. Greene and Shiva Kumar

Genre: World War II

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 269

Time period: World War II, 1930’s, 1940’s

My overall opinion: Wow. This book was incredibly moving. So back in the 1980’s or so, a bunch of video testimonies were taken of Holocaust survivors telling their experiences from before the war, in the ghettos, in concentration camps, and after the war. Also American soldiers who were POW’s in Germany, a Hitler Youth member, a priest, and resistance fighters.  The authors of this book transcribed those videos. It’s heart-wrenching. Sad. Moving. Amazing. There’s not just heroes here...some really weren’t heroic, just survived. Very eye-opening, especially if you haven’t read much WWII stuff before. Definitely something you’ll learn from.  Heavy material, but important to know about.

The Nazi Officer's Wife

Author: Edith Beer

Genre: Auto-biography, life

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Biography

Number of pages: 305

Time period: Holocaust, WWII

Main characters: Edith

Exciting events: Many!!!!

My overall opinion: It was interesting and good! There are a few scenes that aren't really wholesome, but on the whole it was good.

Given Up For Dead

Author: Flint Whitlock

Genre: Holocaust, World War II

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 243

Time period: World War II, 1940's

Main characters: Several

Exciting events: Being a POW in Germany during WWII!

My overall opinion: Yet another aspect of World War II that I know (make that "knew") nothing about. It had never entered my mind that there were Prisoners Of War (POW). But when the Germans captured Americans...of course there were! This was an eye-opening book. It includes many pictures on the pages. These prisoners lived in concentration camps. Some of the conditions were good: as in, they played sports. Almost all the sports. There was a list of probably 12! Some of the conditions were terrrible. Not as bad as what the Germans gave the Jews, but coming close to that. All in all, this was a very interesting book (though the print was a bit small) and I recommend it!
Oh, I should mention that there was some swearing. This included God's name and a few other words. A word to the wise. :P

The Hiding Place

Author: Corrie ten Boom

Genre: Holocaust

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9.5

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 241

Time period: Holocaust, 1940's, World War II

Main characters: Corrie, Betsy

Exciting events: Oh my. Yes.

My overall opinion: What a book. Everyone needs to read it. Corrie ten Boom was placed in a prison camp, and went through many horrific experiences. This book is an eye-witness account of the Holocaust and what happened in it.
To those of you have no interest in this time-period, I'm sorry. Do read this book. But what I'm sorry about is that I'm reading so many books about it. I find it riveting and very sad.

Children in the Holocaust and World War II

Author: Laurel Holliday (well, she put the diaries into this book and wrote prologues for each. But the diaries are written by different kids)

Genre: Journal, Holocaust

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 7.5

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 401

Time period: Holocaust, World War II

Main characters: Multiple

Exciting events: Well, some of these children witnessed horrible things. I suppose it could be called exciting.

Passage from book: (from the journal of 10 year old Janine Phillips) ...So I went to a nearby field to see if I could spot any German soldiers. I saw nothing but heard enough to last me for a long time. When I got about three hundred metres from the house, I heard bullets whistling around me. At first I didn't realise what was happening, until I saw puffs of dirt in the road. Someone was shooting at me. Immediately I lay down on the ground, too petrified to move. My heart was thumping like mad. After a while the shooting stopped. I didn't know what to do. The Germans must be quite near, I reckoned. I started to crawl, almost slithering like a grass snake. My dress, my knees and my  hands were covered in dust. After several minutes, I heard a cow mooing. A bullet had gone through her hind leg...

My overall opinion: First. This is not a book for young readers. Though these are young people's journals. The book describes things the way that they were happening, and it can be a little scary for young kids, I should think. Secondly, there is one journal by an 18-year old that has some descriptions of inappropriate stuff. However, this can be avoided by reading the journal prologues. All in all, I'd say this is a good book. It makes you think. These kids are my age. Some are younger, a few are older. "Would I be as brave in their place? Were something as terrible to happen here?" Something to ponder. These journals tell of everyday life during the Holocaust. They describe the terrible things that started happening. The ghettos, there's even one journal from a concentration camp. Some of the kids survived...some didn't. :( Almost all (or maybe all, I can't remember) were Jews. Amazing book.

The Journal of Helene Berr

Author: Helene Berr

Genre: Journal, adventure?, life

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 291

Time period: 1940's, World War II, Holocaust

Main characters: Helene

My overall opinion: It seemed to me that this journal was a little slow reading at first. But it was never meant to be public anyway, so. This is the story of Helene who is a French Jew. I'll tell you that in the end, she is captured and executed in Bergen-Belsen, I believe, a few days before liberation. However, to see France at that time from the eyes of a Jew is definitely a new experience for me!

Surviving Hitler

Author: Andrea Warren

Genre: Holocaust

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 127

Time period: Holocaust, 1940's, World War II

Main characters: Jack

Exciting events: Concentration camps for three years!

My overall opinion: This is the incredible true story of Jack, who spent three years in the Nazi concentration camps. It has pictures, and is written in story style. Ms. Warren says she took some liberties to add in the conversation, but it's all written off of what Jack remembers. It is technically a children's book,  but I'd say no one under 12 should read it...the Holocaust is heavy material. However, if you're older and interested in the Holocaust, this is something you should read! Also includes a list of other books you could read  about the Holocaust at the end.

In the Camps: Teens who Survived the Nazi Concentration Camps

Author: Toby Axelrod

Genre: Holocaust

Series: Teen Witnesses to the Holocaust (but I'm not sure it's a series, rather a set)

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Non-fiction, children's book (technically. See below)

Number of pages: 64

Time period: 1940's, World War II

My overall opinion: It's a book with pictures about teens who survived the concentration camps! I'd really not say it's for young readers, but I found it very interesting.

The Envoy

Author: Alex Kershaw

Genre: Holocaust

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 230, plus another 64 of appendix, notes, bibliography

Time period: 1940's, World War II

Main characters: Raoul Wallenberg

Exciting events: Rescue!

Passage from book: The two men, wearing suits taken from murdered Dutchmen, scrambled out from their hiding place beneath a pile of wood and into the cold Polish night. For a second or so, the two men sat on the pile of wood and looked back at the most notorious death camp in history -- Auschwitz. "The brilliant lights painted a soft yellow patch in the darkness," recalled one of the men, twenty-year-old Rudolf Vrba, "giving the whole place a mysterious aura that was almost beautiful. We, however, knew it was a terrible beauty, that in those barracks, people were dying, people were starving, people were intriguing, and murder lurked around every corner."

My overall opinion: Oh. My. Word. What a book! Raoul Wallenberg is said to have rescued far more Jews than Oscar Schindler, and he got less benefit from it too. Schindler had his Jews work for him. Anyway, if you're interested in the Holocaust at all, this is a must-read! As you know, the Holocaust is sad, heavy material, so it's not for young readers, but it is an amazing book. Definitely a recommended book!

The Shrinking Circle

Author: Marion Freyer Wolff

Genre: Growing up, Holocaust

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 7

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 116

Time period: World War II, Holocaust

Main characters: Marion

Exciting events: Hiding from the Nazis

My overall opinion: A good book, very interesting time period. It's not for little kids.