Survivor Stories
The Diary of a Young Girl
The real-life diary of Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager who went into hiding during World War II to escape the Nazi persecution of Jews. From June 1942 to August 1944, Anne wrote about her life while hiding in a secret annex behind her father’s business in Amsterdam.
The Boy in the Woods
A memoir by Maxwell Smart, which is about his experiences as a boy hiding in the forests of Poland during World War II. The book details his survival after his family was killed and his journey to safety.
The Survivor: How I Survived Six Concentration Camps and Became a Nazi Hunter
This memoir by Jack Eisner tells his true story as a Jewish teenager who survived six Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. He tells about the horrors he faced and his determination to stay alive. After the war, Eisner devoted his life to tracking down Nazi war criminals and sharing his experiences to ensure history would not be forgotten.
If This Is a Man
A memoir by Primo Levi about his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp during World War II. The book details his capture in 1943 by Fascist forces, his 13 months in the camp, and its liberation in January 1945. Levi focuses on the reality of the camp, examining themes of survival and the struggle to maintain identity in a dehumanizing environment.
The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943
The White Rose: Munich, 1942-1943 is a book by Inge Scholl that tells the history of the White Rose resistance group in Nazi Germany. It uses letters, diary entries, and photographs to tell the story of Hans and Sophie Scholl, who, along with other students and professors, created and distributed anti-Nazi leaflets in Munich and other cities. The book details their resistance against the regime, their capture by the Gestapo, and their execution in 1943.
Man's Search for Meaning
In this powerful memoir, Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, describes his experiences in Nazi concentration camps and how he found meaning through the suffering. He explains that people can endure almost anything if they have a purpose or reason to live. From these experiences, Frankl developed logotherapy, a form of therapy centered on finding meaning in life through love, work, and resilience. The book is ultimately about hope, strength, and the human search for purpose even in the darkest times.
All But My Life
A memoir by Gerda Weissmann Klein about her six years surviving the Holocaust. The book details her experiences after the Nazi invasion of Poland, including being separated from her family, enduring forced labor camps, and her eventual safety in 1945. Throughout the terrifying journey, she holds onto her father's promise to never give up, maintaining a strong spirit and forming friendships despite the horrors and the loss of her family, home, and possessions.
Shipment to Majdanek
A poem by Ephraim Fogel, that conveys the horrors of the Holocaust by itemizing and dehumanizing the Jewish victims.