The Holocaust is probably too big a topic for a single book and there are thousands of titles to choose from. Here are our top picks to for anyone trying to wrap their head around this almost incomprehensible topic.
Are these books suitable for children? It depends on the child. We recommend that parents and teachers preview each book and use their discretion.
Personal Narratives
Man’s Search For Meaning – Named “One of the ten most influential books in America” by the Library of Congress, Viktor Frankl’s personal experience in Auschwitz inspired a new branch of Psychiatry.
Out of the Depths: The Story of a Child of Buchenwald Who Returned Home at Last – Imprisoned at five, liberated at eight, Yisrael Meir Lau and his older brother make their way to Israel, where this shy yeshiva student rises to the pinnacle of public life as Chief Rabbi of Israel.
The Boy: A Holocaust Story – What is the history behind the most recognizable photo of the Holocaust? Dan Porat unpacks this split second that was immortalized on film and unravels the stories of the individual Jews and Nazis associated with it.
Fateless – The harrowing journey of a young fourteen-year-old from the security of his family surroundings in Budapest into the extreme ordeals he undergoes at the hands of the Nazis in Auschwitz, totally devoid of any family context or support….as difficult to absorb as any story of Holocaust horror. (From the Yad Vashem review).
The Boys: Triumph Over Adversity – 732 stories of unbelievable hardships and the determination to survive.
Historical
Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland – A meticulously researched and vital contribution to our understanding of the perpetrators, moving beyond the myth of monstrous fanaticism.
Theological
Wrestling With God: Jewish Theological Responses during and after the Holocaust – A diverse selection representing virtually every significant theological position that has been articulated by a Jewish thinker in response to the Holocaust. Included are rarely studied responses that were written while the Holocaust was happening.
