Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, known as Yom Hashoah in Hebrew. It is a day to remember the more than six million lives lost to genocide under Hitler and the Nazi regime during World War II.
On our honeymoon, my husband and I went to Munich, Germany. We decided to visit Dachau, one of the concentration camps that imprisoned and murdered Jewish people and those who opposed the Nazis. Whenever I see pictures of these camps, they are always stark. Black and white. Depicting malnourished and starving prisoners in striped uniforms. That day we visited Dachau, the sky could not have been bluer. The warm breeze tickled my skin. I stood where thousands of people had been murdered, perhaps on a beautiful day such as that one. It was hard to reconcile where I was, with what had taken place.
Recently, a Texas school district informed its teachers that they must teach “both sides” of the Holocaust to their students. Essentially, if we are going to teach our students about the atrocities that occurred during the Holocaust, we must also give deference to the opposing view points. I don’t know about you, but I have no interest in hearing a Nazi defense of the Holocaust. The fact that this is happening, not even 80 years out from the horrific events in 1940’s Germany, is appalling. There are still living survivors from concentration camps and resistance groups and liberation armies. Yet it seems we are all struggling to reconcile the events of the past, with where we are today.
When I am trying to understand something, such as an event that has taken place or the lived experience of someone different from myself, I turn to books. Soon, the survivors of the Holocaust will no longer be here to tell us their story. We must continue to listen to and read accounts of their lives and the events that took place during World War II. The stories listed below are a good place to start, if you’re looking for books to help your child learn about the Holocaust. I’ve chosen and separated the books based on age group. If you’re worried about the content, I recommend reading along with your child. Reading together will open up dialogue about not just the events themselves, but discussion on empathy, resistance, courage, solidarity, and most especially, being a witness to those who have come before us.
Picture Books
Terrible Things: An Allegory of the Holocaust
By: Eve Bunting
This sobering story tells the tale of the forest animals, who lived happily until the day the Terrible Things came. One by one, the Terrible Things select a group of animals to take from the forest. Each time, the remaining animals stand by and breathe a sigh of relief that they were not chosen. Only one little white rabbit dares to ask: “Why did the Terrible Things take them away?” The language is simple, but powerful. The black and white illustrations are stark, but not scary. This book is a good one to introduce the Holocaust to younger readers.
Elisabeth
By Claire A. Nivola
A young Jewish girl lives in Germany with her family and her beloved doll, Elisabeth. The two of them do everything together. When the Nazis take over Germany, the girl and her parents hurriedly flee their home, escaping first to Italy, then to Paris, then to America. They must leave everything behind, including Elisabeth. Years later, the girl is married with a family of her own, when she makes a startling discovery in a shop window. This book captures how confusing and difficult it must have been for children to process the horrific events of the Holocaust. Children will relate to the girl’s attachment to a cherished lovey and understand how hard it was for her to be separated from Elisabeth. Bonus: it is a true story about the author’s mother!
The Butterfly
By: Patricia Polacco
Monique, a young girl living in France during the Nazi Occupation, discovers that her mother is hiding a Jewish family in a secret room of their house. Monique becomes fast friends with a girl her age, Sevrine. The two girls begin meeting secretly at night, long after their families have gone to bed. However, after a neighbor spots them together, Monique’s mother must help Sevrine’s family escape. It is a tale of a beautiful friendship and courageous resistance. If you’ve never read Patricia Polacco, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. Not only does she weave together beautiful stories about difficult subjects, but her use of color in her illustrations really draws the reader in and hones in on the emotions of the story. The Butterfly is based on a true story about the author’s great aunt. Read the author’s note to learn more about Monique and Sevrine’s friendship!
The Tree in the Courtyard: Looking Through Anne Frank’s Window
By: Jeff Gottesfield; illustrated by: Peter McCarty
This book takes the familiar story of Anne Frank and narrates it from the perspective of the beloved chestnut tree outside the secret annex where the Frank family hid. The tree, which delighted and entranced Anne during her time in the annex, serves as a time capsule, a view into the window of Anne’s life and story. As the tree moves from season to season, it observes and bears witness to the changes in season which Anne experiences during her time in hiding. Though I’ve read The Diary of Anne Frank, I didn’t recall Anne’s description of the chestnut tree. I was surprised to learn that when the famous tree died in 2010, seedlings were taken and planted all around the world, as a reminder of the ongoing pursuit of freedom and tolerance. This story would be good to introduce the story of Anne Frank to young readers, as well as to open a discussion about the importance of passing along this history, though horrific, to future generations.
Benno and the Night of Broken Glass
by: Meg Wiviott; illustrated by: Josee Bisaillon
Benno is a cat who lives at Number 5 Rosenstrasse in Berlin, Germany. He loves the different families who live there. He visits each one and receives scraps of food, fresh milk, and ear scratches. One terrible night, he observes as men in brown shirts terrorize certain stores and families on Rosenstrasse. Windows are broken, glass is everywhere. Smoke fills the air as certain buildings are burned. And Benno is sad when he never sees some of his beloved families again. This is the story of the horrific Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass. The perspective of the cat keeps the story on a child’s level, while not minimizing the stark nature of the event.
Middle Grade
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
by: Judith Kerr
A classic of Holocaust literature, this book is the fictionalized story of the author’s childhood. Anna is a young Jewish girl living in Berlin. She noticed her city changing, notices posters of Hitler’s face all over, but doesn’t understand what is happening. Her family flees Berlin to escape the Nazis, and they must continue to hide as they move from country to country. This story of a refugee family will resonate with today’s young readers, who have likely heard stories in the news about refugees coming to America.
The Devil’s Arithmetic
by: Jane Yolen
Another classic of Holocaust literature. Hannah is a young Jewish girl who lives in New York in modern times {or at least, modern times for when it was written in 1988}. She is attending her family’s Passover Seder and is tired of hearing about her family’s history and stories of the past. Suddenly, she is transported to the past, to a village in Poland in 1942. As events begin unfolding around her, Hannah slowly realizes she knows what is about to happen, and is horrified and powerless to stop it. I read this book over 20 years ago, and it still sits with me. It reminds readers that though the Holocaust occurred over 80 years ago, we must continue to listen and understand how and why it happened, and what we can do to prevent similar atrocities from occurring.
Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust
by: Loïc Dauvillier; illustrated by: Marc Lizano; colored by: Greg Salsedo
This graphic novel tells the story of a grandmother recounting her childhood to her granddaughter. Dounia is a young Jewish girl in Paris, who, after her parents were taken away to concentration camps, is hidden by a friends and neighbors for the remainder of the war. I haven’t read this one, but after flipping through some of the pages, I plan to pick it up. The story captures the horrific treatment experienced by the Jewish people during the French occupation, which contrasts with the endearing illustrations of children. It is a story of courage and resistance, and an endearing story about family. If your middle grade reader loves graphic novels, be sure to pick this one up.
Young Adult
Girl in the Blue Coat
By: Monica Hesse
This coming of age mystery tells the story of Hanneke, a teenage girl living in occupied Amsterdam during World War II. She mourns the loss of her boyfriend, Bas, who was killed when the Nazis took over Amsterdam, and as her act of rebellion, now earns a living selling sought-after, black market items, such as kerosene and meat. One day, a client asks her to help find a person, rather than an item. The client had been hiding a Jewish girl, who has disappeared. In her quest to help find the girl, Hanneke encounters a resistance group and will face decisions that will change her life. This book won a slew of awards, most notably the Edgar Award Winner for Young Adult Mystery in 2017.
What the Night Sings
by: Vesper Stamper
This beautifully illustrated novel tells the story of Gerta, a 15 year old girl who didn’t know she was Jewish until her father revealed it as they are boarding a train car to the concentration camps. She survives both Auschwitz and Bergen-Belson, only to find herself lost and alone. The novel focuses more on her liberation and subsequent transition to life after the war. This story will help readers understand the struggle that refugees experience as they go from working to survive to living their life again. For the survivors of the Holocaust, liberation was just the beginning. They still experienced, and continue to experience, hatred and prejudice because of their faith.
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Rebecca, I appreciate the research done to put together this article. I’ll be purchasing these books for my boys. Thank you!