The holocaust was the statesponsored mass murder of some 6 million european jews and millions of others by the german nazis during world war ii. Number the stars, a holocaust novel for children published in 1989, focuses on annemarie, a 10 year old in denmark, whose family pretends her jewish best friend is actually her older sister who had earlier been killed for her work with the danish resistance. Key facts 1 the nazis did not single out children specifically because they were children, but because of their alleged membership in dangerous racial, biological, or political groups. Every year, the library system i am employed at hosts the holocaust.
Childrens diaries during the holocaust the holocaust. Remembering the people of the holocaust childrens books. As the grandson inquires about his greatgrandparents, who perished during the holocaust, his grandfather uses analogies from the forest around them to. C45 1995 find in a library near you external link gathers the diaries of over twenty children from all over europe who lived during the holocaust. Of the millions of children who suffered persecution at the hands of the nazis and their axis partners, only a small number wrote diaries and journals that have survived.
Gr 6 upthe authors highlight 21 stories of resistance and defiance by jewish adults and children during the holocaust. Many books have chronicled the courage and suffering of the holocaust. This compelling book tells the story of the holocaust. During world war ii, adolf hitler and the nazis attempted to exterminate european jews by forcing them into concentration camps, where both children and adults were sent to their deaths in gas chambers.
Six million jewish people were murdered by the nazis. This is the story of ordinary people rising to heroic levels. List of picture books about the holocaust for elementary. Children during the holocaust, from the united states holocaust memorial museums center for advanced holocaust studies, tells the story of the holocaust.
Karen hesses 32 page long picture book tells the story of two little girls who escaped from the warsaw ghetto during world war ii and became. The ten chapters follow the arc of the persecutory policies of the nazis and their sympathizers and the impact these measures had on jewish children. Holocaust for younger readers book list scholastic. Shirley hughes, author of classic picture books including the alfie. Thousands of jewish children survived the holocaust because they were protected by people and institutions of other faiths. Five years of research resulted in an important informational book, with. This included as many as 1 million jewish children. It goes without saying that any book for kids that get published on the topic of the holocaust is worthy of accolades and childrens literature. About six million jews were killed, as well as five. How should childrens books deal with the holocaust. Children during the holocaust, from the united states holocaust memorial museums center for advanced holocaust studies, tells the story of the holocaust through the eyes, and fates, of its youngest victims.
There are several other reasons for using propaganda and children during the hitler years as a topic for holocaust education. These picture book stories offer an inside view of the means used to indoctrinate young children. To mark holocaust memorial day and the liberation of auschwitz, here is a. Today the holocaust is viewed as the emblematic manifestation of absolute evil. These 8 holocaust books for kids are excellent starting points for them, and for everyone. Children in the holocaust features children s toys, games, artworks, diaries and albums as well as testimonies from survivors who share their childhood experiences from before, during and immediately after the holocaust.
This got me thinking about the best books about the holocaust. A childs story of the holocaust by loic dauvillier, greg salsedo, illustrated by marc lizano ages 6 10 graphic novel now a grandmother, dounia tells her granddaughter about when she was a young girl and hid from the nazis with her neighbors. Moving historical childrens books about the holocaust and. Childrens books united states holocaust memorial museum. Dauvillier doesnt sugarcoat the horrors of the holocaust. There are only few children that were saved in the war through programs such as kinderspart and one thousand holocaust. Holocaust, the systematic statesponsored killing of six million jewish men, women, and children and millions of others by nazi germany and its collaborators during world war ii.
T he innocent world of jewish children living in germany changed when the nazis came to power in 1933. The jews were a special target of nazi ideology and policies, which ultimately resulted in the holocaust. Children s books remembering the people of the holocaust. Ageappropriate middle grade and ya books about the holocaust. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers.
In 2016, irenas children, a book about sendler written by tilar j. The true story of a hungarian girl fleeing the holocaust. Because the holocaust is part of all of our history, and its up to us as parents to educate our kids. During the holocaust, children were more susceptible to the harm they were going to face because of the vulnerable state they were in. It occurred during world war ii when hitler was leader of germany. Especially since there were, as far as i can tell, none zero 0 books published in. Approximately one and a half million children were murdered in the holocaust. The holocaust, in this newbery award winner, is just a little more distant.
Chapter books about world war ii and the holocaust. Representations of the holocaust in childrens literature. For more reading about the past, check out our lists of world war ii books for kids. A child survivor of the holocaust was reluctant to share his familys full story, until he saw a picture of himself as a 4yearold boy at auschwitz on a website denying the holocaust for years, michael. The holocaust in childrens literature teaching the holocaust. Any book on the subject will help you to come to terms with it, which is something that we all need to do, but some books are better than. There are few periods of history darker than the holocaust, so it is fitting that the world of holocaust literature would be as vast as it is. Discover the best children s holocaust books in best sellers. The importance of holocaust books despite the recent trends towards e books, the fact remains that books and reading in general are vital for the world. Between 1938 and 1940, the kindertransport childrens transport rescue missions brought about 10,000 refugee jewish children to great britain from nazi germany and germanoccupied territories.
The books on our list are some of the best for kids and teens about this period. There are many great picture books, many of them inspired by real children during that time, that are told. A childs story of the holocaust by loic dauvillier, greg salsedo, illustrated by marc lizano ages 6 10 graphic novel now a grandmother. Learn and remember during the month of january since january 27th is observed as international holocaust remembrance day. The importance of holocaust books hitlers children. Those who died in the camps left no testimonies, and, when i was growing up, the idea of writing imaginative literature for children about the. Every year, more stories set during the holocaust are released, many for children, and this one is particularly well done. What are the best childrens books on the second world war. You can read more about the children in my dads book, life of michael novice. A version adapted to be read by children was created by mary cronk farell. Nine of the 19 were on my own bestchildrensbooks lists for tablet hidden, the whispering town, nazi hunters, his name was raoul. How one woman helped save 2,500 children during the holocaust. A chronological history of children before and during the holocaust in which simple text accompanies photographs of children taken from the archives of yad vashem. Picture books about the holocaust the holocaust is a difficult subject to tackle.
Look for holocaust picture books that also include hope for young kids when including links i usually only use words, but with this book in particular, terrible things, you need to see the. The holocaust is one of the most terrible events in human history. Night by elie wiesel, the book thief by markus zusak, the diary of a young girl by anne frank, the boy in the striped pajamas. This book from the united states holocaust memorial museums center for advanced holocaust studies tells the story of the holocaust. While jane yolens latest work has points in common with her previous holocaust novels, it reflects the way the genre she helped to create.
Dozens of catholic convents in germanoccupied poland independently took in jewish youngsters. In flight, the second form of juvenile holocaust fiction, authors document the stories of children and their families who had the foresight to leave their homelands. Thats a heck of a lot of childrens books about the holocaust. In fact, maybe you can have your own family book club like kristen does, and read them together. The setting is nazi controlled denmark and the exportation of jews to the camps has begun. The unimaginable horror of the holocaust is hard for adults to fathom, so how do we talk to our children about it. Children during the holocaust book the seattle public.