holocaust

The Lost Letter is an incredibly absorbing story that begins with a daughter who inherits her father’s stamp collection when he begins to lose his memory and goes into a nursing home. The daughter, Katie, has the stamp collection appraised, and an unusual stamp on an unopened letter is found in the collection.  An unopened letter! With this discovery, the author, Jillian Cantor, introduces the story of Kristoff, an apprentice of a Jewish stamp engraver, Frederick Faber, and Frederick’s family, all of whom lived in a small town in Austria prior to Germany’s invasion. The Lost Letter continues

In Playing with Fire, Tess Gerritsen takes a break from her Rizzoli and Isles series to bring us the tale of two people, separated by over 70 years, who connect through an extraordinary piece of music.

Julia Ansdell is a musician, a violinist. While in Rome, she discovers a book of Gypsy tunes in the window of an antique store. When she picks up the book, a piece of paper falls out. On it is a handwritten composition, entitled Incendio, by L. Todesco.

Looking over this waltz, Julia is unaware of the dramatic and traumatic effect it will have on her and her family. She only knows that she

What would you do if you found out that your father, grandfather, or great-uncle was responsible for the murder and torture of thousands of men, women, and children? Would you change your name? Live in isolation? Deny what your family members had done? This dilemma has been faced by the descendants and relatives of Hitler’s top officials.

In Hitler’s Children, Hermann Goring's and Heinrich Himmler's great-nieces, Hans Frank's son, Rudolf Hoess’ grandson, and others discuss how their lives have been impacted by having such infamous relatives.

This powerful documentary faces head-on the guilt

QB VII is a work of historical fiction that was written in 1970 and that takes place from the 1940’s to 1967. QB VII is a courthouse in London where a good portion of the book takes place. Before getting to the trial, the story follows the lives of Dr. Adam Kelno, a Polish doctor who was in the infamous Jadwiga Concentration Camp during World War II, and Abraham Cady, an American author who wrote about the Holocaust. Both men are haunted by their pasts.

Through the course of the book we are given glimpses into different parts of the world during the first half of the twentieth century

This nonfiction Holocaust book is not for the faint of heart, or weak of muscle. Its huge size is a tribute to the tireless work of the author. For over 30 years Serge and Beate Klarsfeld have devoted their lives to bringing Nazis to justice. While the couple is best known for being Nazi hunters, what is perhaps less well known are their numerous publications which have brought Nazi crimes to light. In the late 1970s, Klarsfeld published Le Memorial de la Deportation Des Juifs de France (The Memorial to the Jews Deported from France). It lists the names, birth dates, nationalities, and

Mr. Dan Bolen, Bank of Prairie Village chairman, introduced me to a book called Through Eva’s Eyes by Phoebe Eloise Unterman.  The author, a recent graduate from Shawnee Mission East High School, was the 2006 Gold Award Winner of the Kids-In-Print Contest for Students.  She wrote and illustrated this book.  Even though it is classified as youth fiction, it is based on the true experience of the author’s grandmother, Eva Unterman.  Eva grew up during the Holocaust period and German occupation of her hometown.  The story is told through Eva’s eyes, through a little girl who suffered in much the

Before reading this book, I was already familiar with Deitrich Bonhoeffer, the amazing minister and theologian who sacrificed his life in an attempt to save his beloved countrymen from Hitler. However, after completing Metaxas' biography on this great man, Bonhoeffer is now elevated to my list of most favorite persons. He would definitely be one of my answers to the "If you could ask six people from history to have supper with who would they be?"
What an inspiring person! What I'm most impressed with is the way he lived what he preached. Bonhoeffer was raised in a family of