Questions on Genocide

A college student writing a paper on genocide and governmental policies for prevention and response emailed us with a few questions.

We turned to Marie Berry, a PhD candidate in Sociology with a focus on genocide in UCLA's prestigious program. Marie, a graduate of the University of Washington, spent several years working at the Holocaust Center.


Do you think any changes should be made to the UN structure to try and help responses to genocides?
Most debates about the UN’s treatment genocide are concerned with altering the definition of genocide, rather than changing the mandated responses to genocide. In general, this is because the UN’s responses to genocide have yet to successfully materialize. Thus, scholars and policy makers debate the definition in an attempt to pressure the signatories of the convention to refine the definition and thus make it more feasible for action to stop genocides that are underway.

The process of drafting the 1948 Genocide Convention was extremely political; in particular, the involvement of the Soviet Union complicated the process, given that they (and affiliated countries like Belarus) wouldn’t sign a document that criminalized something Stalin had been doing for years. What resulted was a definition that includes “national, ethnic, racial, or religious” groups, but excludes political or economic ones. And, as a result, the historical episodes of violence that are commonly accepted as genocides exclude mass murders in Ethiopia, and often Guatemala. The problem with this is that in most analyses of genocide, the real causes are obscured—instead, it is easier to explain away genocide in terms of ethnic, racial, or religious groups that “hate” each other. Of course, in every case of genocide in history, the “ethnic” or “racial” groups that end up being targeted for extermination have been integrated in the societies that they live in for centuries (or more). Jews in Europe, Tutsis in Rwanda, and Bosniaks in Bosnia weren’t simply targeted one day because of their ethno-religious identify, but rather because of a series of political power struggles that escalated and were ultimately framed as ethno-religious.

The UN’s definition of genocide, therefore, is problematic in several ways. First, it serves to reify the ethno/racial/religious aspects of a brewing conflict while obscuring the political and economic ones. In the case of Rwanda, this allowed the international media and foreign governments to dismiss the violence as “tribal” and neglect acknowledging the power struggle at play in Kigali that was in part facilitated by the international community’s attempts to negotiate a peace process between the current Hutu regime and the Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front invading from Uganda. Moreover, it obscured the significance of the colonial era, recent crop shortages and resulting famines, and intra-ethnic conflicts between a powerful family from the North and other powerful families from the South.

Second, the definition revolves around the idea of “intent”; a group must have the intent to destroy a group for mass violence to be considered genocide. This eliminates some of the most massive deaths in human history, such as Mao’s “Great Leap Forward,” where it is difficult to argue that Mao intended to kill 20 million+ of his countrymen (but easy to argue that his policies had that effect). The very concept of “intent” is almost always subjectively determined; barring the leak of some sort of internal government memo explicitly stating the goal of eliminating a group within its population, intent is usually agreed upon after amassing mounds of evidence that point that direction. This is much easier in retrospect, after genocide is over, when the true intent of a perpetrating group is revealed. Intent is much more difficult to determine during the actual genocide itself—especially in cases like Rwanda, where the genocide happened rapidly over merely 100 days.

Last, the narrowness of this definition and the exclusion of political or economic (i.e. class) groups, is conducive to disagreement and debate over whether violence counts as a genocide or not. This leads, ultimately, to inaction, as we’ve seen in basically every case that ultimately resulted in genocide (with the possible exception of East Timor: See Geoffrey Robinson’s book If You Leave Us Here We Will Die, 2009). For the UN’s definition of genocide to be more effective at invoking action from the international community, I believe it needs to be centered on the degree of devastation being caused to civilians, rather than on the subject concept of intent and restrictive classifications like race and religion.


How much does politics complicate responses to genocide?
I think that politics complicates responses to genocide a lot, but self-interest complicates responses even more. Military interventions generally carry tremendous costs in terms of human lives and financial resources. If a given country has little strategic or economic relevance to an intervening state, the risks of intervening are high while the potential gains are low. Politics also factors in, particularly when strategic alliances are strained over an ally engaging in genocide. We’ve seen this most recently with US involvement in Darfur, where at the initial stages of the conflict the US was hesitant to shame Sudanese President Bashir publicly given his cooperation about eliminating al-Qaeda training cells in his country. The US-led 1995 Dayton Accords after the wars in the Balkans were also influenced by politics, and as a result we watched as the Serbian aggressors (and perpetrators of egregious crimes against humanity) were given control over 49% of Bosnian territory – a higher percentage than before the war. So we see that politics can not only influence decisions to intervene in genocides, but also the peace-process afterward.


What are some of the best tactics in stopping/preventing genocide? What is your feeling on military interference versus peaceful interventions?

The best tactics for stopping and preventing genocide are unique in each situation and at each stage in the conflict. In my opinion, however, the first and most important things to consider are the real roots of the conflict. Dismissing violence in Rwanda as merely tribal warfare between Hutus and Tutsis gives policy makers little leverage to negotiate a cessation of violence or to design a plan to physically intervene. Instead, understanding the historical processes that led to the evening of April 6, 1994, when the genocide began, are absolutely essential if we are going to be able to conceive of bringing the violence to a halt. Furthermore, understanding the “repertoires of violence” that people in a given region draw from based on historical experiences of violence can give us a better knowledge of where the violence might be heading and thus how we could potentially confront it. The brutal treatment of Serbs in Ustaša concentration campus in former Yugoslavia during WWII provided a historical memory that was adopted by Serbs several decades later against Bosniaks—had the “west” understood many of the historical roots of the types of violence being used in the war in the Balkans, intervention might have been more carefully designed and carried out. Once the history of a conflict is understood from all perspectives, the best tactics of intervention can be more successfully determined. And, in my opinion, sometimes peaceful interventions are the best option, while at other times the situation has gotten so out of control that the only possible options are military. In the case of Rwanda, for example, a military intervention really was the only option. However, I tend to believe in the cyclical nature of violence, and thus would only endorse an armed intervention as a very last resort.

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Nazis Given 'Safe Haven' in US, Report Says

Nazis Given 'Safe Haven' in US, Report Says

By ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: November 13, 2010
New York Times

WASHINGTON — A secret history of the United States government’s Nazi-hunting operation concludes that American intelligence officials created a “safe haven” in the United States for Nazis and their collaborators after World War II, and it details decades of clashes, often hidden, with other nations over war criminals here and abroad.

The 600-page report, which the Justice Department has tried to keep secret for four years, provides new evidence about more than two dozen of the most notorious Nazi cases of the last three decades.

It describes the government’s posthumous pursuit of Dr. Josef Mengele, the so-called Angel of Death at Auschwitz, part of whose scalp was kept in a Justice Department official’s drawer; the vigilante killing of a former Waffen SS soldier in New Jersey; and the government’s mistaken identification of the Treblinka concentration camp guard known as Ivan the Terrible. Read article...

Veterans' Day - Holocaust Survivor & US Soldier on KIRO

Holocaust survivor and US soldier remember liberation

To commemorate Veteran's Day, KIRO radio interviewed Holocaust survivor and speaker Magda Schaloum and WWII Veteran and liberator Ralph Dicecco:

"It's Veteran's Day, a day we remember what members of our armed services have done to make us free. Two Seattle area residents can never forget..."

Click here to listen to or read this short, moving interview, which aired this morning.

72 Years After Kristallnacht

Kristallnacht -- literally, "Night of Crystal," is often referred to as the "Night of Broken Glass." The name refers to the wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms which took place on November 9 and 10, 1938 throughout Germany, annexed Austria, and in areas of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia recently occupied by German troops.

Instigated primarily by Nazi Party officials and members of the SA (Sturmabteilungen: literally Assault Detachments, but commonly known as Storm Troopers) and Hitler Youth, Kristallnacht owes its name to the shards of shattered glass that lined German streets in the wake of the pogrom-broken glass from the windows of synagogues, homes, and Jewish-owned businesses plundered and destroyed during the violence. (USHMM - read more)

Personal stories, maps, and more...

How did religious leaders in the US respond?

The events of November 9, 1938 pogrom sparked a wave of outrage among U.S. religious leaders. In the weeks following November 9, 1938, there were numerous editorials, radio broadcasts, and sermons. In a few cases – like the historic Church of the Pilgrimage in Plymouth, Massachusetts – local Christian clergy invited their Jewish colleagues to address their congregations for the first time. (USHMM - read more)

Photos:

Top: Photographer unknown. Synagogue Burning in Siegen, Germany. 1938. Photograph. The Pictorial History of the Holocaust, New York.

Middle: Photographer unknown. Bystanders view the smashed windows of a Jewish shop. 1938. Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team, Germany. Kristallnacht. Web. 9 Nov. 2010.

Bottom: Photographer unknown. Destruction of the Synagogue in Memel . 1938. Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team, Memel. Kristallnacht. Web. 9 Nov. 2010.

Working in a Trap: Drawings from the Theresienstadt Ghetto 1941-1942

Paraphrased from a discussion with Susie S., local Holocaust survivor and member of the Holocaust Center's Speaker's Bureau:




My cousin, Ruth Perry, is about my age and lives in Ramat Gan, Israel. Other than my sister and I, she is the only remaining direct relative of our generation. Ruth comes to visit us now and then ... recently she spoke of some very special pictures that her family and others in Israel were trying to put together for a limited printing. She said that these paintings were to honor an important Jewish "Elder" of Terezin. My own dear family, on my mother and father's side, was dragged to Terezin in 1942. I thought that I knew the names of the "Elders of the Jews" in Terezin, but the name she used was not familiar to me and I became curious. As it turns out, I did not understand the Hebrew version of Jacob Edelstein's name. Edelstein was an influential leader chosen and used by the Germans to aid in carrying out their horrible plans.
There has been much written about the "Jewish Elders," those people who had to pass down the edicts of the Germans. The Nazis tried to turn the inmates against the Elders and were successful in some instances. While many writings are critical of some of the elders, this album shows that Edelstein had a good, courageous heart and did the best he could.

My cousin, Ruth, was a friend of "Dittle." As it turns out, "Dittle" was Dr. Edith Ornstein, one of the creators and signatories of the album. Ruth told me of a time when Dittle had to sit on the paintings when Adolf Eichmann came into her living area. The paintings, by Leo Haas, were presented to Jacob Edelstein on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Nazi-established ghetto.

The timetable of Theresienstadt and the Final Solution is so organized and easy to read that one can get a clear understanding of the timetable behind the horrific main events from 1933 to 1945. The pictures and writings in the album record the efforts of the labor center and serve as an empowering and sensitive text, giving a new and deeper understanding of the Holocaust. In particular, it gives me a newer understanding and feeling of the horror that was Terezin. The album also gives information on the German use of propaganda using the "Jewish Town."


This album shows the positive relationship that Edelstein had with his staff, who recognized his efforts as leader towards helping those inmates of Terezin as much as he could. I am honored on behalf of my family to loan this very special and poignant album to the Center for one year.

Reflections from a teacher on "Flight from the Reich"

Reflections on the October 13 program - "Flight from the Reich: Refugee Jews, 1933-1946"
(See our original posting with reflections and information on the program here.)

By Cory C., Teacher at Mt. Rainier High School

Robert Jan van Pelt spoke on the topic of his new book Flight From The Reich: Refugee Jews, 1933-1946 this evening at Temple De Hirsch Sinai in Seattle. He began his talk by pointing out that the common definition of a victim of the Holocaust typically does not include Jewish refugees. His book is in part an argument for expanding our definition. Jews were affected in myriad ways by the Holocaust, and not only those Jews who went to concentration camps.

This was an unfamiliar topic for me, although I had very recently attended a teacher workshop in which a Jewish refugee shared his story, so I had some minimal background knowledge. What struck me most was van Pelt’s understanding of the concept of the passport. He asked the audience to state the purpose of a passport. Many people gave the most obvious answers: to allow you to leave your country, to be accepted into a country, to have a record of who comes in and who leaves. None of these are wrong per se, but van Pelt sees the passport in a different way. When a country issues a passport to a citizen, that country is saying it will take that person back. If I travel to China, and China decides later that it does not want me, I can be sent back home. This was a crucial issue for Jewish refugees as they were fleeing Germany.

Van Pelt’s discussion this evening was fascinating, and even prompted some discussion among the audience members, including one elderly woman whose relatives were all affected in various ways by the Holocaust. I look forward to reading the book, and incorporating these stories into my unit on the Holocaust.

An American's Diary of the Concentration Camp Experience

350 American soldiers were captured by the Nazis and sent to the concentration camp Berga in Feb. 1945. They endured terrible conditions, starvation, abuse and finally a death march in April 1945. One of the survivors donated his diary to the USHMM this past month.


'You don't forget': Medic's Holocaust diary tells story of hellBy Wayne Drash, CNN
October 28, 2010

Washington (CNN) -- The tattered journal, its pages yellow with age, contains the painful memories of a U.S. medic, a man who recorded the deaths of soldiers who survived one of World War II's bloodiest battles yet met their end as slaves in Nazi Germany.

32. Hamilton 4-5-45
33. Young 4-5-45
34. Smith 4-9-45
35. Vogel 4-9-45
36. Wagner 4-9-45

"Some were dying," said its author, Tony Acevedo, now 86. "Some died, and I made a notation of that."

Flipping through the pages, you encounter a horrific part of world history through the eyes of a 20-year-old inside a slave labor camp. Amid the horror, the journal captures extraordinary human moments of war. Acevedo sketched beautiful women in the back pages, pinups whose eyes provided comfort amid hell.

Acevedo kept the diary hidden in his pants. He feared death if the commanders saw it. Yet he believed it was his duty as an Army medic to catalog the deaths and the atrocities against the 350 U.S. soldiers at the camp known as Berga, a subcamp of the notorious Buchenwald compound. Read full article...

"Flight from the Reich"

On Wednesday, October 13, Robert Jan van Pelt spoke to a room full of educators, students, and members of the community interested in the topics of the Holocaust, genocide, and refugees.

Van Pelt is a world renowned Holocaust scholar and author. He is a professor at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. Robert Jan van Pelt spoke on this evening about his most recent book, Flight from the Reich: Refugee Jews, 1933-1946.

We asked those educators wanting clock hours to write up something from the evening's presentation that stood out to them. Below are a few of these reflections. We will continue to add to this post as we receive submissions.

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By Helena B.

Robert Jan van Pelt’s talk revealed the way Holocaust studies has broadened its parameters to encompass the plight of refugees and weave the stories of those who “escaped” into the broader narrative of suffering and endurance. Using passports, visas, and documents as a unifying trope, van Pelt examines the plight of over one million Jews who fled the Reich, were deported from nation to nation, or rebuilt their lives in places as foreign as Shanghai. I appreciated how van Pelt exposed the contradiction of terms that inevitably emerges in a discussion of statelessness, border crossing, and transnational existence. Take, for example, the case of Anne Frank, who holds place in popular thought as a Dutch citizen, when in reality, her family had fled Nazi Germany and sought temporary refuge in Amsterdam. Or the conundrum that if a passport serves as a kind of legal guarantee—as assurance that the issuing country will unconditionally welcome back the holder into its jurisdiction—then a refugee with a passport, by definition, cannot exist. I found van Pelt’s analysis of contradictory terms and paper documents to be a provocative and useful means of grappling with his central question: “Who belongs to this history?”

I was also particularly struck by van Pelt’s analysis of the demographics of the exodus. French and British sponsored kindertransports, for example, were the result of political negotiation more than an acute and abiding sense of moral obligation. According to van Pelt, “We’ll take the children, if it will appease the public and excuse us from dealing with their parents” was the general consensus in British parliament. Moreover, although the Nazis requested that the Slovaks ship only young and able Jews for slave labor in concentration camps, the Slovak “all or nothing, old and young” response was, at least in part, responsible for the Final Solution in the sense that it prompted the Nazis to conduct their first systematic extermination based on age. Finally, young refugees (and young female refugees in particular) had a higher chance of survival and success post-exodus, for it was much easier for them to both secure proper documentation and rebuild their lives in a new place. Van Pelt’s decision to place lesser-examined topics like demographics and family dynamics in the context of diaspora and flight was a fresh approach to Holocaust scholarship. Refugees did not exist as an isolated group with wholly disparate experiences from those who stayed behind and found themselves trapped inside death camps. Indeed, theirs was a trauma with its own particular horrors, but with the same basic and ineffable suffering—the experience of living out terror, suddenly losing everything one knows and everything one holds dear.

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By Erika M.

The lecture given by Dr. Robert Jan van Pelt on October 13th was engaging and informative on the topic of Jewish refugees in the Holocaust.

I studied the history of the Holocaust at university and found my knowledge of the plight of refugees to be very limited. I was totally unaware of the numbers of Jews who escaped through Shanghai and the ease of attaining visas from the Japanese consulate. It was interesting to hear of the bureaucrats who offered escape to Jews in Europe regardless of the mandates from their government.

I often find myself focusing on the larger facts of the Holocaust and the chronological progression of events instead of the stories behind the story. For example, I have read The Diary of Anne Frank and am familiar with Frank’s story of hiding but wasn’t aware of the reasoning behind Otto Frank’s timely decision to escape to Holland before there was the sense of urgency found after 1939. It was with personal stories that van Pelt reiterated the truth that the refugee experience was different for everyone. This truth was echoed by comments from attendees who were the children of refugees.

I also appreciated the stories van Pelt shared including the tale of the Swiss spinster who copied letters between separated parents and children. To me it revealed the goodness of humanity in a time of such darkness with which parents tried to offer as much support and guidance to their children. I now look forward to increasing my knowledge on the topic as I read Flight from the Reich.

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By Keith M.

Dr. Van Pelt’s presentation allowed me to delve deeper into my own understanding of the mass removal and escape of Jews during the Holocaust. We often hear about the many stories of success in leaving Nazi Germany or Nazi occupation, but, as we discovered from Dr. Van Pelt, the plight of German Jews and Jews in German-occupied lands continued with the lack of interest of many countries, the United States included, in providing safeguard for many because immigration guidelines that limited widespread passage for many Jews, ultimately leading to capture and death within concentration camps. At the heart of Dr. Van Pelt’s stories and experiences is one important fact – we can never let our borders to safety be closed to those in need because of our own fears. Yet, we still see these experiences in the Sudan, in the former Yugoslavia, and in China. These must stop, and Dr. Van Pelt’s book is our own journal into the mistakes that were made by all, even those aiming to help.

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Stephanie N.

Last night I had the opportunity to attend Dr. Robert Jan Van Pelt’s lecture on Flight from The Reich: Refugee Jews 1933-1946. The experience in attending Dr. Van Pelt brought to light the refugee experience for Jews over a 13 year period. I think this was an area I had not really studied or been taught before. It was great to have a chance to hear an expert in the topic share his knowledge as well as having the opportunity to purchase his book on the subject.

Learning how a passport was essential to life and how if you did not have one you were in a very bad place without the possibility for gaining freedom in another country. I enjoyed the resources he shared from his book and that the book had elements I had not been taught before. I appreciate having the opportunity to learn more about the Holocaust by attending Dr. Van Pelt’s book talk.

The Man Who Sneaked Into Auschwitz

An unbelievable story. Pilecki voluntarily went to Auschwitz in order to reveal the truth about the camp. Story is also available in audio on NPR.

Meet The Man Who Sneaked Into Auschwitz

September 18, 2010
NPR Staff

This weekend marks the 70th anniversary of a World War II milestone few people have heard before. It's the story of a Polish army captain named Witold Pilecki.

In September 1940, Pilecki didn't know exactly what was going on in Auschwitz, but he knew someone had to find out. He would spend two and a half years in the prison camp, smuggling out word of the methods of execution and interrogation. He would eventually escape and author the first intelligence report on the camp.... Read more.

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Thank to our many sponsors for supporting Holocaust education!

Carrots and....the Holocaust?

Eating carrots will improve your vision. True or false?

False.

Carrots are a great source of vitamin A, and it’s true that severe A deficiency causes night-blindness. But there is no proof that eating extra vitamin A, in carrots or other forms, can help eyesight.

This myth has a great backstory, though: During World War II, the British Air Ministry didn’t want the Germans to know about their new radar system so they spread the rumor that the fighter pilots who shot down Nazi planes ate a lot of carrots. The Germans bought it...as did generations of parents.

Talk about propaganda!

You can read more about the story here:
http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/carrots.asp.

Kent Teacher, Debbie Carlson, Puts Emphasis on Social Justice

The Holocaust Center is so proud to be working with teachers like Debbie Carlson.

Spurred by Holocaust studies, Kent teacher puts emphasis on social justice in the classroom: Slide show of Holocaust sites

By LAURA PIERCE
Kent Reporter Editor
Sep 14 2010

It was the shoes on a riverbank that brought Debbie Carlson close to tears.

The Meridian Middle School teacher was on a trip to Eastern Europe this summer, and her tour group passed by a bronze sculpture of shoes, lined up on a riverbank. There were work shoes, children’s shoes, ladies’ shoes: a mixture of jobs, genders and ages.

The significance of the sculpture wasn’t lost on Carlson, who happened by this spot in the soft light of a summer day in Budapest, along the banks of Danube River with her tour group, while visiting sites of the Holocaust.

The shoes were the wordless reminder of the men, women and children whom the Nazis or their Hungarian counterparts lined up and shot along the riverbank. The bodies fell into the river, to be swept away by the current, their identities lost to their families and the world.

“When they were exterminating the Jews, they would line them up, and shoot them into the river,” Carlson says, of what she learned happened on that riverbank.

For Carlson, the sculpture was a consciousness-raising moment – one of many she experienced on the three-week trip... Read full article and see the slide show

George Elbaum - New Member of the Holocaust Center's Speakers Bureau

George Elbaum is a new member of the Holocaust Center's Speakers Bureau. He lives in San Francisco and travels to Seattle frequently. His memoir, Neither Yesterdays Nor Tomorrows, can be found on Amazon or borrowed from the Holocaust Center. The book can also be read at http://www.scribd.com/.

(See previous blog post "New Books" for information on George Elbaum's memoir.)

'Paper Clips’ helps S.F. man recall his Holocaust ‘Yesterdays’
Thursday, September 16, 2010 by marinell james
JWeekly.com

Warsaw, 1942: A 4-year-old Jewish boy is hiding under a table in a factory where his mother sews uniforms for the Nazi army. Soon, this arrangement becomes unsafe. The mother dyes her hair blonde, obtains the papers of a deceased Polish woman and changes her name. She smuggles her son out of the ghetto into the countryside, where she pays a Polish family to keep him safe in their home.

George ElbaumThe boy’s mother tells him that his name will now be Jerzy Kochanowski. It’s the first of several Polish names he’ll have during the war as he passes from one hiding place to another. For his protection, he will be raised as a Catholic, unaware that he is a Jew. His mother will visit when she can, sometimes not for a month at a time. San Francisco, 2010: The boy is now a 72-year-old man. Long ago, he moved to the United States and reclaimed his original Jewish name, George Elbaum. He has made a successful life for himself in business, been married 36 years, is a father and a grandfather. For six decades, he kept memories of his wartime childhood at a “safe emotional distance.”

But last year something happened that led Elbaum to finally close that chasm of time and memory.

While he and his wife were watching “Paper Clips,” a movie about schoolchildren in Tennessee who created a Holocaust remembrance project, he had “an epiphany.”

“The scenes where the children and the teachers were crying as they listened to the stories of survivors really hit me,” Elbaum said.

His wife sensed it and asked him, as she had in the past, if he’d write down his own memories. “I was surprised to hear myself say, ‘I’ll do it,’ ” he said. Read complete article.

New books to check out!

New resources available to borrow from the Holocaust Center's library. For more information, or to borrow books, please email Janna at admin@wsherc.org.

Would you like to help the Holocaust Center AND purchase a riveting read? If so, please first go to www.wsherc.org and enter the title or key word into the Amazon search box on the homepage. Amazon will donate a small percentage of your purchase to the Holocaust Center.

Bendavid-Val, Avrom. The Heavens Are Empty: Discovering the Lost Town of Trochenbrod. New York: Pegasus, 2010. Print.

A novel about the town of Trochenbrod, previously known as the setting of "Everything is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foers. This time, Trochenbrod is brought into the light by Bendavid-Val, touching upon the memory and history behind a booming town erased by the Nazis yet determined to stay in the hearts and minds of those connected to it forever.

Black, Gerry. Jewish London: An Illustrated History. 2007 ed. Derby, England: Breedon Books Publishing Co Ltd, 2009. Print.

Photos and written history of the long-time contribution that Jews have made to London.

Choko, Isabelle , Frances Irwin, Lotti Kahana-Aufleger, Margit Raab Kalina, and Jane Lipski. Stolen Youth: Five Women's Survival in the Holocaust. New York: Yad Vashem & Holocaust Survivors Memoirs Project, 2005. Print.

The stories of five women who survived the Holocaust.

Curators, The. Treasures of Jewish Heritage: Jewish Museum, London. 1 ed. London: Scala Publishers, 2006. Print.

A published written and pictorial journey through the Jewish Museum in London.

Elbaum, George J.. Neither Yesterdays Nor Tomorrows: Vignettes of a Holocaust Childhood. London, UK: Createspace, 2010. Print.

George J. Elbaum's look back into his childhood and time spent in the Warsaw ghetto, with other families hiding, and his life during and after the Holocaust.

Greenman, Leon. An Englishman in Auschwitz (The Library of Holocaust Testimonies). 2001. Reprint. Portland: Mitchell Vallentine & Company, 2010. Print.

The story of Leon Greenman, an Englishman living with his family in Holland during the early years of the Holocaust, abandoned by the British Consulate once war came, and without money or nationality papers. He and his family were taken to Auschwitz, and his wife and young son were gassed upon arrival. Greenman tells his harrowing tale of survival through Auschwitz, Monowitz, and the Death March to Gleiwitz and Buchenwald, where he was eventually liberated.

Levy, Debbie. The Year of Goodbyes: A true story of friendship, family and farewells. New York: Hyperion Books, 2010. Print.

A collection of writings by Jutta Salzberg and her friends out of her autograph book in Germany during 1938. Debbie Levy, Salzberg's daugher, has created a narrative and has rounded out the story of her mother's last year in Germany.

Mittelberg, David. Between Two Worlds: The Testimony & the Testament. Israel: Devora Publishing, 2004. Print.

David Mittelberg's novel is one in two parts, the first being his father's memoir and recollections of the Holocaust, and the second being his own thoughts as a second generation Holocaust survivor. Mittelberg negotiates his father's story and the found knowledge of the family that his father lost in the Holocaust, influencing him to become a better son in an effort to make up for the son that had been lost. Through this, Mittelberg bridges the gap that many second generation survivors face.

Ozsvath, Zsuzsanna. When the Danube Ran Red (Religion, Theology, and the Holocaust). Beirut: Amer Univ Of Beirut, 2010. Print.

A memoir written by Zsuzsanna Ozsvath, a Hungarian Jew, about her childhood in Budapest during the Holocaust. Ozsvath highlights her experiences living in the ghetto and the trials that her former nanny, Erzsi, faced for helping Ozsvath's family survive.

Stein, Larry. The Really Fun Family Haggadah (Hebrew Edition). Bilingual ed. Highland Park: Ruach Publishing, 2000. Print.

A fun, educational, and family-friendly Haggadah.

Zangwill, Israel. Children of the Ghetto: A Study of a Peculiar People. 1892. Reprint. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1998. Print.

A novel that originally gave nineteenth-century British middle class Jews and non-Jews an inside look into the people and culture of the Jewish ghettos in London.