Holocaust Resources: Concentration Camps

The Holocaust was a complex and horrifying experience that affected millions of people in Europe. The nearly 13 years of Nazi rule had an enormous influence on the day-to-day existence of people in every walk of life: Jews and non-Jews, perpetrators and rescuers, collaborators and resisters, officials and ordinary citizens. Nearly all of Europe's Jews were victims. Students, teachers, and interested readers can explore how the daily lives of these victims, despite their heroic efforts to survive and maintain a normal existence, became increasingly untenable and for most eventually ended in death. Along with the often harrowing details of life under the Nazis, emphasis is placed on uplifting accounts of resistance and the role of rescuers. Accounts from survivors whose testimonies have never been published provide powerful insight into the devastating effects Nazi rule had on people's lives. In addition to the Jews, significant numbers of others--Gypsies, clergy who protested or protected victims, Communists, Jehovah's Witnesses, homosexuals, the mentally ill and handicapped, and others--were persecuted, and their stories are also noted. Soumerai, a survivor herself, interweaves her painful recollections throughout the text to provide a unique perspective on the historical events described. Readers will learn how aspects of everyday living became symbols of resistance for many of the victims: educating their children, practicing their religion, eating and drinking, and maintaining personal hygiene took on new significance. More than 30 photographs further illuminate these experiences.

Daniel barely remembers leading a normal life before the Nazis came to power in 1933. He can still picture once being happy and safe, but memories of those days are fading as he and his family face the dangers threatening Jews in Hitler's Germany in the late 1930's. No longer able to practice their religion, vote, own property, or even work, Daniel's family is forced from their home in Frankfurt and sent on a long and dangerous journey, first to the Lodz ghetto in Poland, and then to Auschwitz --, the Nazi death camp. Though many around him lose hope in the face of such terror, Daniel, supported by his courageous family, struggles for survival. He finds hope, life and even love in the midst of despair.

Traces the life of the German soldier and doctor who sentenced thousands of Jews to death at Auschwitz, used others for experimentation, and ultimately escaped prosecution for his crimes and lived out his life on the run.

The Warsaw ghetto was not only a vibrant community full of culture and tradition, but it became a prison for Polish Jews during World War II. Emmanuel Ringelblum was a resident who found a unique way of fighting injustice. His tireless efforts to record the life experience of the ghetto residents resulted in the Oneg Shabbat archives.