Children in the Holocaust

Children in the Holocaust and World War II: Their Secret Diaries by Laurel Holliday

Publisher: Washington Square Press

Genre: Non-Fiction

Pages: 432

Publication Date: June, 1996

Rating: 4/5

Summary:

            This anthology has collected excerpts from the diaries of 23 children who lived during the Holocaust and World War II. The children’s ages range from ten through eighteen years old. These diaries address topics including life in the ghetto and the horrors of concentration camps. Some excerpts focus on the day-to-day actions of people while others only address major events in the war.

Pros:

•        The variety of ages, genders, and countries give a comprehensive picture of the terrors of the Holocaust.
•        Each of the diaries has a different focus and tone to it. Some of the accounts were of rich children from other countries that were barely affected, others discussed the horrors they experienced first-hand.

Cons:

•        Some of the diaries became a bit boring towards the end of them as some of the day-to-day details are no different than of someone not affected by the war.

Final Thoughts:

Definitely a great book to flip through if you want to gain a better understanding of the different experiences of families in the war. More often than not, Anne Frank’s diary is the main diary that is remembered despite the multitude of other accounts that have been published.