Readers Gotta Read

Last week I shared my favorite World War II fiction books, and this week I wanted to share some of my favorite World War II nonfiction books. These memoirs are so touching, and I am amazed at the strength of the individuals and their undaunting will to survive. I don’t think anyone can help but be encouraged when reading these books.

1. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. I have read this countless times. It is such a moving story. This book is the actual diary of a Jewish teenage girl who had to go into hiding with her family, as well as other Jewish people. Even though they were hiding for their lives, Anne chronicles the menial and mundane events of her life in hiding. She and her family are eventually betrayed, and Anne is taken to a concentration camp where she died after becoming sick. Her story still inspires people today.
2. Evidence Not Seen: A Woman’s Miraculous Faith in the Jungles of World War II by Darlene Deibler Rose. I’m fairly certain Amazon suggested this book for me as a “Since you liked ‘The Hiding Place,’ you might like this.” Darlene was a missionary in the Pacific during WW2, and the missionary camp was raided by Japanese soldiers. She was taken prisoner and suffered in a Japanese concentration camp for four years. Before reading this book, I knew next to nothing about Japanese prison camps, and this book filled in that knowledge gap. Darlene survived against the odds and held on to her faith in God.
3. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. This true story based on the life of Corrie ten Boom, a watchmaker in the Netherlands during WW2. She and her family could not sit back and watch the Jewish people in their town suffer, so they built a hiding place in their house. Eventually they were betrayed, and Corrie, her father and sister were all sent to concentration camps. Corrie and her sister’s faith sustained them, and even in the darkest of places they shone the light of God. As Corrie reflected, “There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.” This is the number one book I recommend to people.
4. Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project by Jack Mayer. If you liked reading Schindler’s List, you will like this book too. This book tells the story of Irena Sendler, a social worker in Poland during WW2. She saved over 2500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto by sneaking them out to live with Gentile families or hiding them in safe places. She wrote down the children’s names and put them in a jar under a tree with the hopes of reuniting the children and parents after the war. Her heroism laid dormant for over 50 years, until some high school students in America came across Irena’s story and used it for their history project. They turned it into a play that went from their high school stage to much broader audiences. Irena’s heroic acts were no longer forgotten.
5. The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku. This memoir tells of Eddie Jaku, a Jew living in Germany at the time of WW2. He went away for advanced schooling, and on a trip back home to visit he discovered his family was gone. Eddie was in and out of several concentration camps during the war. He ended up in the camps with his close friend, Kurt Hirschfield, and he credited that friendship for sustaining him while imprisoned. After the war ended and he survived the camps, Eddie decided that he was going to live the happiest life he could for the millions of Jews and others who did not have the same opportunity at life that he had. He had an amazing spirit of resilience and showed that love is stronger than hate.
6. Born Survivors by Wendy Holden. This book tells the story of three pregnant Jewish women imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps. Against all odds, they each secretly gave birth in captivity and fought to keep their babies alive amid unimaginable horror. Even in the midst of devastation, they displayed hope and courage, and an unwavering commitment to survival.
7. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. Louis Zamperini was an Olympic athlete (track and field) and later, a bombardier during WW2. His plane crashed over the Pacific Ocean, and amazingly he survived 47 days adrift. But even though he survived the open ocean, he was picked up by the enemy – the Japanese Navy. He escaped the open waters but found himself as a prisoner of war for 2+ years. Zamperini struggled with PTSD after the war. His wife attended a Billy Graham crusade and became a Christian. Through her example, Louis also became a Christian and found the ability to forgive his captors from the war.

Which WWII Memoir do you want to read first??

P.S. I have not read these two books yet (they are in the TBR list), but my husband highly recommends them if you like World War II nonfiction books:

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson

The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson