Holocaust Survival Stories

The Rest is Memory by Lily Tuck

Lily Tuck’s haunting novel reimagines the life of 14-year-old Czeslawa, a Catholic girl transported to Auschwitz in 1942, where she is tattooed, photographed, and dead within three months. Through Czeslawa’s story and those of others like Tadeusz Borowski and Janusz Korczak, Tuck examines the devastating impact of the German occupation on six million Poles, both Jewish and Catholic. This powerful work of historical reclamation brings vivid humanity to a life once remembered only through stark photographs.

Sisters in Science by Olivia Campbell

Tells the true story of four pioneering women physicists—Hedwig Kohn, Lise Meitner, Hertha Sponer, and Hildegard Stücklen—who fled Nazi Germany in a harrowing escape during World War II. Despite the odds, they revolutionized physics, with Meitner making a nuclear breakthrough in Sweden and the others advancing science in the U.S. This inspiring tale celebrates resilience, sisterhood, and the enduring power of scientific curiosity.

Also Here: Love, Literacy, and the Legacy of the Holocaust by Brooke Randel

Brooke Randel’s memoir chronicles her journey to uncover her grandmother Golda Indig’s harrowing Holocaust survival story, long buried under years of silence. Sparked by an unexpected phone call, Randel navigates the challenges of piecing together the past while balancing the warmth of their shared moments in a sunny Florida condo. This poignant tale explores the bonds between generations and the tension between silence and remembrance.

The Sunflower House by Adriana Allegri

Follows Allina Strauss, a young woman with a hidden Jewish heritage, forced to work in a Nazi-run baby factory during World War II. As she navigates the horrors of the Lebensborn Program, designed to perpetuate the Aryan race, Allina risks her life to save herself and the children under her care. This meticulously researched debut is a poignant tale of love, resistance, and the secrets we keep to survive.

The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku

Eddie Jaku’s memoir recounts his journey from proud German citizen to Holocaust survivor enduring unimaginable horrors in Buchenwald, Auschwitz, and a Nazi death march. Despite losing everything, Eddie vowed to honor those lost by living with gratitude and finding joy daily. Published on his 100th birthday, this powerful and hopeful story reminds us that happiness can be found even in the darkest times.

The Little Liar by Mitch Albom

Follows Nico Krispis, an honest boy who unwittingly aids the Nazis in deporting Salonika’s Jews, including his own family, to Auschwitz. Traumatized by his role, Nico becomes a lifelong liar, while two survivors, his brother Sebastian and schoolmate Fanni, spend years searching for him and the officer who changed their lives. Narrated by Truth itself, this powerful Holocaust novel explores deception, survival, and the redemptive power of love.

All the Broken Places by John Boyne

91-year-old Gretel Fernsby lives a quiet life in London, hiding a dark past as the daughter of a Nazi commandant. When a new family moves in below her, Gretel forms a bond with young Henry, forcing her to confront buried memories and her complicity in past atrocities. Faced with a chance to save the boy, Gretel must decide whether to reveal the secrets she has long protected in this haunting tale of guilt, redemption, and bravery by John Boyne.

The Forest of Vanishing Stars by Kristin Harmel

A poignant World War II tale of survival and self-discovery. Stolen from her German parents and raised in the wilderness, a young woman uses her skills to help Jewish refugees escape the Nazis, only to face betrayal and confront a shocking secret from her past. Inspired by true stories, this evocative novel explores resilience, love, and the human spirit.

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

Anne Frank’s diary, discovered in the attic where she spent her final years, is a powerful testament to the horrors of war and the resilience of the human spirit. Written while in hiding from the Nazis in a cramped secret annex, Anne’s vivid and poignant reflections capture the courage, struggles, and hopes of a young girl during unimaginable circumstances. Her remarkable account remains a timeless and deeply moving classic.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Berlin boy Bruno moves with his family to a remote house near a mysterious fence. Lonely and curious, he befriends a boy on the other side of the fence, unaware of the dark reality separating them. Their friendship leads to a poignant and devastating conclusion, offering a powerful perspective on innocence amidst the horrors of war.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen navigates life in Nazi-occupied Copenhagen alongside her best friend, Ellen Rosen. When Denmark’s Jews are targeted, Ellen hides with Annemarie’s family, posing as one of them. Annemarie must undertake a brave and dangerous mission to protect her friend and resist the Nazi threat.

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Intertwines the stories of Sarah, a Jewish girl arrested during the Vel’ d’Hiv’ roundup in 1942, and Julia, an American journalist uncovering the event’s history in 2002. As Sarah locks her brother in a cupboard before her arrest, believing she’ll return soon, Julia’s investigation reveals long-buried secrets that connect their lives. This poignant novel explores France’s occupation, the weight of memory, and the personal cost of historical silence.

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

Psychiatrist Viktor Frankl recounts his harrowing experiences in Nazi death camps and shares profound insights on finding meaning in suffering. Central to his theory of logotherapy is the idea that life’s primary drive is not pleasure but the pursuit of purpose. This influential memoir inspires readers to embrace resilience and discover meaning even in the most challenging circumstances.

Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman

A Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel, portrays his father’s harrowing Holocaust experiences with Jews depicted as mice and Nazis as cats. Interweaving this with the author’s complex relationship with his father, the work offers a powerful exploration of survival, trauma, and its lasting legacy. Widely regarded as a masterpiece, Maus is a haunting and unforgettable narrative.

Survival in Auschwitz by Primo Levi

A powerful memoir of his ten months in the Nazi death camp, detailing unimaginable cruelty and extraordinary endurance. Arrested in 1943 as a Jewish Italian chemist, Levi recounts his harrowing experiences with remarkable simplicity, compassion, and even wit. This timeless work stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.

Schindler’s List by Thomas Keneally

Tells the true story of Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist and unlikely hero who saved hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust. A womanizer and drinker, Schindler defied the SS and risked his life to protect those in Nazi-occupied Poland, transforming into a symbol of mercy and courage. This Booker Prize-winning novel is a powerful and unforgettable account of humanity in the darkest times.

The Hiding Place: The triumphant true story of Corrie Ten Boom by Corrie Ten Boom

Recounts her ordinary life as a Dutch watchmaker turned extraordinary when the Nazis occupied Holland. She and her family joined the Dutch Underground, hiding Jews in a secret room and helping them escape. While her family paid the ultimate price in concentration camps, Corrie survived to share this powerful story of faith, courage, and resilience.

Night by Elie Wiesel

A haunting memoir of his experiences as a teenager in Nazi concentration camps, including Auschwitz and Buchenwald. He recounts the loss of his family, his innocence, and his struggle to survive amidst unspeakable evil. This new translation by his wife, Marion Wiesel, offers a faithful and powerful testimony of one of history’s most tragic atrocities, urging that such horrors never be forgotten or repeated.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

Tells the harrowing story of Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew who is forced to tattoo fellow prisoners in Auschwitz. Over two and a half years, Lale witnesses unspeakable horrors but also acts of bravery, using his position to help save lives. Amidst the darkness, he meets Gita, a young woman he vows to survive for, offering a powerful testament to love and humanity in the face of overwhelming evil.

The Nazi Officer’s Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust by Edith Hahn Beer

Edith Hahn recounts her harrowing survival as a Jewish woman in Nazi Germany. After being taken to a labor camp and separated from her mother, Edith goes underground, assuming a false identity to evade the Gestapo. She marries a Nazi party member, Werner Vetter, who keeps her secret despite the immense risk, and endures unimaginable hardships, including the capture of her husband and the bombing of her home. Her powerful memoir is a testament to resilience, love, and the will to survive in the face of relentless danger.

I Have Lived a Thousand Years: Growing up in the Holocaust by Livia Bitton-Jackson

The poignant memoir of Elli Friedmann, a thirteen-year-old girl who witnesses the destruction of her normal life when the Nazis invade Hungary. Forced into a ghetto and later a concentration camp, Elli’s childhood dreams are shattered by unimaginable cruelty. Yet through the suffering, her strength, faith, and will to survive shine through, offering a powerful testament to hope, love, and perseverance amid the horrors of the Holocaust.

The Pianist: The Extraordinary Story of One Man’s Survival in Warsaw, 1939-45 by Wladyslaw Szpilman

A powerful memoir of survival during the Nazi occupation of Warsaw. A gifted pianist, Szpilman witnessed the brutality and destruction of his city and the extermination of his family, surviving through a series of fateful escapes. His story, marked by both unimaginable suffering and improbable luck, also includes the account of the German officer Wilm Hosenfeld, who ultimately saved Szpilman’s life, providing a stark contrast to the horrors of the Holocaust.

In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke

Irene Gut Opdyke recounts her transformation from a young Polish girl to a courageous resistance fighter during World War II. Initially a student nurse, Irene’s life is upended by the war, but she uses her Aryan appearance and position as a waitress to secretly assist Jews, gathering intelligence, smuggling food, and ultimately hiding twelve Jews in a Nazi major’s basement. This powerful memoir highlights her bravery, resourcefulness, and unwavering determination to fight back against the horrors of the Nazi regime.

We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter

Follows the Kurc family, whose lives in Poland are torn apart as World War II looms. As each family member faces their own struggles to survive—some forced into exile, others enduring grueling labor in ghettos or hiding as gentiles—their resilience, hope, and resourcefulness guide them through unimaginable hardships. This gripping novel is a testament to the human spirit’s ability to endure and even thrive amid the horrors of war.

Auschwitz: A Doctor’s Eyewitness Account by Miklos Nyiszli

Dr. Miklos Nyiszli’s chilling memoir of his time in Auschwitz, where, as a Jewish doctor, he was forced to work under the supervision of the notorious Dr. Josef Mengele. Serving as a pathologist for both Mengele’s experiments and the Sonderkommando, the Jewish prisoners tasked with working in the crematoriums, Nyiszli’s account offers a rare, firsthand perspective of the horrors inside the death camp. Despite the unimaginable brutality, Nyiszli’s survival allowed him to share this sobering testimony of human cruelty and resilience.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Follows the parallel stories of Marie-Laure, a blind French girl, and Werner, a German boy, as they navigate the devastation of World War II. After fleeing Paris with her father, Marie-Laure seeks refuge with her great uncle in Saint-Malo, carrying a valuable gem from the Museum of Natural History. Meanwhile, Werner’s talent for fixing radios leads him into the Nazi army, where he is tasked with tracking down the resistance. Their lives converge in occupied France, as both struggle to survive and find light amid the darkness of war.

Rena’s Promise: A Story of Sisters in Auschwitz by Rena Kornreich Gelissen

The powerful memoir of Rena Kornreich, one of the first Jews sent to Auschwitz, who endured over three years in the Nazi death camps. Amidst unspeakable horrors, Rena is reunited with her sister Danka and struggles daily to keep the promise made to their mother: to protect and care for her sister. Through the bonds formed between women, fellow prisoners, and even with some guards, Rena’s story reveals the resilience of the human spirit and the small acts of humanity that made survival possible.

A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy by Thomas Buergenthal

Thomas Buergenthal, now a judge at the International Court of Justice, recounts his extraordinary survival as a young boy during the Holocaust. At age 10, he was sent to Auschwitz after enduring two ghettos and a labor camp, facing separation from his parents. Through wit, luck, and sheer resilience, Buergenthal survived alone, and was eventually reunited with his mother after liberation. His memoir is a poignant reflection on hardship, survival, and the importance of fighting tyranny.

The Last Jew of Treblinka by Chil Rajchman

A harrowing memoir about his survival in the Nazi extermination camp of Treblinka. As a young man, Rajchman witnessed unspeakable atrocities, working as a barber and dentist, forced to extract gold teeth from the dead and cover mass graves. His testimony provides a rare survivor’s account of Treblinka, where the only purpose was death. Rajchman recounts the pain of seeing his family’s belongings abandoned and the blood of thousands rising to the surface of mass graves. Written in 1945, this memoir is an essential, painful record of a place where millions perished, yet one man survived to bear witness.

Four Perfect Pebbles: A Holocaust Story by Lila Perl

Marion Blumenthal Lazan’s powerful Holocaust memoir about her family’s six and a half years in Nazi concentration camps, including Westerbork and Bergen-Belsen, before escaping to the United States. The memoir is direct and devastating, detailing the family’s struggles with resilience, courage, and hope. The twentieth-anniversary edition includes new material, archival photos, and an afterword by the author.

Five Chimneys: A Woman Survivor’s True Story of Auschwitz by Olga Lengyel

Lengyel’s harrowing account of her survival in Auschwitz and Birkenau, where she endured unimaginable loss and suffering. Despite losing her family, she fought for survival through her strength, wit, and work in the underground resistance. The book, praised by Albert Einstein for its frankness and clarity, remains a vital reminder of one of history’s darkest chapters.

I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree: A Memoir of a Schindler’s List Survivor by Laura Hillman

Tells the true story of Hannelore, a young girl who faced unimaginable horrors during the Holocaust. After the arrest and death of her father, and the deportation of her family, she survived in multiple labor and concentration camps, finding hope and love through a Polish POW named Dick Hillman. With the help of Oskar Schindler, Hannelore’s story of survival, love, and resilience unfolds amid one of history’s darkest times.

The Escape Artist: The Man Who Broke Out of Auschwitz to Warn the World by Jonathan Freedland

Tells the remarkable story of Rudolf Vrba, the first Jew to escape Auschwitz. In 1944, Vrba, along with Fred Wetzler, risked his life to smuggle out a detailed report revealing the horrors of the death camp to the world. Despite facing disbelief and indifference, Vrba’s efforts saved 200,000 lives, making him a hero whose story deserves to be remembered alongside other Holocaust figures like Anne Frank and Oskar Schindler.

Ravensbruck: Life and Death in Hitler’s Concentration Camp for Women by Sarah Helm

A groundbreaking account of the largest female-only concentration camp during World War II, where over 100,000 women from more than twenty nationalities were imprisoned. Unlike most Holocaust narratives, the majority of prisoners here were not Jewish but political dissidents, Resistance fighters, and others. Through extensive research and survivor interviews, Helm illuminates the untold story of Ravensbrück, shedding light on a hidden atrocity of the Nazi regime and the complex dynamics between prisoners and female guards.

Surviving the Angel of Death: The True Story of a Mengele Twin in Auschwitz by Eva Mozes Kor

Eva Mozes Kor recounts her harrowing experiences as a 10-year-old in Auschwitz, where she and her twin sister were subjected to Dr. Josef Mengele’s horrific medical experiments. After losing her family, Eva fought for survival, and later in life, she made the extraordinary decision to publicly forgive the Nazis. Through her testimony, museum, and lectures, she has become a powerful voice for forgiveness, peace, and overcoming hatred.

Irena’s Children: The Extraordinary Story of the Woman Who Saved 2,500 Children from the Warsaw Ghetto by Tilar J. Mazzeo

Tells the story of a social worker who saved 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto during World War II. Using extreme methods, she smuggled children out of the ghetto, hiding them in coffins, under overcoats, and even in sewers, while keeping detailed records of their identities for their families. Despite the constant danger, Irena’s bravery and dedication helped many survive the Holocaust.

The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos by Judy Batalion

Uncovers the incredible story of Jewish women in Poland who became resistance fighters during World War II, a group of heroes whose bravery remained largely untold. These young women, some still teenagers, used their courage, resourcefulness, and wits to fight the Nazis, smuggling weapons, sabotaging German infrastructure, and aiding their fellow Jews. Through thrilling accounts of their survival and resistance efforts, this book reveals their extraordinary contributions in the face of unimaginable danger.

The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy

The remarkable true story of three Jewish brothers who established a hidden base camp in the Belorussian forest during World War II, evading the Nazis while saving over a thousand Jewish lives. Tuvia, Zus, and Asael Bielski fought back against the Nazi occupation, leading a guerrilla resistance and creating a thriving community in the woods, complete with a synagogue, theater, and other facilities. After two and a half years in hiding, they emerged victorious as the Nazis retreated, having protected and saved countless lives in the process.