Memoirs and Personal Narratives

This is a selection of memoirs, biographies, and personal narratives of people who experienced the Holocaust from various perspectives. These resources are presented alphabetically, with the exception of the Anne Frank section where the diary itself is presented first.

Memoirs and Personal Narratives of Jewish Victims

A Part of Me by Bronia Jablon
Call Number: Curriculum Resources 940.5318092 J118P
Publication Date: 2009
A Part of Me is the harrowing story of how a mother and daughter make it through the war, one pivotal decision at a time.
An Underground Life by Gad Beck; Allison Brown (Translator); Frank Heibert
Call Number: Robarts DS135 .G5 B333 1999X
Publication Date: 1999
Gad Beckr's memoir presents the facts about his life as a German Jewish homosexual who was also a leader in the resistance against the Nazis.
Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs: Series 2 by Andrea Knight, managing editor; Elin Beaumont, program manager; maps by Sir Martin Gilbert and François Blanc
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318089924 A997 Series 2 v.1; OISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318089924
Publication Date: 2009
This is a collection of 6 memoirs of Jewish Holocaust survivors now living in Canada. Included in this resource is "Under the yellow & red stars" by Alex Levin; "A drastic turn of destiny" by Fred Mann; "E/96: fate undecided" by Paul-Henri Rips; "Album of my life" by Ann Szedlecki; "Memories from the abyss" by William Tannenzapf; and "But I had a happy childhood" by Renate Krakauer.
Azrieli Series of Holocaust Survivor Memoirs: Series 2 by Andrea Knight, managing editor; Elin Beaumont, program manager; maps by Sir Martin Gilbert and François Blanc
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318089924 A997 Series 2 v.1; OISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318089924
Publication Date: 2009
This collection of Canadian Jewish Holocaust survivors contains "Bits and pieces: a memoir" by Henia Reinhartz; "The violin" by Rachel Shtibel; "A child's testimony" by Adam Shtibel; "Getting out alive: a memoir" by Tommy Dick and "Spring's end: a memoir" by John Freund.
Did You Ever Meet Hitler, Miss? by Trude Levi
Call Number: Robarts Stacks DS135 .H93 L4856 2003
Publication Date: 2003
In this interesting piece Trude Levi tells her story of survival and goes on to answer questions asked by children and others about her experiences during the Holocaust. Levi's answers are honest, candid and deal with a variety of issues surrounding the Holocaust.
Eyewitness Auschwitz by Filip Muller
Call Number: Robarts Stacks D805.5 .A96 M85 1999X
Publication Date: 1999
Filip Müller worked as a Sonderkommando in the gassing installations and crematoria from 1942 to 1944. As a result, he provides a unique account of life as a Jew who witnessed the murder of a vast number of Jewish people. This is a rare account from a Sonderkommando, and provides a valuable perspective and reflection on experiences that he lived through.
From Generation to Generation by Agnes Tomasov
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318092 T655F
Publication Date: 2010
This is the memoir of Agnes Tomasov who survived the Holocaust by hiding in the forests of the Low Tatra Mountains as a fourteen year old.
Holocaust Survivors by Emily Taitz (Editor)
Call Number: Robarts Stacks D804.3 .T34 2007X V.1; Robarts Stacks D804.3 .T34 2007X V.2
Publication Date: 2007
This is an excellent collection of biographical profiles which describe 500 survivors of the Holocaust. Mostly of the profiles are of Jewish survivors,; however, there are entries related to other groups of victims. The volume also includes a historical introduction, chronology, resource guide, and photos.
I Have Lived a Thousand Years by Livia Bitton-Jackson
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318 J13i
ISBN: 0689810229
Publication Date: 1997-04-01
This is the memoir of Livia Bitton-Jackson, born Elli L. Friedmann, who was thirteen years old in March 1944, when the Nazis invaded Hungary. It describes her experiences at Auschwitz.
Inherit the truth, 1939-1945 : the documented experiences of a survivor of Auschwitz and Belsen by Anita Lasker-Wallfisch
Call Number: Robarts Stacks DS135 .P63 L37 1996
Publication Date: 1996
This memoir describes the experiences of the author's and her sister’s experiences as prisoners at both Auschwitz and Belsen. While at Auschwitz, Anita was a part of the camp's orchestra as a cellist. her unique experience is well presented and supported by the inclusion of primary source documents.
Nesarim by Thelma Gruenbaum
Call Number: Robarts Stacks DS135 .C97 A145 2004
Publication Date: 2004
This book outlines the experiences both during and after World War II of 10 boys who were held at Terezin, a Nazi concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. The 10 boys detailed here shared a room with 30 others and they called themselves the Nesarim or eagles. Interviews with the surviving boys are provided.
Night by Elie Wiesel (Preface by); Marion Wiesel (Translator)
Call Number: Robarts Stacks DS135 .R73 W4713 2006
Publication Date: 2006
This is a new translation of Elie Wiesel's widely read and highly praised work, which describes his experiences as a teenager in the Nazi death camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Translated by his wife, this version is considered to be the closest the representing his intent.
No Pretty Pictures by Anita Lobel
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318092 L797N
Publication Date: 1998
Anita Lobel is a well respected artist who tells her story of survival as a child in Poland and later Sweden.
Surviving in Silence by Harry Dunai; Eleanor Dunai; John S. Schuchman (Foreword by)
Call Number: Robarts Stacks DS135 .H93 D863 2002X
Publication Date: 2002
This is the story of a deaf Jewish boy living in war-torn Hungary that describes his experiences in a Jewish school for deaf children. His experiences as a deaf person under the Nazi occupation are described, and as are his struggles to survive under the fascist Arrow Cross Party in Budapest. His life during the post-war period up until the birth of his first child in 1963 is also described. Included are numerous black and white photographs. This is a resource that allows for the rare chance at examining the personal experience of a disabled person during the Holocaust.
The Boy by Dan A. Porat
Call Number: Robarts Stacks DS134.64 .P67 2010X; Victoria University E.J. Pratt Stacks DS134.64 .P67 2010
Publication Date: 2010
This book traces the histories of the people in iconic image on the book's cover. Both the stories of the Jews and Nazis involved are described. The Boy presents the stories of three Nazi criminals, ranging in status from SS sergeant to low-ranking SS officer to SS general. It is also the story of two Jewish victims, a teenage girl and a young boy, who encounter these Nazis in Warsaw in the spring of 1943. Many photographs are included in this book which cover all five of the people examined.
The Shadows Behind Me by Willie Sterner
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318092 S839S
Publication Date: 2010
This is the memoir of Willie Sterner, a skillful painter who was one of the Jewish people saved by Oskar Schindler.
We Wept Without Tears by Gideon Greif
Call Number: Robarts Stacks D805.5 .A96 G73513 2005
Publication Date: 2005
This item is also available as an electronic resource. This book provides interviews with all of the known surviving Sonderkommandos in Israel who were Jewish prisoners forced to assist with the extermination of other Jews at Auschwitz-Birkenau. These moving interviews provide unique insight into the events witnessed by these men and the deeply troubling choices they had to make.
Witnesses to War by Michael Leapman
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318083 L437W
Publication Date: 1998
This is a book of biographies which provide accounts of the experiences of eight children from different parts of occupied Europe during World War II who were victims of the Holocaust in various different ways. There are non-Jewish children included in this book, though the majority of them are Jewish. The author describes what happened to the children of a massacred Czech village and Polish children who were taken from their families and given to German ones to be "Germanized." This book is suitable for those 10 and up.

Memoirs and Personal Narratives of Non-Jewish Victims

A Gypsy in Auschwitz by Otto Rosenberg
Call Number: New College (Ivey) Stacks D804.5 .G85 R67 1999; Robarts Stacks D804.5 .G85 R67 1999
Publication Date: 2000
The author recounts their experiences as a Gypsy during the Holocaust who survived Auschwitz.
Auschwitz and After by Charlotte Delbo; Rosette C. Lamont (Translator); Lawrence A. Langer (Introduction by)
Call Number: OISE WERC 940.5336092 D344 D344A
Publication Date: 1995
This memoir describes the experiences of Delbo, a French resistance fighter, was sent a concentration camp with a large contingent of non-Jews and a smaller number of Jewish women.
Death Always Came on Mondays: Persecuted for Refusing to Serve in the Nazi Army: An Autobiography by Horst Schmidt; edited by Hans Hesse; translation, Michael Bjørk
Call Number: Robarts Stacks D804.5 .J44 S3513 2005
Publication Date: 2005
Presents a Jehovah’s Witness's account of his arrest, trial, and imprisonment for refusing to serve in the military. Includes illustrations, a bibliography, and reprints and translations of documents.
Forgotten Survivors: Polish Christians Remember the Nazi Occupation by Richard C. Lukas (Editor)
Call Number: Robarts Stacks D804.5 .C47 F67 2004X
Publication Date: 2004
This book compiles personal narratives of Polish Christians present their stories of life during World War II. A variety of perspectives are contained here, including those of witnesses, resistance fighters, and victims.
I, Pierre Seel, Deported Homosexual by Pierre Steel; Joachim Neugroschel (Translator)
Call Number: Robarts Stacks HQ75.8 .S44 A3 1995X
Publication Date: 1995
The autobiography of a man arrested at the age of seventeen when the Nazis discovered his homosexuality. Tells of his imprisonment in the camp at Schirmeck-Vorbruch in Alsace, his forced conscription in the German army, and his subsequent capture by the Russians.
My Stripes Were Earned in Hell: A French Resistance Fighter's Memoir of Survival in a Nazi prison Camp by Jean-Pierre Renouard
Call Number: Robarts Stacks D805 .G3 R43213 2012X
Publication Date: 2011
This memoir recounts the author's experiences as a French member of the resistance who spent one year in a German Nazi prison camp in Neuengamme, and later Misburg. Ultimately, Renouard was sent to the Bergen-Belsen death camp where he watched his companions die. His experiences after being liberated are also included, with particular attention paid to the months he had to wait after being liberated to return to France.
Shared Sorrows: A Gypsy Family Remembers the Holocaust by Toby Sonneman
Call Number: New College (Ivey) Stacks D804.5 .G85 S65 2002; Robarts Stacks D804.5 .G85 S65 2002
Publication Date: 2002
The Jewish author of this book explores the shared experiences between her own family history and that of Romani survivors of the Holocaust when she travels to Munich with an American Romani Holocaust survivor. Through meeting Rosa Mettbach and her family of Romani Holocaust survivors, Sonneman explores the shared pain experienced by those who were persecuted by the Nazis.
Shavelings in Death Camps: A Polish Priest's Memoir of Imprisonment by the Nazis, 1939-1945 by Henryk Maria Malak; Bozenna J. Tucker (Translator); Thomas R. Tucker (Translator)
Call Number: Robarts Stacks D805 .G3 M2913 2012X; St. Michael's College (John M. Kelly) 2nd Floor D805 .G3 M2913
Publication Date: 2012
This memoir by Fr. Henryk Maria Malak who was a Catholic Polish priest sent to a Nazi concentration camps. Fr. Malak's four years at Dachau are described in detail and interestingly, the secret diary that he maintained near the end of the war is included.
The Labyrinth of Dangerous Hours by Lilka Trzcinska-Croydon; Lilka Croydon-Trzcinska; Norman Davies (Foreword by)
Call Number: Robarts Stacks D805.5 .A96 T79 2004
Publication Date: 2004
The memoir of a survivor, Lilka Trzcinska, this memoir binds history and poetry together to provide a moving account of family, survival, and a young woman's adolescence in the Polish resistance and Nazi prison camps during the Second World War for being a Polish political prisoner.
The Men with the Pink Triangle by Heinz Heger
Call Number: Robarts Course Reserves HQ75.7 .H4513 2010
Publication Date: 2010
This is an autobiography of a gay survivor of the Nazi concentration camps which describes the author's everyday experiences during the Holocaust as a homosexual man in a concentration camp.
The Other Victims: First-Person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis by Ina R. Friedman
Call Number: Robarts Stacks D811 .A2 F74 1990X
Publication Date: 1990
This account deals with the other victims of the Holocaust, like Gypsies, homosexuals, dissenters, and some religious minorities. Included are personal narratives of Christians, Gypsies, deaf people, homosexuals, and those of African descent who suffered at the hands of the Nazis before and during World War II.
War in the Shadow of Auschwitz: Memoirs of a Polish Resistance Fighter and Survivor of the Death Camps by John Wiernicki
Call Number: Robarts Stacks D811 .W4827 2001X
Publication Date: 2001
John Wiernicki was part of the Polish resistance who was arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned in the German concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. This memoir describes his experiences there as well as his escape to Italy and later the United States. In 1995, he was decorated by Lech Walesa, the president of Poland, for his military services during the war.
Winter Time by Walter Stanoski Winter
Call Number: Robarts Stacks D810 .G9 W5613 2004
Publication Date: 2004
This rare account from a survivor of Gypsy concentration camps during World War II relates how German Sinto Walter Winter was discharged from the German navy in 1943 on racial grounds and was deported to Auschwitz with his brother and sister. While at the camp, he lost both his wife and unborn child.

Anne Frank

The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank; Miriam Pressler (Editor); Susan Massotty (Translator); Otto H. Frank
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 820 F828; OISE Children's Literature JUV FIC F828D
Publication Date: 1997
This is a new edition of Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl which presents the diary of Anne Frank who hid in the back of an Amsterdam warehouse for two years with her family and ultimately was murdered at age 15 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. This edition contains are diary entries that were originally left out of the original edition. These passages which had been excluded are a significant amount of content which present her truthfully as the teenaged girl she was.
Anne Frank by Ann Kramer
Call Number: ISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318092 K89A
Publication Date: 2007
An introduction to Anne Frank and the circumstances that affected her life and brought about her death in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
Anne Frank [Videorecording] by from Buena Vista Home Entertainment; produced by David Kappes; co-producer, Kirk Ellis; teleplay by Kirk Ellis; directed by Robert Dornhelm
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318092 F828 A613 DVD 1 and 2
Publication Date: 2009
Film dramatization of Anne Frank’s life. This record includes two DVDs (approximately 189 minutes long) and one educator's guide.
Anne Frank, Beyond the Diary by Ruud Van der Rol; Rian Verhoeven; Tony Langham (Translator); Plym Peters (Translator); Anna Quindlen (Introduction by)
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318092 F820 Yvan
Publication Date: 1993
This resource contains photographs, illustrations, and maps accompany historical essays, diary excerpts, and interviews which a deeper insight into Anne Frank's life.
Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. Reproducibles and Teacher Guide by editor-in-chief, Kathleen Myers
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.531503924 F820di La
Publication Date: 1993
Readings, activities, reproducibles and other resources related to Anne Frank.
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl: A Teacher Resource Unit by Myrna Jean Warren
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.531503924 F820di Ywa
Publication Date: 1988
This is a teacher's resource unit which provides strategies for educating about the Holocaust with Anne Frank's diary.
Shadow Life by Barry Denenberg
Call Number: OISE Children's Literature JUV FIC D392S
Publication Date: 2005
This book explores the lives of Anne and her family with many photos included. The first third describes Anne's early childhood and the events leading up to the family going into hiding in the annex. The middle, invented diary portion contains the fictionalized diaries of other family members. The third section contains information about Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen, where Anne, Margot and their mother's lives ended. In this section, Holocaust survivors' oral histories are used to present what is known about the Frank women's final months. Includes a chronology and a bibliographical essay.
The Anne Frank Case by Susan Goldman Rubin; Bill Farnsworth (Illustrator)
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.5318092 R896A
Publication Date: 2009
Determined to find definitive proof that Anne Frank's diary was authentic, Simon Wiesenthal began a five-year-long search for the Gestapo officer who arrested the Frank family.
The World of Anne Frank: Readings, Activities, and Resources by Betty Merti
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 940.531503924 F828 M562W
Publication Date: 1984
Readings, activities, reproducibles and other resources related to Anne Frank

Non-Victim Personal Narratives

Hitler Youth by Susan Campbell Bartoletti; Susan Campbell-Bartoletti
Call Number: OISE Curriculum Resources 943.0860835 B292H
Publication Date: 2005
This examination of the rise of the Hitler Youth explores how Hitler gained the loyalty, trust, and passion of so many of Germany's young people. It is of particular interest because it includes interviews with surviving people who had been Hitler Youth members.
KL Auschwitz Seen by the SS by J. Bezwinska (Editor); Danuta Czech (Editor); Constantine FitzGibbon (Translator); K. Michalik (Translator)
Call Number: Robarts Stacks D805 .P7 K17 1984
Publication Date: 1984
The book contains the description of the experiences of three SS camp workers: a guard, a doctor and the camp commandant who recorded his account while waiting to be executed.

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Teaching the Holocaust - Elementary to Secondary

Memoirs and Personal Narratives

Memoirs and Personal Narratives of Jewish Victims

Memoirs and Personal Narratives of Non-Jewish Victims

Anne Frank

Non-Victim Personal Narratives

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