Books in The Story of The Holocaust series

“Like a blazing fire, the news spreads across Germany: Adolf Hitler is Chancellor of the Reich! A million hearts are aflame.” This radio report from 1933 announced the election victory of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany. Although many people celebrated, they did not know the ultimate consequences of Hitler's rise to power--World War II and the extermination of millions of Jews and other "undesirables" in what we now call the Holocaust. ‘Prelude to the Holocaust’ shows how Hitler's Nazi Party acted against the Jews, first by stirring up anti-Semitism, then by actively persecuting them, and eventually moving to the mass murder of millions of Jews and others--Hitler's "Final Solution." This book explains the ideas the Nazis had about race and how people around the world responded to the Nazis' racial policies. Each book includes: first-hand accounts from people involved in the Holocaust; an in-depth study of a key topic mentioned in the book; detailed timeline to help place important events; and a further reading and sources section.

During the 1930s and 1940s, the Nazi government in Germany carried out one of the greatest slaughters of human beings that the world has ever known. Led by dictator Adolf Hitler, the Nazis stirred up hatred for Jews. At first they tried to force Jews out of Germany. Then they took away their civil rights. Finally, they tried to eliminate all the Jews in Europe by sending them to death camps. How could such a tragedy occur? Where did the hatred start? These are just some of the issues Architects of the Holocaust explores.

Kristallnacht, or "Night of Broken Glass," was an event that was one of thousands of horrors inflicted on Jews throughout Germany and Austria in a single night and day, November 9-10, 1938. The Nazis destroyed Jewish businesses, synagogues, and personal property and killed nearly one hundred people. Although not the first instance of violence against Jews, it was the beginning of a campaign of savagery unequalled in modern history. This gripping narrative examines German anti-Semitism, the rise of the Nazi Party and Adolf Hitler, the persecution of Jews, and the spark that began the blaze of the Holocaust.

Since 1953, the State of Israel has named non-Jews who risked their lives to help save Jews during the Holocaust as "Righteous Among the Nations." Known as "righteous gentiles," these individuals summoned the strength to put aside their own safety to oppose the Nazis. This engrossing volume educates readers about some of the noteworthy righteous gentiles and groups who stood to lose everything as they aided, hid, and fought for the Jews with words as well as weapons. Photographs and quotes from primary source documents pull the reader into the inimitable experiences of these heroes.

The Holocaust has had a lasting impact on the entire world. From its effects on people and families to entire cities and countries, to its influence on popular culture, art, music, and international law, the Holocaust left a scar that will never completely heal. Through dramatic photographs and eyewitness accounts, Legacy of the Holocaust provides a thorough understanding of the lingering fallout from one of history's darkest moments.

This book shows that even brutal treatment by the Nazis and the ever-present threat of death were unable to destroy the creative impulses of the people trapped in the ghettos and concentration camps. Poetry, diary entries, song lyrics, drawings, and paintings from the time express the full range of emotions, including the craving for normality in the very abnormal situations.