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I'd read the infamous diary of Anne Frank as a middle schooler and had forgotten all about it. Recently I came across "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" and as an older reader, it made a profound impact on me, so much so that I re-read Anne Frank again and watched a few documentaries about the war.
However, I'd like to read more stories about this era, preferably personal stories rather than academic texts, but I've found mixed reviews about other works.
Anyone in this community who can give me very honest recommendations?

I highly recommend ‘The Angel of Death’ It’s about the horrors of twins during the holocaust.

Night by Elie Wiesel is a classic and it will definitely have a profound impact. Wiesel was a Holocaust survivor, and Night is the story he tells of his experiences, from being imprisoned in a concentration camp and, thereafter.

Just to let you know, though, Night is intense, not just in its descriptions of suffering, but in the views of suffering of others. Not just by the perpetrators, but by the victims themselves. It's interesting how they describe seeing "the face of God".

It did make me feel very overwhelmed.

It's a great book, though. Something that should definitely be read.

If you don't mind me asking, what works did you find mixed reviews of?

Night is an amazing read. Another great one is Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl. My father was a Holocaust survivor and really felt strongly that Our Tomorrows Never Came by Etunia Bauer Katz was a very well written book.

Violins of Hope by James A Grymes is nonfiction but shares deeply personal stories of how people found strength and solace in music during the Holocaust.

I've recently read a book called "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper. I'd recommend this book to anyone who has read the Diary of Anne Frank.

Synopsis: After losing her family and everything she knew in the Nazi concentration camps, Gerta is finally liberated, only to find herself completely alone. Without her papa, her music, or even her true identity, she must move past the task of surviving and on to living her life. In the displaced persons camp where she is staying, Gerta meets Lev, a fellow teen survivor who she just might be falling for, despite her feelings for someone else. With a newfound Jewish identity she never knew she had, and a return to the life of music she thought she lost forever, Gerta must choose how to build a new future.

‘All the Light We Cannot See’ by Anthony Doerr is set during the same time period from a slightly different perspective. A really profound and thought-provoking book that is one of my personal favorites.

If you have the stomach for it: I was a Doctor in Auschwitz by Carte de Gisella Perl.

If you're into graphic novels, I recommend "Maus" by Art Spiegelman. If not, "If This is a Man" by Primo Levi is one of the main works about the Holocaust ever written, and it's a personal story too.

The book Ragdolls by Henry Golde. Mr. Golde would come to our school and talk about his experience going from each concentration camp and how he survived the Holocaust. Unfortunately, he got sick the year he was supposed to speak directly to my class when I was in middle school. I was very fortunate to learn his story through this book. Hopefully you are able to purchase his book somewhere.

"Hate is nothing and love is everything." -Henry Golde