3 ‘must read’ non-fiction books based on WWII.

Today I thought I’d share with you, 3 insightful non-fiction books. I will briefly highlight what each book is about without spoiling every detail. As expected these are emotional accounts of true life stories. 

‘The Man who Broke into Auschwitz’  by Denis Avey & Rob Broomby.

The title of this book is quite self explanatory; although somewhat shocking. Why would someone want enter a concentration camp by their free will? The man in fact was a British solider named Denis Avey (-one of the autors of this book). He heard about the cruelity that Jewish people were suffering in ‘Buna-Monowitz’ (Auschwitz III). He decided to secretly trade places with a Jewish prisioner at the camp, to witness, to investigate what was truely happening to the innocent prisioners. I found the book to be very interesting. One true tale of many unheard, or rarely recognised wartime experiences. He his a hero, who we can all idolize. 

‘Pearls of Childhood’ by Vera Gissing.

I have always been interested in History. Unfortunately, the UK History curriculum in secondary schools hasn’t had much of a focus on World War II over the past decade. So back then, I took it upon myself to research about what happened to children who fortunately did not become conncentration camp prisioners.Whilst researching, I found out about a British man named Nicholas Winton (-later knighted as Sir Nicholas Winton). Extraordinarily, he organised an operation of saving the lives of hundreds of Jewish Czechoslovakian children, by sending them to Great Britain to have the chance of a better, safer life. Vera Gissing, the author, is one of the children he saved. At the time of war she did not know about Sir Nicholas Winton. Her story recounts her experience in great detail. Vera tells us how she would look up at the moon each night and know that even though she was separated from her mother, she knew that her mother would be looking up at the same moon each night regardless of there distance, thinking of one another: this has stuck with me ever since reading her book. The moon is symbolic, connecting us all no matter where we are in the world.

‘The diary of Anne Frank’ –  Autobiography.

Most people know the story of Anne Frank. However, no history lesson or article is more insightful than Anne Frank’s account of what happened. Her diary is especially benefical to teenagers who need a reminder of how fortunate they are to be living in the 21st Century. No one should be scared of being taken away or killed by strangers who distest them because the are of a particular religion or race.