Take a literary journey into the Jewish communities of Europe during the Holocaust — sobering, profound accounts of extraordinary courage in the face of an unprecedented struggle for survival. For 10 sessions, learners will have the chance to examine first-person narratives found in diaries and memoirs, gaining remarkable insight into this devastating period of modern Jewish history. Both young and old writers — authors, poets and journalists, some who survived and many who did not — describe the growing Nazi threat, coping in the ghettos, and imprisonment in death camps. Their unforgettable stories help us understand the real events of the Shoah and its legacy for us today. Register here.

Table of Contents

Lesson 1 - Moments of Helplessness: Leaving Home

Lesson 2 - Children...

Lesson 3 - Holidays and Occasions...

Lesson 4 - “TheHeart Within Me Burns”

Lesson 5 - The Jewish Woman

Lesson 6 - Brothers: Alienated and in Distress – Solidarity and Cultural Conflict

Lesson 7 - Outside the Sword Shall Butcher, While in the Rooms There Shall be Terror: Jews Write in the Shadow of Death

Lesson 8 - Through the Kindness of Strangers

Lesson 9 - Gathering the Pieces

Lesson 10 - Art is Life!