The books to read this Holocaust Memorial Day, from ‘The Volunteer’ to ‘Night’

At just 15-years-old, Elie Wiesel was taken to Auschwitz and faced the struggle of preserving his identity in the brutal and grossly inhumane conditions. His memoir is based on his experiences as a prisoner and is a terrifying account of the death of his family, the death of his innocence, and his despair as a deeply observant Jew confronting the absolute evil of man. A hard read, but a remarkable one. 

A heartfelt story of love in a period of sheer darkness. Inspired by Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew who was imprisoned at Auschwitz in 1942 and forced to tattoo numbers onto the arms of thousands of incoming prisoners, this novel is equal parts remarkable and life-affirming. At times it is almost unbearably poignant, and Morris’s ability to approach such an emotive subject matter in her debut novel is a testament to her skill as an author.

When Hitler invaded Holland in 1939, Edith was sent to live with a protestant family, changed her name, and survived by posing as a gentile. Based on her teenage diary, wartime letters, and reflections of being an adult survivor – this memoir recounts wartime events with poignant detail. Full of love and extraordinary courage, it is a must read.

Awarded the Costa Book of the Year award in 2019, The Volunteer tells the story of Witold Pilecki, the Polish resistance agent who entered Auschwitz by choice to feed vital information back to the Allied forces. Through extensive research and a gripping writing style, former war reporter Jack Fairweather brings to light the life of a true hero and provides a new perspective on the horrors of the final solution.

Featuring in the recommended reading list produced by the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, this book is a semi-fictional debut written by a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. It tells the story of seven-year-old Raami, whose world is shattered when the Khmer Rouge takes over during the Seventies. Amid a climate of systematic violence, starvation and forced labour, Raami clings to the only remaining memory from her childhood – her father’s mythical legends and poems – in order to survive. 

Set during Rwanda’s genocide, A Sunday At The Pool In Kigali tells the moving and passionate love story between a Canadian journalist and a local waitress working at the hotel where he resides. Beyond its walls exists a chaotic society in which millions live in poverty, surrounded by violence and disease. A hard-hitting but worthwhile read that brings the turmoil and terror of Rwanda’s genocide to the fore. 

Dave Eggers tells the harrowing story of one of the world's most brutal civil wars in Dafur. In this fictionalised autobiography, we follow the life of a little boy, Valentino Achak Deng, and his journey to safety, along with thousands of others, after his village is attacked. Along the way he encounters enemy soldiers, liberation rebels and deadly militias, and when he finally resettles in the United States, he finds a life of promise but also heartache and myriad new challenges. Moving and suspenseful, What Is the What is an astonishing novel that illuminates the lives and experiences of millions through one extraordinary man.