World War 2 Books
I’m a sucker for a good World War 2 book. I’ve always been fascinated and deeply saddened by the war. I don’t think I’ll ever understand how one person could have such horrible fantasies. In my twenties I went on a European trip with my best friend and we toured the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. I stood in the gas chamber for only seconds before I wanted to burst into tears. Thoughts of what happened there are horrific. I can’t even imagine having to live it out.
Berlin is a total emotional experience. We also visited a museum there. You can read letters from loved ones during the war. No one is speaking or laughing the entire time. You want to stop reading, but you can’t.
I get so invested in these stories. Though they are fictional, it’s still real. These are some of my favorite World War 2 books I’ve ever read.
WORLD WAR 2 BOOKS
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Devastated. Bombshell ending. No pun intended. I was so distraught over the ending. It’s not what I wanted! Marie-Laure is blind. She meets Werner, a German soldier, who has been looking for an illegal radio that’s been broadcasting. It just so happens to be coming from Marie-Laure’s home. Werner finds her and they begin a friendship that grows deeper. That’s all I can say!
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
I haven’t read this book in a very long time but I remember liking it a lot. I had to look up a recap because all I can remember is piles of books being burned. The story is narrated by death though. Liesel is the main character. She goes to live with foster parents where her journey and love for books begins.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
Gut. wrenching. I cried when I read this book. Two unlikely boys become friends. They are separated by the fence of a concentration camp. Bruno’s father is in charge of the concentration camp. Shmuel is in the concentration camp. One day Bruno goes to the other side to help his friend find his father. Now you must read it to discover their fates.
Anne Frank the Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Anne Frank chronicles her days in hiding. Her diary was found in the Secret Annex and was published by her father, Otto Frank. I read this book in high school and still remember it to this day.
