Lowe 1
The Holocaust in Literature
“The word ‘Holocaust,’ from the Greek words, ‘holos’ (whole) and ‘kaustos’ (burned),
was historically used to describe a sacrificial offering burned on an altar. Since 1945, the word
has taken on a new and horrible meaning: the mass murder of some six million European Jews
(as well as millions of others, including gypsies and homosexuals) by the German Nazi regime
during the Second World War” (History.com editors 1). Nazi leader, Adolf Hitler, had a hatred
for the Jews. “Anti-semitism played a major role in Adolf Hitler’s thinking and in the Nazi
ideology” (“Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews?” 3). One author points out that Hitler had this hatred
since he was a small child (“Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews?” 5). His hatred escalated for the
Jews when the Germans were defeated in World War I. He thought that everything bad was
because of these people (“Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews?” 9). He viewed them as germs and said
that they were like diseases that must be destroyed (“Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews?” 9). It is
also pointed out that Hitler did everything in his power to remove them from his society (“Why
Did Hitler Hate the Jews?” 11). The manner in which the Holocaust is described in literature
affects our perception of what actually occurred during that time period.
The Diary of Anne Frank gives us a glimpse of a Jewish family trying to survive the
Holocaust. Anne Frank was given a diary for her birthday and began to use it to record events
that were happening during this awful time. One author says that the Frank family moved to
Amsterdam to avoid persecution by the Nazis (Biography.com Editors “Anne Frank” 1).
According to the editors of Biography.com, shortly after moving, the family received word that
Anne’s sister, Margot, would be forced to work in the Nazi’s work camp. They went into hiding
the next day. Their hiding spot was referred to as the “Secret Annex” and was located in the back
of Anne’s father’s company building (“Frank” 2). A bookcase served as a secret entrance to the
Lowe 2
annex. The Frank family heard news about the war from the radio. They also got some news
from the people who would secretly bring them supplies.
The book shows the dangers and fear throughout the hiding time. There were many times
that the family was in fear of being captured. Sometimes they were taken by surprise when
people entered the company building, and the family had not been warned to be quiet while they
were there. This happened on an occasion when a worker came to fill the fire extinguishers.
Anne says, “My hands still shaking, though it’s been two hours since we had the scare” (57). She
was so afraid that the worker had heard them in the annex because he began to bang on the
bookcase trying to open it. She says, “I was so scared I nearly fainted at the thought of this total
stranger managing to discover our wonderful hiding place” (Frank 57). Thankfully, he turned out
to be a friend who was only trying to help them. Every action had to be carefully planned out. As
the author points out, times were allotted to use the washroom and restroom to avoid the cleaning
lady’s hearing the water (Frank 68-69). They often had trouble with the drains clogging up. The
author also states that they could only use a trickle of water and could not flush the toilet, and
that the filthy water was kept in a jar (Frank 307). At this point, the living conditions were still
bearable. Frank says they lived in a much better place compared to other Jews who were not as
fortunate to have a hiding place (99). As the months went by, things got much worse. “The
police have their hands full trying to track down the many girls of fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, and
older who are reported missing every day” (Frank 285). The author says that the anxiety is
crushing (Frank 308). “I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the
approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions” (Frank
333). Anne questions herself, about whether it would be better to have died than to have gone
into hiding (308).
Lowe 3
In order to survive, the Frank family goes without certain needs. Starvation is one of the
biggest issues. Anne says that everyone was hungry and a week’s food supply barely lasted for
more than two days (245). She points out the fact that if they got hungry enough, they would do
whatever it took to fill their hunger pains; the family eats sauerkraut two times a day (Frank
248). Anne’s mother divided out the food among the family so that the food would last as long as
possible. According to the author, her mother would have them to skip breakfast, have very little
for lunch, and for supper, they would have fried potatoes (Frank 306). Frank also states that they
had a very limited supply on vegetables and potatoes and that some of the bread that they had
was molded (310). The boredom was another huge obstacle that the family faced. She describes
things that she sees and hears that adds to her boredom. She describes the weather as dreary, the
food lying on their stomachs causing several rumblings, and the horrible smells of the stove
(Frank 153). Toward the end of the diary, Anne begins to feel hopeless. “‘I’ve reached the point
where I hardly care whether I live or die’” (Biography.com Editors “Frank” 2). Two weeks
before Anne was captured, she wrote that it would be very hard for her to make any kind of life
for herself with all of this chaos and trouble (Biography.com Editors “Frank” 2). She died shortly
after being captured.
Another woman that experienced the Holocaust wrote The Hiding Place. The Hiding
Place tells of Corrie ten Boom’s family’s struggles and their own personal persecution during the
Holocaust. Corrie grew up in a religious home. One author states that her family’s faith was the
motivation behind their willingness to serve others, their desire to help the less fortunate, and to
provide things such as food and shelter to the poor (Biography.com Editors “Corrie ten Boom”
1). Corrie’s family lived in rooms above Corrie’s father’s watch shop, which later became known
as their hiding place. The authors of Biography.com state that the Boom family provided
Lowe 4
protection for many Jews who were fleeing Nazi persecution, and they saved approximately
eight hundred of them (“Boom” 1). According to the author, some of the Jews would only stay
for a few hours, but there were also Jews who stayed for many days (Biography.com Editors
“Boom” 2).
The book portrays the dangers of helping others. Corrie says that she told some of the
first few visitors that the hiding place was too dangerous because they lived too close to the
police station (95). She says that even though she warned them, the Jews still kept coming to the
family for their help; many times, the problems were more than just the need of food (Boom 99).
She began to have other concerns for the Jews in hiding. Corrie wonders about where the
pregnant women would have their children (99). Corrie also states that she wonders about the
burial of a Jew if something happened to him while in hiding (99). She also says that there was a
danger for everyone involved (Boom 101). She could not help the conditions that the Jews had to
endure, but she did everything she could to provide for their needs. Because so many Jews were
being arrested, Corrie would put herself in danger by going into town to deliver and pick up
things for the Jews so they would not be caught (90). She says that with so many Jews coming
through their hiding place it was getting much harder to find a safe place for them (Boom 108).
There were many false alarms that would frighten everyone in the hidden room. On one
occasion, the family was expecting a man to bring food coupons to them, but a police officer
showed up before the man did. They were horrified for two reasons: one, that there would be no
one to warn the man not to come in; and two, that the police officer had figured out they were
hiding in there. Thankfully, the police officer had just come into the watch shop to get his watch
cleaned. Corrie says that they were spared this time, but they would have to come up with a way
to alert everyone involved (98).
Lowe 5
Eventually, someone told the police about their hiding place. The police officers took
almost everyone in the home. Corrie was sick with the flu at the time, and when she heard the
noises, she thought that it was just a drill. Boom said that it finally hit her, the time they had all
feared had come (141). She hid a few of the Jews in a secret closet and jumped back into her bed.
The police officer came into her room and forced her to get up and come downstairs. She wanted
to grab her bag that had many records about the Jews in it, but it was right beside the latch to the
secret closet. Therefore, she left it. “I stumbled down the stairs, my knees shaking as much from
fear as from flu” (Boom 143).
The book portrays how Corrie’s faith got her through this terrible time in her life. Corrie
was captured and put into solitary confinement. She would pray daily. The author says that in her
prayers, she would ask the Lord to bless the ones she loved because she was not allowed to say
their names aloud (Boom 163). She received news that her father had died and tried to talk with a
guard, but the guard did not care. When the guard left, Boom said a prayer to Jesus and said that
she knew she should not have asked for the human’s help because she had Him with her (170).
She received word that the Jews that were hiding in the secret closet had escaped. She wondered
how they had gotten past the soldiers. She then gave God the credit by saying that the Lord was
there and nothing else mattered (Boom 168). When she was moved to a different prison cell, she
noticed that it had one small improvement from the last cell. It has one small window in it. It was
so high on the wall that she could only see the clouds passing in the sky. Her health finally
started to get better. Corrie says that the Scriptures had sustained her and that now she would
read entire Gospels at one time (163). She wondered if all of the suffering that they were going
through might be part of a pattern from the Gospels. She knew that Jesus suffered and came out
with the victory so that gave her hope. Most of the Nazi officers that interrogated her were very
Lowe 6
harsh to her, but one Nazi lieutenant actually let her share her faith with him. Boom says that she
told him about how God’s viewpoint was different from ours and that we would not be able to
understand it, if He had not given us the Bible (173). The same lieutenant returned the next day
to ask more questions about Corrie’s faith. Boom says that he told her that he could not sleep
because he was wondering what else the Bible said (174). Corrie states that she told him about
the Light that came to this world, so we are not in the dark (174). He begins to tell her about how
he cannot stand to do the work he does and tells her about how he is worried about his family.
Boom states that she told him that Jesus was her light and that Jesus could help him too (174).
Each time that Corrie was moved to another place, she would pack up the few belongings she
had and made sure she had the most important thing, her Bible. Corrie states that she kept her
Bible in a pouch on her back at all times except for when she would read it (181). To pass the
time, she would watch ants crawl in and out of a hole in one of her jail cells. On the day of the
transfer from that cell, she did not see them and realized they were safely hidden. She began to
feel that she could relate to the ants because she too had a hiding place. Boom says that her
hiding place was in Jesus (182).
Many times all of the female prisoners would have to go through inspections, leaving all
their belongings in one huge pile with thousands of other women. Boom says that she prayed to
God giving Him thanks for giving them the Bible to help reach so many and for keeping it
hidden through the inspections (203-204). There were many times when Corrie’s faith was
tested, but thankfully, her sister, Betsie, helped give her some insight. When they were
transferred to a new barrack, it was filled with reeking straw and infested with fleas. Corrie
wondered how they could live in such a place. Boom says that Betsie reminded her that God
always provides an answer (209). Boom also says that Betsie told her to continually pray,
Lowe 7
rejoice, and give thanks because this was God’s will (209). Corrie says that Betsie told her that
they should immediately start praising God for the many things in the new barracks (Boom 209).
Corrie and Betsie would read the Bible to the Jews. Most of the prisoners could not understand
the Dutch text so Corrie would translate it into German. Boom says that they could hear other
women start to translate God’s Word in languages such as Russian, French, and many others
(212-213).
Sleeping quarters were awful in the prisons. They would have to crawl over the other
people to get to the thin slats that they slept on. The women were quarreling, slapping each other,
and crying. Boom says that Betsie prayed with her for God’s peace to enter the chaotic room
because when He is there, strife cannot be (211). Even though situations were horrible, miracles
would bring the prisoners hope. Corrie tells of many times that God provided for them. For
instance, Boom states that they only had a small medicine bottle of vitamin drops, but,
miraculously, more and more drops would keep appearing from the bottle (213). Corrie shared
her vitamins with all of the Jews, especially the weakest. Betsie said, “There was a woman in the
Bible whose oil jar was never empty” (Boom 213). God provided for the woman in the Bible just
as He had provided for them.
Sadly, Betsie died just a few days before Corrie was released. Once Corrie returned
home, she felt a huge emptiness because now she was all alone. She later realized that she had
been released on accident, and that the other women in the camp were killed (Boom 250). Boom
says that she felt as though she could hear Betsie whispering to her to stay in God’s will and that
He had perfect timing (234). Life was not the same and never would be for Corrie. She began to
remember back to something Betsie had told her. Betsie said, “‘we must tell people, Corrie. We
must tell them what we learned….’” (Boom 243). Boom says that she began to start speaking
Lowe 8
that week, and she knew that God would equip her with what she needed (244). The war had
taken a huge toll on the survivors. Corrie says that the people handled their pain and grief
themselves and worked through the devastation (246). More and more people wanted to hear
about Betsie’s story. Corrie states that she traveled to many places such as Europe and the United
States to tell of the story (247). Corrie faced one of her biggest acts of faith at one of her church
services when a former guard appeared. He asked Corrie for her forgiveness. She wondered how
she could forgive him, but she remembered that Jesus gave his life for everyone, including this
man. So, Corrie asked the Lord for strength to be able to forgive him (247). Corrie spent the rest
of her life telling others “Jesus can turn loss into glory” (Boom 250). She was able to share this
message in sixty-one different countries (Boom 250). It is stated that Corrie started a camp that
gave people a home and helped them to find themselves again (Boom 249).
Another survivor of the Holocaust wrote about his experiences. Elie Wiesel’s real-life
encounter is graphically described in his memoir, Night. The book shows the level of cruelty
during the Holocaust. Wiesel first learned of the cruelty from a friend. The friend told him that
the German soldiers left him for dead, but he escaped. The friend also told him of the horrific
things that he had seen. He told him that the men were forced to dig their own graves. After the
graves were dug, the soldiers shot them. Wiesel states that his friend told him this did not bother
the soldiers at all (4). Wiesel also says that he was told of how the shooters would kill babies as
they were used as targets (4). One year later, Wiesel was captured and began to experience the
cruelties for himself. The author states that one of the German soldiers told the captives that they
would have rather hanged themselves than to have to endure the pains of coming to the camp
(Wiesel 28). The soldiers said, “You’re going to be burned. Frizzled away. Turned into ashes”
(Wiesel 28). He witnessed children being burned to death (Wiesel 30). He says that he could
Lowe 9
never forget the children’s faces who had been burned up (Wiesel 32). He recalls the night that
he was first at the camp as the thing that made his entire life feel like one drawn out night
(Wiesel 32). He says that the prisoners were naked and were freezing in the cold (Wiesel 32).
Many prisoners there were striking out against anyone (Wiesel 32). After this, he remembers the
soldiers taking every bit of hair off their bodies (Wiesel 33). As the prisoners were forced to
walk at the concentration camp, Wiesel says that he found himself running and not even realizing
it because of the whips that were striking around him (37). Wiesel witnessed the hanging of
many Jews. He recalls a time when it took more than a half of an hour for a child to die as he
hung there in agony (Wiesel 62).
As a new year came, Wiesel was transferred to another unit. The soldiers checked the
prisoners and the weak ones would be sent to the crematory (Wiesel 66). One of the captive men
told Wiesel the camp was better than it had been. The man gave him descriptions of what it used
to be like. Wiesel states that the man told him that there was no way to keep warm, hardly had
any food or water, had to sleep naked, and several hundred bodies were found dead each day
(Wiesel 66-67). Wiesel had grown so weary and exhausted. The snow was covering the ground.
Many men would collapse and freeze to death. Wiesel states that as they were walking, men
would be lying on the ground, being trampled to death; no one worried about them (84). As they
waited for yet another transfer, the prisoners were not allowed to move. They were given some
bread with no water. The men came up with an idea to quench their thirst. They were not
permitted to lean over so they took their spoons and ate some of the snow that had fallen on the
person beside them (Wiesel 92). Wiesel said that the guards laughed and made fun of the
prisoners because of how they were forced to eat and drink (92). When the train arrived, the
guards shoved them in carriages by the hundreds (Wiesel 92).
Lowe 10
Night shows the struggles of the survivors. The horrific things that they saw and faced
caused a sense of hopelessness. Before Wiesel was captured, he saw the dramatic effects it had
taken on the ones who had returned from captivity. He remembers his friend and mentor as being
a happy man but when he returned, Wiesel states that he could not see any more joy in the eyes
of his friend nor did the man sing any more. He could only speak of his experience there (4).
Wiesel remembers the long miserable train rides that would take him to the next work camp. He
remembers riding on the train, feeling that at any moment they would reach their death (Wiesel
22-23). He recalls a woman who had gone crazy on the train with them. She would often have
outburst of screaming that would terrify anyone who heard her. Wiesel says that even the
horrible conditions such as the heat and lack of water could not compare with sounds of her
screaming (24). Even through all of the torture, the prisoners would still try to control themselves
and keep from going insane (Wiesel 23). As Wiesel reflects back on his first night in captivity,
he wanted to die. He says that the silence took away any part of him that wanted to live (Wiesel
32). He witnessed so much that he was devastated. He felt his faith slipping away. Wiesel says
that everything he had been through made his relationship with God disappear (32). Their daily
routine was to be stripped, beaten, and forced to run in the icy wind. He felt that they were no
longer men (Wiesel 34). He recalled seeing many hangings where the victims had no tears.
Wiesel says that the people had basically forgotten what it was like to cry (60). They were forced
to walk for long periods of time, and if someone slowed down, they were shot. Wiesel says that
the soldiers were ordered to kill anyone that fell behind (81). They were exhausted but had to
keep moving. He recalls men falling dead next to him in the snow (Wiesel 81). Wiesel says that
he was basically dragging his body and it felt so heavy (81).They walked forty-two miles. Wiesel
states that their legs were moving without them having to think about it (83).
Lowe 11
At one point in time, Wiesel remembered being forced to walk over dead bodies and was
pushed down. Other men began to fall on top of him and he knew he would suffocate. He says
that he had to tear the flesh of the dead bodies just to be able to breathe (Wiesel 89). He finally
dug a hole and was able to get out. The prisoners would go for weeks without any food. They
survived by eating the snow. Wiesel says that he would dream of having just a little bit of soup
(107). They finally were told the camp had to be evacuated. After a short battle, the German
soldiers ran away, and the Americans came to help (Wiesel 109). After three days of freedom, he
got food poisoning and nearly died (Wiesel 109). While he was recovering, he got a chance to
see himself in a mirror, and all he saw was a corpse looking back at him (Wiesel 109). “The look
in his eyes, as they stared into mine, has never left me” (Wiesel 109). Elie Wiesel’s story of
being a Holocaust survivor has spread throughout the world. “As his international fame grew,
Wiesel spoke out on behalf of the victims of genocide and oppression all over the world, from
Bosnia to Darfur” (“Elie Wiesel” 4).
We have a better understanding of the Holocaust because of the many literary sources
that are based on that time period. The Diary of Anne Frank tells about the Frank family’s
struggle for survival as they were in hiding from German soldiers. Anne’s family lived in fear of
being captured and faced many dangers during their hiding time. Sadly, the majority of her
family did not survive the Holocaust. The Hiding Place tells of a Jew’s survival during this
horrible time. In the book, Corrie ten Boom tells of her experiences in the camps. She tells of her
family’s persecutions that they endured to protect so many Jews. Her belief in God and knowing
that He had a greater plan helped strengthen her. Another true story of a Jew’s survival is
graphically described in the book, Night. Night is a memoir of Elie Wiesel’s experiences. Wiesel
tells of the inhumane things that he and many others endured. He also talks about how he and the
Lowe 12
other prisoners did not feel as though they were human beings due to the severe abuse. An event
such as the Holocaust will never be forgotten.
Lowe 13
Works Cited
Biography.com Editors. “Anne Frank.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 29 Aug.
2019, www.biography.com/activist/anne-frank.
Biography.com Editors. “Corrie Ten Boom.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 17
Apr. 2019, www.biography.com/activist/corrie-ten-boom.
Boom, Corrie Ten, et al. The Hiding Place. Chosen Books, 2008.
“Elie Wiesel.” Academy of Achievement, 15 May 2019, www.achievement.org/achiever/eliewiesel/.
Frank, Anne, et al. Diary of a Young Girl:the Defenitive Edition. Doubleday, 1991.
History.com Editors. “The Holocaust.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 14 Oct. 2009,
www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust.
“Why Did Hitler Hate the Jews?” Anne Frank Website, 23 Sept. 2019,
www.annefrank.org/en/anne-frank/go-in-depth/why-did-hitler-hate-jews/.
Wiesel, Elie. Night. Bantam Books, 1982.