As antisemitism is on the rise, Holocaust Remembrance Day is more important than ever. According to George Santayana’s philosophy, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” During Holocaust Remembrance day, people vow to never forget. They understand that we must remember the horrifying acts of the past to ensure no such tragedy will occur again.
One way one can educate themself  about the Holocaust is by reading books. Firsthand accounts from Holocaust survivors are becoming more challenging to find as survivors grow older. Luckily, many have recorded their experiences through books. Reading these books is one way to keep their memory alive.

Here is a list of three must-read books for Holocaust Remembrance Day:

“Paper Hearts”: A Statement of Hope

“Paper Hearts” by Meg Wiviott is a true story about a simple yet courageous statement of love and hope. Zlatka,a young girl in Auschwitz in 1944, decided to make a heart-shaped birthday card for her friend Fania. This was an act of defiance, which was punishable by death. The paper heart is carried throughout the camp and even throughout the death march. The paper heart, unlike six million Jewish people, survives and is currently displayed in a Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre. The book is written in a diary-like format. It draws the reader in with simple sentences, fragmented on the page like a poem. This allows the reader to insert themselves into the story and feel the characters’ emotions.

“It shows [Zlatka’s] relationship with her friends and with her family before going to the concentration camp and after,” Han Boyd-Hiers, a Eugene resident, said. “It shows how she changes mentally and physically.”

“Night”: Concise yet Powerful

Elie Wiesel, the author of “Night”, won a Nobel Peace prize for “being a messenger of mankind.” Wiesel takes the reader through his experience in Auschwitz; from hearing his father wallow in pain as he took his last breaths, to marching in the snow as people fall to their deaths to seeing the smoke as it swirls out of the gas chambers. This concise memoir shows these horrifying events in their clear and unbelievable nature. 
“It’s more of an honest tale than what traditional American schools would give you,” Efron Chudacoff, a sophomore studying family and human services, said.

“Man’s Search for Meaning”: Finding Purpose

Viktor Frankl developed Logotherapy, a psychotherapy based on the idea that people’s greatest desire is to find meaning in their lives. Through his book, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” Frankl shares his personal experience in Nazi camps and how he has been able to find mental resilience. He attributes his optimistic attitude and ability to find purpose in the most challenging of times, to his survival. This book will make you think. It will make you think of how one can find meaning when there seems to be no meaning left, when everything is lost, everyone around you is starving and there is no sense of hope. 
“It shows that mindset is more important than any circumstance that you’re in,” Alex Malve, an innovation fellow at Oregon Hillel, said.

According to a Pew Research survey conducted in 2020, 55% of U.S. adults do not know basic facts about the Holocaust, such as how many Jewish people died. This is one example of how the memory of the Holocaust is fading from our community. Through reading books such as these we can honor those who lost their lives to the brutal acts of the Nazis and those who lived long enough to share their horrifying experiences.