The Rise of the Nazis; The Holocaust

Many children now seem to know surprisingly little about World War II and the Holocaust despite the many documentaries and war films on TV (perhaps these are not shown on Sky). These two books cope splendidly with presenting their subject matter clearly and thoughtfully to their teenage audience using a good mix of narrative, contemporary photographs, maps, statistics and personal memoir. The Holocaust is particularly strong placing the obscenity of the Final Solution clearly in the context of the historical persecution of the Jews and the political circumstances in Germany in the 20s and 30s. It leads inexorably to the author's chilling conclusion that 'The utter darkness of the Holocaust' overwhelms our understanding and defies the healing power of time.