The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (et al.)

 The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (et al.)-341 pages

I read the Definitive Edition of Anne Frank's Diary. Her diary begins with her (and anyone) attending school. She is accepted early on to the Jewish Lyceum school and soon after Jews are ordered to attend only Jewish schools and only patronize other Jewish establishments. Jews aren't permitted to associate with anyone else. Soon after that, Jews are forced to wear the yellow Star of David and are given a curfew, among other awful things. Anne calls her diary Kitty and nearly always begins her letters "Dear" or "Dearest Kitty" or simply "Kitty." Not long after she begins her diary Anne and her family must go into hiding in the Secret Annex hidden behind a bookcase in a family friend's house. The conditions are not good, but are better than those who are hauled off to extermination/concentration/labor camps. Anne details daily life in the Secret Annex and her relationships with her family and the other inhabitants of the Annex. She is critical of her mother and Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan and Albert Dussel. She gets along well with her father, Otto Frank. She discusses puberty and sexuality, among other topics one might expect a young teenager to discuss. Some of the passages are heartbreaking to read, especially the ones where Anne talks about the future/after the war. She also mentions air raids and hearing gunfire in the area sometimes. It must have been intense and frightening at times to know that at any time Nazis could discover your hiding place and haul you away or kill you on the spot. She details more than one break-in and attempted break-in over the years in hiding. Frank discusses going back to school by October (1944) and being liberated soon after the Allied invasion on D-Day (June 6, 1944). It's heartbreaking that she and the others in the annex were in hiding for around 2 years before being found and she died only weeks before her concentration camp was liberated. Peter died only 3 days before his camp was liberated. Otto Frank was the only survivor among the 8 hiding in the Secret Annex. There must have been so many similar stories. However, many did survive, including Otto Frank, Anne's father. This is an essential read. 

The Battle of Arnhem by Antony Beevor

The Battle of Arnhem by Antony Beevor --459 pages

Beevor is the author of several military history books and this is likely to be one of the best books on the airborne operation in Holland in the fall of 1944. The plan was for three airborne divisions (one British, two American) to secure several bridges in Holland to give the British an opening into northern Germany. Unfortunately, it was poorly planned: Holland was the worst terrain for tanks to follow up due to the many canals and bridges, and the officers charged with carrying out the mission were not involved in the rushed planning. Also, British commander Montgomery did not anticipate the strength of the German counterattack and refused to accept responsibility for the failure. The vindictiveness of the Nazis toward the Dutch who assisted the Allies was a further tragedy in an effort that did not bring the end of the war any closer.