Aeon
Jun 2, 2020 - 22 min
The heartbreaking realness of Jewish teenagers in the face of Nazis. Anne Frank's diary is a best seller that has introduced the Holocaust to younger audiences around the world. But still, it only offered a glimpse into the lives of millions of other teenagers who died at the hand of the Nazis. One history writer is on a quest to create a voice for them. Kristina Gaddy explores a collection of autobiographies written by Jewish youth in the 1930s, that celebrate the inspiring endurance of the teenage spirit — in the form of heart-bursting crushes, angsty soul-searching and secret sexcapades.