Explore diverse experiences of people during the Holocaust
Read a last letter thrown from a deportation train. Page through a handwritten diary. View photos and films of families living under Nazism. Hear the testimony of an American liberator. Discover the richness of first person accounts by:
- Learning about the Holocaust from selected primary sources with historical context;
- Uncovering surprising connections using tags like activism, propaganda, family, and health and hygiene;
- Reading diaries and documents in their original language with side-by-side translations.
Black Americans and World War II
Primary Source Collection
Many Black Americans drew links between the war in Europe and the struggle against racial segregation in the United States. In a 1942 editorial, one writer urged fellow Black Americans to win a “double victory” by defeating Nazi Germany and its allies abroad while fighting racism at home.
Read James G. Thompson's editorial, "Should I Sacrifice to Live 'Half-American'?"
Browse Collections by Theme
Jewish Perspectives on the Holocaust
View sources that highlight Jewish responses to persecution and genocide under Nazism.
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- Holocaust Diaries
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- Diary of Elisabeth Ornstein
Americans and the Holocaust
Explore sources that reveal how Americans understood and responded to Nazism, World War II, and the Holocaust.
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- Black Americans and World War II
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- Oral History with Leon Bass
Everyday Life: Roles, Motives, and Choices During the Holocaust
Find sources exploring the difficult choices and pressures that confronted people during the Holocaust.
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Belonging and Exclusion: Reshaping Society under Nazi Rule
Examine sources that show how the Nazis and their supporters transformed Germany to align with theories about race and national unity.
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- Targets of Eugenics
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- Self-Portrait by Franz Karl Bühler
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