Many of us use a curriculum to teach history; but using
literature to teach history can be a great teaching tool. I am continuing this
history literature series with some of the best books to teach about World War
II. Using literature to teach history illuminates the time period, helps
integrate the history curriculum, and enriches social studies. With my love for
literature and history, it only makes sense to combine the two, so I have gathered
some of my favorite books that teach about World War II in high school.
Bessie’s Pillow by Linda Bress Silbert is a story of
resilience. May this pillow bring you peace. So reads the pillow entrusted to
18-year-old Boshka Markman as she prepares to board a train in Vilna,
Lithuania. One of hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants who will leave
Europe to escape persecution, she travels to America alone. This is not just a
story about a pillow. It is a masterful blending of history and life in the
early 20th century as seen through one woman’s eyes. Based on the
true story of Bessie Markman Dreizen. This story crosses genres life few
others, offering a glimpse of what it was like for the thousands who came to
America between 1880 and 1920 and a front-row view through a child’s eyes at
the persecutions endured by the Jews of the Pale of Settlement at the hands of
the Russian Czar.
Courage Through Faith by Shiloh Yazdani is a memorable,
graphic novel for young adults. In 1944, Chris Bryson was fighting a war that
had engulfed the world, but he was also fighting a war inside between what he’d
built his life on and what he discovered to be true. In fellow Airborne member,
Justin Latta, Chris saw a man whose faith guided him beyond the fear of death.
Through some of the most notable battles of World War II, Chris was influenced
by different people – some positive, other negative – but all add something to
his fight. As the war dragged on, he found two different kinds of soldiers
fighting beside him – those with courage to face bullets but not death and
those with courage, through their faith, to face both.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience,
and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand is an unforgettable testament to the
resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit. In boyhood, Louis Zamperini was
an incorrigible delinquent. As a teenager, he channeled his defiance into
running, discovering a prodigious talent that carried him to the Berlin
Olympics. Then with the start of World War II, the athlete became an airman.
When his Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean, against all
odds, Zamperini survived. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would
answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor;
brutality with rebellion. Yet Louise’s willpower faced its ultimate test upon
his heroic return home after the war when he grappled with PSTD, struggled to
come to terms with the injustices done to him, and was set on the path of
redemption by a momentous encounter with famed reverend Billy Graham.
Women Heroes of World War II: 32 Stories of Espionage,
Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue by Kathryn Atwood contains thirty-two
engaging and suspense-filled stories from across Germany, Poland, the
Netherlands, France, Belgium, Denmark, Great Britain, the United States, and
the Soviet Union, providing an inspiring reminder of women and girls’ refusal
to sit on the sidelines around the world and throughout history. Noor Inayat
was the first female radio operator sent into occupied France and transferred
crucial messages to the Resistance. Johtje Vos, a Dutch housewife, hid Jews in
her home and repeatedly outsmarted the Gestapo. Law student Hannie Schaft
became involved in the most dangerous resistance work – sabotage, weapons transference,
and assassinations. Soviet pilot Anna Yegorova flew missions against the
Germans on the Eastern Front in an all-male regiment, eventually becoming a
squadron leader. In these pages, readers will meet these and many other
similarly courageous women and girls who risked their lives to help defeat the
Nazis.
These are only a few of my favorite books that teach about
World War II, there are so many more out there! Feel free to share in the
comments what you consider the best book to teach about World War II in high
school.
Have you read Playing With The Enemy? Quite a fascinating story of a young man who is drafted into Major League Baseball just a few weeks before Pearl Harbor. A true story about how life's changes can just keep on coming and you have to adapt in one way or another.
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