Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, there has been a big increase in the reading of books. One UK study showed that 41% of people were reading more books and most had almost doubled the time they spent reading books.

In New Zealand, bookshops reported that, post-lockdown, they too had experienced an “extraordinary” boom. Now the cold, rainy weather and early, dark nights of winter mean it is, again, a great time to hit the books.

To help you out with some interesting reads, the One Community Chronicle is bringing you a selection of new books likely to be of interest to the Jewish community.

The boy who drew Auschwitz (by Thomas Geve)

Thomas Geve was just 13-years-old when he entered Auschwitz and began making sketches of what he witnessed. Eventually liberated from Buchenwald in 1945, he felt compelled to capture daily life in the death camps in more than 80 profoundly moving drawings.

This book presents a rare living testimony through the eyes of a child who had the unique ability to observe and remember every details around him and chose to document it all. It is an inspiring true story on one boy’s quest for hope, survival and change.

The boy who drew Auschwitz was published by Harper Collins earlier this year. Read more about it, or order it, here.

The Just: How six unlikely heroes saved thousands of Jewish from the Holocaust (by Jan Brokken)

The story of how the Dutch consul to Lithuania, Jan Zwartendijk, and his allies, including the consul for Japan Chiune Sugihara, helped save up to 10,000 Jews from the Holocaust in one of the greatest rescue operations of the twentieth century. Zwartendijk and Sugihara were true heroes, and yet both were shunned by their own countries after the war and their courageous actions have remained relatively unknown.

“He [Zwartendijk] filled desperate lives with hope during a period of great darkness, and his actions will remain a beacon of decency and righteousness for generations to come.” – Bill Clinton

The Just was published by Scribe Publications in March. Read more about, or order it, here.

The walls came tumbling down (by Henriette Roosenburg)

In this memoir, Henriette Roosenbury, a young Dutch resistance fighter in World War II, recounts being captured and condemned to death by the Nazis, freed by invading forces, and then attempting to return home. Originally published in 1957, it is a tale of bravery, heroism, and humanity. It has just been republished by Scribe Publications.

“Gripping and beautiful, Roosenburg’s memoir is a tale of bravery that will make you care deeply about its protagonists, even make you weep at their ordeal and homecoming. It is one of the unjustly neglected gems of Second World War literature.” – James Mustich, author of 1000 books to read before you die.

Read more about The walls came tumbling down, or order it, here.