OVERLAPPING
TRIANGLES
RECOMMENDED TEXTS & FILMS FOR STUDENTS & EDUCATORS
FOR STUDENTS
The 19th Window is a choose-your-own-pathway mystery by Danny M. Cohen (2014). The story weaves together the Jewish and Roma narratives of Nazi persecution and genocide. Published in partnership with Unsilence Project. Republished in linear form in the journal The Holocaust in History and Memory.
Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943 is a biography of two lesbian lovers – one Jewish, one Christian – written by Erica Fischer (1995). Published by HarperCollins, NY. The non-fiction book was adapted into a feature film, directed by Max Färberböck (1999).
Briar Rose, a novel written by Jane Yolen (1992), adapts the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty to tell the story of Jewish and homosexual victims of Nazism. Published by Tom Doherty Associates, NY.
Bent is a feature film, directed by Sean Mathias (1997), that tells the fictional story of homosexuals during the Nazi era. Starring Lothaire Bluteau, Clive Owen, Mick Jagger. Great Britain/Japan. Based on the West End and Broadway play by Martin Sherman (debuted in 1979).
Helmut is a short story, written Rachel Seiffert, about a young German photographer who witnesses a roundup of Gypsy families in Berlin. The story Helmut is the first of three short stories in the novel The Dark Room, written by Rachel Seiffert (2001). Published by Vintage International, NY.
Hidden Sorrows: The Persecution of Romanian Gypsies During WWII is a documentary, directed by Michelle Kelso (2005), that features interviews with Roma survivors of the Holocaust.
A Love to Hide (Original title: Un amour á taire), a feature film directed by Christian Faure (2005), tells the fictional story of Jews and homosexuals in Nazi occupied France. Starring Jérémie Renier, Louise Monot, Bruno Todeschini. France.
The Other Victims: First-Person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis is a collection of written testimonies edited by Ina R. Friedman (1990). Published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Paragraph 175 is a documentary directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (2000) that recounts the history of the Nazis’ persecution of homosexuals. Narrated by Rupert Everett, USA.
Shared Sorrows: A Gypsy Family Remembers the Holocaust is a novel written by Toby Sonneman (2002). Published by University of Hertfordshire Press, Great Britain.
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (Original title: Sophie Scholl: Die letzten Tage), a feature film directed by Marc Rothemund (2005), tells the true story of the anti-Nazi German student group “The White Rose,” members of which were arrested, interrogated, and executed in early 1943. Germany.
Train is a novel by Danny M. Cohen (2015) that weaves together the narratives of the Jewish, Roma, disabled, homosexual, and political victims of Nazism. Published in partnership with Unsilence Project.
Tzigane (translation: Gypsy) and Farewell are short stories that include an account of Roma families at Auschwitz and conversations with a homosexual survivor of the Nazi era. These two chapters are part of the collection of autobiographical stories, poems, and drawings Soundless Roar: Stories, Poems, and Drawings, written by Ava Kadishson Schieber (2002). Published by Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL.
T4 is a novel – in poetry form – written by Ann Clare LeZotte (2008) about the Nazis’ persecution of disabled people. Houghton Mifflin Company, NY.
Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943 is a biography of two lesbian lovers – one Jewish, one Christian – written by Erica Fischer (1995). Published by HarperCollins, NY. The non-fiction book was adapted into a feature film, directed by Max Färberböck (1999).
Briar Rose, a novel written by Jane Yolen (1992), adapts the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty to tell the story of Jewish and homosexual victims of Nazism. Published by Tom Doherty Associates, NY.
Bent is a feature film, directed by Sean Mathias (1997), that tells the fictional story of homosexuals during the Nazi era. Starring Lothaire Bluteau, Clive Owen, Mick Jagger. Great Britain/Japan. Based on the West End and Broadway play by Martin Sherman (debuted in 1979).
Helmut is a short story, written Rachel Seiffert, about a young German photographer who witnesses a roundup of Gypsy families in Berlin. The story Helmut is the first of three short stories in the novel The Dark Room, written by Rachel Seiffert (2001). Published by Vintage International, NY.
Hidden Sorrows: The Persecution of Romanian Gypsies During WWII is a documentary, directed by Michelle Kelso (2005), that features interviews with Roma survivors of the Holocaust.
A Love to Hide (Original title: Un amour á taire), a feature film directed by Christian Faure (2005), tells the fictional story of Jews and homosexuals in Nazi occupied France. Starring Jérémie Renier, Louise Monot, Bruno Todeschini. France.
The Other Victims: First-Person Stories of Non-Jews Persecuted by the Nazis is a collection of written testimonies edited by Ina R. Friedman (1990). Published by Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Paragraph 175 is a documentary directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (2000) that recounts the history of the Nazis’ persecution of homosexuals. Narrated by Rupert Everett, USA.
Shared Sorrows: A Gypsy Family Remembers the Holocaust is a novel written by Toby Sonneman (2002). Published by University of Hertfordshire Press, Great Britain.
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (Original title: Sophie Scholl: Die letzten Tage), a feature film directed by Marc Rothemund (2005), tells the true story of the anti-Nazi German student group “The White Rose,” members of which were arrested, interrogated, and executed in early 1943. Germany.
Train is a novel by Danny M. Cohen (2015) that weaves together the narratives of the Jewish, Roma, disabled, homosexual, and political victims of Nazism. Published in partnership with Unsilence Project.
Tzigane (translation: Gypsy) and Farewell are short stories that include an account of Roma families at Auschwitz and conversations with a homosexual survivor of the Nazi era. These two chapters are part of the collection of autobiographical stories, poems, and drawings Soundless Roar: Stories, Poems, and Drawings, written by Ava Kadishson Schieber (2002). Published by Northwestern University Press, Evanston, IL.
T4 is a novel – in poetry form – written by Ann Clare LeZotte (2008) about the Nazis’ persecution of disabled people. Houghton Mifflin Company, NY.
FOR EDUCATORS
Highly recommended for educators are the webpages, articles, Holocaust encyclopedia, and virtual exhibitions of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The following is a list of additional recommended reading for educators. Note that, because most of these are particularly academic – and, in some cases, describe extremely violent events – these might not be suitable for classroom use.
The following is a list of additional recommended reading for educators. Note that, because most of these are particularly academic – and, in some cases, describe extremely violent events – these might not be suitable for classroom use.
Berenbaum, M. (Ed.) (2000). Mosaic of victims: Non-Jews persecuted and murdered by the Nazis. New York: New York University Press.
Bergen, D. L. (2003). War and genocide: A concise history of the Holocaust. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Cohen, D. M. (2011). Overlapping triangles: Teaching the interdependency of Holocaust victimhoods. In The Holocaust in History and Memory, 4, 41-60.
Delbo, C. (1995). Auschwitz and after. Yale University Press: New Haven and London.
Friedlander, H. (1995). The origins of Nazi genocide: From euthanasia to the Final Solution. University of California Press: Chapel Hill, NC.
Heger, H. (alias Josef Kohout) (1972). The Men with the Pink Triangle: The True, Life‐and‐Death Story of Homosexuals in the Nazi Death Camps. 2nd edition. New York: Alyson, 1994. (Original: Die Männer mit dem Rosa Winkel. Der Bericht eines Homosexuellen über seine KZ-Haft von 1939-1945. Hamburg: Merlin.)
Johnson, M. & Rittner, C. (1996). Circles of hell: Jewish and non-Jewish victims of the Nazis. In Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 548, 123-137.
Plant, R. (1986). The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (2007). Nazi ideology and the Holocaust. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. (A free PDF version of this text is available online.)
Bergen, D. L. (2003). War and genocide: A concise history of the Holocaust. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Cohen, D. M. (2011). Overlapping triangles: Teaching the interdependency of Holocaust victimhoods. In The Holocaust in History and Memory, 4, 41-60.
Delbo, C. (1995). Auschwitz and after. Yale University Press: New Haven and London.
Friedlander, H. (1995). The origins of Nazi genocide: From euthanasia to the Final Solution. University of California Press: Chapel Hill, NC.
Heger, H. (alias Josef Kohout) (1972). The Men with the Pink Triangle: The True, Life‐and‐Death Story of Homosexuals in the Nazi Death Camps. 2nd edition. New York: Alyson, 1994. (Original: Die Männer mit dem Rosa Winkel. Der Bericht eines Homosexuellen über seine KZ-Haft von 1939-1945. Hamburg: Merlin.)
Johnson, M. & Rittner, C. (1996). Circles of hell: Jewish and non-Jewish victims of the Nazis. In Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 548, 123-137.
Plant, R. (1986). The Pink Triangle: The Nazi War Against Homosexuals. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (2007). Nazi ideology and the Holocaust. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. (A free PDF version of this text is available online.)