This book explores contemporary debates surrounding Poland’s 'war children', that is the young victims, participants and survivors of the Second World War. It focuses on the period after 2001, which saw the emergence of the two main political parties that were to dictate the tone of the politics of memory for more than a decade. The book shows that 2001 marked a caesura in Poland’s post-Communist history, as this was when the past took center stage in Polish political life. It argues that during this period a distinct culture of commemoration emerged in Poland – one that was not only governed by what the electorate wanted to hear and see, but also fueled by emotions.

Between 1933 and 1945, more than three million children between the ages of seven and sixteen were taken from their homes and sent to Hitler Youth paramilitary camps to be toughened up and taught how to be obedient Germans. Separated from their families, these children often endured abuse by the adults in charge. This mass phenomenon that affected a whole generation of Germans remains almost undocumented. In this memoir, Jost Hermand, a German cultural critic and historian who spent much of his youth in five different camps, writes about his experiences during this period. Hermand also gives background into the camp's creation and development.

Tells story of Irena Sendler who organized the rescue of 2,500 Jewish children during World War II, and the teenagers who started the investigation into Irena's heroism.

World War II tore apart an unprecedented number of families. This is the heartbreaking story of the humanitarian organizations, governments, and refugees that tried to rehabilitate Europe’s lost children from the trauma of war, and in the process shaped Cold War ideology, ideals of democracy and human rights, and modern visions of the family.

German troops invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, triggering World War II. The book deals with the Polish nuns who tried or actually did save Jewish children from the Holocaust during World War II. There is no partisanship or propaganda in it. Furthermore, the book will help the reader to understand the nature and uniqueness of the Holocaust. Destruction of the Jews was a unique phenomenon of World War II. As Elie Wiesel said: "while not all victims were Jews, all Jews were victims." The Jews were totally helpless. They had no country of their own, no government, no representation or the Inter-Allied war councils. They were abandoned by governments, by church hierarchies, by social structures. They were not abandoned by all humanity, though. Thousands upon thousands of individuals in Poland, Greece, Holland, Belgium, France, and Denmark, guided by our Lord's Commandment "love thy neighbor", tried to help although it was always difficult and dangerous. In Nazi dominated Poland any attempt to help a Jew was punishable by death.