Families who loved Mischling, Second Degree: My Childhood in Nazi Germany by Ilse Koehn often look for books with a similar feel. These 20 recommendations were selected for their similarity in style, theme, and reading level.
A parent might reach for this book when their teenager begins questioning how individuals can be swept up in harmful social movements or when discussing the burden of family secrets. It is a rare and vital perspective on the Holocaust, told from the viewpoint of a girl living as a loyal German citizen while her parents desperately hide her Jewish ancestry from her to ensure her survival. The memoir explores themes of identity, the pressure to conform, and the cognitive dissonance of loving a country that is systemically cruel. It is a sophisticated, realistic look at life under totalitarianism, most appropriate for readers aged 12 and up due to its historical intensity and complex moral questions.
