A
Anielewicz, Mordecai (1919-1943) was a Jewish resistance leader who became a symbol of courage for his role in leading the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising against the Nazis in May 1943. Born near Warsaw, Anielewicz was involved with Jewish youth movements and became a member of the Zionist-socialist group Hashomer Hatzair. When Nazi forces began the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Treblinka death camp, Anielewicz organized and led the Jewish Fighting Organization (ŻOB) to resist. As the Nazis prepared to liquidate the ghetto, Anielewicz led a group of poorly armed Jewish fighters in a courageous stand against the vastly superior German forces. For nearly a month, the Jewish fighters resisted, symbolizing strength and resilience in the face of certain death. Anielewicz perished in the uprising’s final days, but his legacy lives on as a symbol of courage and resistance during the Holocaust, inspiring generations to remember the importance of fighting against injustice.
C
Chamberlain, Neville (1869-1940) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1937 to 1940 and is best known for his policy of appeasement toward Nazi Germany in the lead-up to World War II. Chamberlain’s most famous action was his negotiation with Adolf Hitler, resulting in the Munich Agreement of 1938, in which Britain, France, Italy, and Germany agreed to allow Hitler to annex Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland in exchange for a promise of no further territorial expansion. Chamberlain mistakenly believed that this would secure "peace for our time," but the policy ultimately failed as Hitler continued his aggressive expansion, leading to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. His reputation suffered as the war unfolded; he resigned as Prime Minister in 1940 and Winston Churchill replaced him.
Churchill, Winston (1875-1965) was the British Prime Minister during much of World War II and is widely regarded as one of the key figures in leading the Allies to victory. Taking office in 1940 after Neville Chamberlain's resignation, Churchill rallied the British people with his unyielding resolve and powerful oratory, particularly during the dark days of the Battle of Britain, when Nazi Germany launched a relentless bombing campaign against the UK. His famous speeches, including "We shall fight on the beaches" and "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few," became symbols of British determination. Churchill forged critical alliances with the United States and the Soviet Union, helping to coordinate military strategy and efforts on multiple fronts, including the D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944. His leadership was instrumental in maintaining Allied unity and morale throughout the war, and he became a symbol of defiance against tyranny. Churchill’s legacy as a wartime leader endures as a testament to courage, resilience, and the defense of democracy.
D
Delbo, Charlotte (1913-1985) was a member of the French Resistance during World War II. She was arrested by the Gestapo in 1942 for her involvement in underground activities, deported to Auschwitz and later to Ravensbrück, a concentration camp for women in Germany. There she endured forced labor and brutal conditions. Delbo survived the horrors of the camps, and after the war, she became a writer, focusing on the trauma of the Holocaust and the resilience of those who lived through it. Her most famous work, Auschwitz and After, is a poignant and haunting series of poems and prose reflecting on her experiences and the psychological scars left by the camps. Delbo’s writing is notable for its deep exploration of memory, loss, and the human capacity for survival. Through her literary work, she ensured that the voices of those who perished in the Holocaust would be heard, and her legacy continues to be an important contribution to Holocaust literature.
E
Eichmann, Adolf (1906–1962) was a high-ranking Nazi official who played a central role in orchestrating the logistics of the Holocaust. Eichmann participated in the Wannsee Conference (January 20, 1942), and as head of the Gestapo's Jewish Affairs office, Eichmann implemented the Final Solution, overseeing the transportation of millions to concentration and death camps, including Auschwitz. He was arrested at the end of World War II in the American zone, but escaped, went underground, and disappeared. On May 11, 1960, members of the Mossad (Israeli Secret Service) uncovered his whereabouts and smuggled him from Argentina to Israel. Eichmann was tried in Jerusalem (April-December 1961) for crimes against humanity, convicted, and sentenced to death. He was executed on May 31, 1962. Eichmann’s trial, which exposed his bureaucratic and detached role in the mass murder, sparked debates about personal responsibility and the nature of evil, with his defense of merely following orders becoming a central element of his controversial legacy.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1890-1969) was a prominent American military leader and the 34th President of the United States. During World War II, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe, where he was responsible for planning and executing key military campaigns, most notably the D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944. Eisenhower's strategic leadership and ability to coordinate the diverse Allied forces were crucial to the defeat of Nazi Germany. After the war, he became a national hero and was elected president in 1952, serving two terms.
F
Frank, Anne (1929-1945) became one of the most well-known victims of the Holocaust due to her poignant and insightful diary, which she wrote while hiding from the Nazis during World War II. Born Annelies Marie Frank in Frankfurt, Germany, Anne and her family moved to Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1934 to escape the growing antisemitism in Nazi Germany. The Nazis defeated the Netherlands in May 1940 and intensified their persecution of Jews. In July 1942, the Frank family went into hiding in a secret annex behind Otto Frank's business premises. Along with the Frank family—Otto, Edith, Anne, and her older sister Margot—four other people joined them in hiding: Hermann and Auguste van Pels, their son Peter, and Fritz Pfeffer. During the two years they spent in hiding, Anne kept a diary in which she detailed her thoughts, experiences, and observations about life in the annex, the people with whom she was hiding, and her hopes for the future. Her diary entries reveal a young girl with deep insight, wit, and an enduring hope despite the dire circumstances. On August 4, 1944, the secret annex was betrayed, and its occupants were arrested by the Gestapo. The Frank family was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration/ extermination camp in Poland. In late October or early November 1944, Anne and Margot were transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Both sisters contracted typhus and died in March 1945, just weeks before the camp was liberated by British forces. Otto Frank, the only surviving member of the Frank family, returned to Amsterdam after the war and discovered Anne's diary, which had been preserved by Miep Gies, one of the people who had assisted the family in hiding. Deeply moved by his daughter's writings, Otto arranged for the diary to be published. Anne's diary, titled The Diary of a Young Girl or The Diary of Anne Frank, was first published in 1947. It has since been translated into numerous languages and has become one of the most widely read and influential books in the world. The diary provides a powerful and personal account of the horrors of the Holocaust and continues to educate and inspire people about the importance of tolerance, human rights, and the impact of war on individuals. Anne Frank's legacy lives on through her writing, which remains a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring importance of bearing witness to history.
Frank, Hans (1900–1946) was a German lawyer and high-ranking Nazi official who served as the Governor-General of the General Government, the region of Poland not directly annexed into the Third Reich. Under his rule from 1939 to 1945, the area saw brutal repression, forced labor, mass executions, and the establishment of ghettos, including the infamous Warsaw Ghetto. Frank was directly responsible for the implementation of Nazi policies which led to the systematic extermination of Jews and the suppression of the Polish population. He announced, “Poland will be treated like a colony; the Poles will become slaves of the Greater German Reich.” By 1942, more than 85% of the Jews in Poland had been transported to extermination camps. After the war, Allied forces captured and tried Frank for war crimes and crimes against humanity at the Nuremberg Trials. Frank was convicted, sentenced to death, and executed in 1946.
G
Goebbels, Joseph (1897–1945) served as the Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 1945. Known for his mastery of mass communication, Goebbels played a pivotal role in spreading Nazi ideology through film, radio, print media, and rallies, shaping public opinion to support Hitler and the regime’s policies. His propaganda campaigns fueled antisemitism, glorified the Nazi state, and justified the war and atrocities committed by the Nazis. He saw the Jews as the enemy of the people, and instigated the Kristallnacht pogrom in November 1938. Goebbels was fiercely loyal to Adolf Hitler and became one of his closest allies. As the war turned against Germany, Goebbels continued to promote the regime’s cause, even as the Allies closed in on Berlin. In May 1945, as Soviet forces approached, Goebbels and his wife, Magda, killed their six children before committing suicide.
Göring, Hermann (1893–1946) was a prominent German Nazi leader, military commander, and one of Adolf Hitler’s closest allies. He served as a fighter pilot during World War I before he joined the Nazi Party and participated in the unsuccessful “Beer Hall Putsch” in Munich in 1923. In 1928, he was elected to the Reichstag and became its president in 1932. When Hitler came into power in 1933, he made Göring Air Minister of Germany and Prime Minister of Prussia. He was responsible for the rearmament program and especially for the creation of the German Air Force. In 1939, Hitler designated Göring as his successor. Göring became a key figure in the Nazi regime, holding several significant positions, including head of the Luftwaffe (German air force), founder of the Gestapo (secret police), and the second-highest-ranking Nazi official after Hitler. Göring played a crucial role in the militarization of Germany, the expansion of Nazi-controlled territories, and the plundering of occupied countries during World War II. He was also involved in the early stages of the Holocaust, overseeing the economic exploitation of Jews and other marginalized groups. During World War II, he was a virtual dictator of the German economy and responsible for Germany’s total air war. Convicted at Nuremberg Trials in 1946 for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other offenses, Göring committed suicide by taking poison just two hours before his scheduled execution.
Grynszpan, Herschel (1921–1943?) was a Jewish youth who had emigrated to Paris. He agonized over the fate of his parents who were part of the Polenaktion ("Polish Action) roundup of Polish Jews living in Germany in October 1938. The deported Jews were initially rejected by Poland and therefore had to live in makeshift encampments along the Germany–Poland border. On November 7, 1938, angered and distraught, he went to the German Embassy in Paris where he shot and killed Third Secretary Ernst vom Rath. The assassination was used by Nazi propagandists as a pretext to launch the Kristallnacht pogrom. Although Grynszpan’s act was a moment of personal desperation, the Nazi regime exploited it to escalate their violent antisemitic agenda. The Gestapo arrested Grynszpan after the Fall of France in 1940; his fate after being transferred to Germany remains uncertain, with some believing he was likely killed at Sachsenhausen concentration camp.
