Holocaust Memorial Day – Sunday 27th January 2019

It is seventy-four years since the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops on January 27th 1945. Every year since writing Touching the Wire, I have donated January’s royalties for sales and page reads of the novel to the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Why? When I first had the inspiration to write about the Holocaust, I found much of my research material on the museum’s website. Hundreds of documents have been translated and digitally recorded so that you and I can have access to them, so we can learn about the horrors of the Nazi death camps. This research was backed up by first-hand accounts and other excellent sources, but for confirmation of facts, and in depth detail, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum was my go-to resource.

It amazes me that with all the evidence available, written, spoken, and photographic, there are still those who are convinced the Holocaust didn’t happen. Certainly, when you read the facts, it seems incomprehensible that it could have happened – how could a man treat another man, woman, or child this way? How is it possible that a culture of horrific inhumane carnage came into being, apparently unchallenged, and thrived? What was the insidious power Hitler wielded?

I strove to understand it but failed – a nation’s unease exploited by a madman with an insane agendum? I attempted to envisage a scenario where it could happen – what possible circumstances could come together to allow anyone to ‘condone’ it, to consent by keeping silent, and that is the thought I based my novel upon. The question my novel asks, and one I’m still trying to answer, is ‘Can you forgive?’ It was the horror I uncovered during my research that drove me to write my characters’ story down and publish it. People should know what happened to the millions whose voices were silenced. People should understand the fear, weakness, and cowardice that allows genocide. We should all be aware how easily this could happen again – and I fear it might.

I hope my book honours the memories of those who died and those who survived to tell the tale only to be disbelieved because the truth was too horrific to contemplate – and it became clear during my research that it was very important to them that they were believed. I have spared no horror, no emotional pain, and no tears. It’s a harrowing tale for which I do not apologise. I only hope I have, in my own small way, done their tragic lives justice and given them a voice from the graves they never had.

My donation this year, with your help, will get more documents transcribed and will continue to support Holocaust education. Such an atrocity as was committed by Hitler and his minions must never happen again.

Please buy a copy or read free on Kindle Unlimited HERE and share this post to anyone who might be interested. The men, women, and children of the Holocaust thank you for gifting them a voice.

‘Outstanding storytelling.’

 

‘My favourite author of historical fiction.’

 

‘One of the most deeply affecting books you’ll read.’

 

‘Compelling and mercilessly engaging.’

 

‘Kept me up reading all night.’

 

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