We just finished reading The Happiest Man on Earth- The Beautiful Life of an Auschwitz Survivor by Eddie Jaku. Wow, what a gem of a book! When your thirteen year old tells you it’s one of his favorite books we’ve read, you know it’s good!

Our family has read many books on the holocaust over the years but this one was quite different than others we have read. For example, every chapter begins with a beautiful nugget of wisdom. Some of my favorites are, “There are many things more precious than money”, “You can find kindness everywhere, even from strangers”, “Hug your mother”, and my favorite, “If you lose your morals, you lose yourself”. Eddie Jaku does a wonderful job of weaving hope and wisdom throughout sharing his incredibly tragic experiences in Nazi Germany. In the very opening of his book he says, “Through all of my years I have learned this: life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful.”

I chose this book to read with my children because of the overall message that we are as happy as we choose to be. I’ve taught them from a young age that “happiness is a moral obligation” and “happy people make the world a better place”.

I enjoyed many deep conversations with my kids while reading this book. The most impactful discussion we had was when Eddie was describing the fateful night of Kristallnacht. He says, “If enough people had stood up then, and said, ‘Enough!’ then the course of history would have been different. My son Noah was surprised by what he said and asked me if I believed it to be true. I explained to him that history would absolutely be different had more people fought against Hitler and the Nazis. It opened up a great opportunity to discuss standing up for people and doing what’s right. To be fighters for justice rather than to live a passive life.

I highly recommend this book for all ages especially young children. It is filled with insights on friendship, family, ethics, love, and hatred.

Disclaimer: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. That means, I get a small commission if you purchase through this link. I  will only ever share tools and resources I truly love and use. Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.