'Graphic Novel' on the Holocaust - the official Anne Frank House website

Graphic novel on the Holocaust

The Search

In the graphic novel The Search the main facts about the Holocaust are told through the experiences of the fictional Jewish families Hecht and Canter. The events take place in the Netherlands, Germany and Poland. The book is accompanied by teaching materials, intended for secondary school pupils from 13 to 16 years old. The Anne Frank House published the book in the Netherlands in 2007. Now there are also versions available in English, German, Polish and Hungarian.

The ‘graphic novel’ format offers young people the opportunity to learn the most important facts about the Holocaust in an accessible way. In addition, the book shows what the Holocaust meant for people in various roles and positions (victims, perpetrators, helpers and bystanders), and the dilemmas and choices with which they were confronted.

The script was written by Ruud van der Rol and Lies Schippers of the Anne Frank House, together with comic writer Eric Heuvel. Historians from the Netherlands and abroad evaluated and advised on the project at all phases of its development, and many teachers and pupils also collaborated in the production of the book. Drawn by Eric Heuvel, The Search was published with the help of a grant from the Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport.

Outside the Netherlands

The Search can be used for Holocaust education in a number of different countries. It was one of the most important aims of the project to write and illustrate the story in such a way that teachers and pupils outside the Netherlands would also be able to use it. For this purpose, identifying with the story and the pupil’s awareness that The Search is also about the history of his or her own country is very important. Therefore there are a number of illustrations in The Search about characteristic aspects of the persecution of the Jews, for example, in Germany, Poland or Hungary. These illustrations are based on historical photographs which pupils recognize, amongst other things, from their own history books. The illustrations serve as stepping stones and can give rise to talking about a particular subject in the history of the country concerned, even though it is not dealt with in detail in the graphic novel. The graphical novel was tested in Germany, Poland and Hungary. Over 3000 students read the graphical novel and worked with the teaching materials. The pilot schemes were successful.

Sequel to graphic novel ‘A Family Secret’

The Search is a sequel to the graphic novel A Family Secret, which was published in 2003. A Family Secret tells about the Netherlands during the Second World War, and has been extremely well received by both teachers and pupils. Since then, demand has grown for a book that deals with such a complex theme as the Holocaust in the same accessible way. A Family Secret has been published in Dutch, English and German.