Knight in Paper Armor by Nicholas Conley

The few survivors are getting older and older, and with the proliferation of conspiracy theories these days, it’s so necessary to make sure younger generations hear the facts, not only out of respect to those who suffered and died, but also because such atrocities can very easily happen again, in many forms, wherein a persecuted minority group faces attempted genocide. Holocaust awareness is such an important thing.

It’s one thing to draw comparisons, as a younger person, but when someone who actually survived this historical atrocity draws these same comparisons … you know? Talking to her, after that, was something that really spurred me to write this book. She described it vividly-the hatred, the look in these men’s eyes, the fact that America’s own leader would not denounce white supremacy after that, and so on. In 2018, the year following the “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally– wherein people with torches repeatedly shouted “Jews will not replace us,” amid other ethnic slurs towards Black people, Latinos, and so on – the woman who spoke at our synagogue for Yom HaShoah, a Holocaust survivor born in Hungary, made a point of directly calling out how much these recent events echoed what had happened in her own childhood. And on this day, many synagogues will invite a local Holocaust survivor to tell their firsthand story of what they went through, what it felt like, and so on. While many people can trace direct relatives, pretty much any Jewish person of Ashkenazi heritage lost family members to this event, whether they’re aware of the names or not. You spoke with a holocaust survivor, can you give us an insight into what that was like and how that affected you and the subsequent drafts of the book.ĭuring the Jewish holiday of Yom HaShoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jewish people around the world will take the day to remember the six million Jews who were killed in the Holocaust.

A huge thanks to Nick who took time out of his busy schedule to share the background to his latest novel, Knight in Paper Armor: Part one is posted back here (however many days ago, now).

Knight in Paper Armor by Nicholas Conley