Through narrative nonfiction text, readers hear stories from survivors of the earthquake and tsunami that struck more than a dozen countries in the Indian Ocean in 2004. Additional features to aid comprehension include a table of contents, a fast-fact section, fact-filled captions and callouts, a timeline of the disaster, infographics, a glossary, a listing of source notes, sources for further research, and an introduction to the author.

Why do some live while so many others perish? Tiny children, old men, beautiful girls; in the gas chambers of Treblinka, all are equal. The Nazis kept the fires of Treblinka burning night and day, a central cog in the wheel of the Final Solution. There was no pretense of work here like in Auschwitz or Birkenau, only a train platform and a road covered with sand. A road that led only to death. But not for the author, a young man who survived working...

"Elizabeth thought she and Emanuel had a happy marriage. A deep love, two children, adequate income, and a caring church--life was good. Illusion. Emanuel was seeing another woman. When Elizabeth found out, she was crushed. Emanuel asked forgiveness, and Elizabeth hoped for the best. But it was only the beginning of her anguish. Their marriage was spiraling toward disaster. Heartbroken by her husband's betrayal, rejection, and desertion, Elizabeth...

This collection includes correspondence, two official government forms and a newspaper article from Anita Stempel and Dieter Michels in Germany and France ranging from 1947-1948 regarding post-World War II life and World War II service.