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Physically, the book is like most other White Wolf books. It has seven sections dealing with a mixture of the real and fictional worlds. Inside it, however, there is so much more. It is the chronicle of one of the darkest moments of the 20th century. I bought this book because most of my friends recommend that I read it.

Section one is the forward by Janet Berlinger. In the section, "Who Will Tell the Children," mrs. Berlinger states that the best way to relate stories is through the mediums that the public will accept them. This book for example.

Section two, "Ghost Story: The Ruskala," is from the view of one of the Holocaust wraiths looking in on mortals visiting Auschwitz. It is a short section.

Section three is the Introduction. It talks about other attempts to discussed the Holocaust, with the most notable being Schlinder's List and Art Speigel's Maus. It also has a list of books the author's used to write this one.

Chapter one, "Telling the Agonies: A Chronicle of Millions" is the historical telling of the Holocaust. In most of the main text, there is no World of Darkness information. It is filled with information anout what the Nazi's did to all peoples deemed inferior: Jews Jehovah's Witnesses, Proma, Homosexuals, elderly and otyhers. Throughout the chapter, separate from the main text, are little snippets of what happen to the various supernaturals during the Holocaust. Some things include: division in the ranks of Awakened, Nazi experiments on supernaturals, and Old World Vampires making deals with Nazi's to feed on some of the "Prisoners." The last part of the main body of Text is devoted to what the Heirarchy (Wraith's Govt.) did for the wraiths that came out of the Holocaust.

Chapter two, "An Antechamber of the Damned: the Therisienstadt Ghetto," is about the "ideal ghetto." It was a sham put on for the rest of Europe that was no better than a prison. At the end of the war, it became a waystation between the East and the Deathcamps at Auschwitz. This is also the first chapter where the real world and the World of Darkness intertwine and blur together.

Chapter three, "Behind the Wall: the Ghetto at Warszawa" is devoted to the Warsaw Ghetto. It is shown in the movie Schlinder's List. But unlike theway it was depicted in the movie, the ghetto went down fighting. It was here in 1943 where a group Jews did something the Nazi's did not expect: armed resistance. For close to one month, 600 Jews fought the Nazi's. Nazi General Jorgen Schupp systemically razed the ghetto and ensured that it was transplanted into the Shadowlands. And the Jews that fought the nazi's are still fighting them in the Shadowlands.

Chapter four, "A Struggle for the Forsaken: Babi Yar" deals with the Babi Yar massacre. Here is the first time the Nazi's massacred the Jews.

Chapter five, "Behind the Wire: Osweicim (Auschwitz and Birkenau)" is about the two death camps. In the real world, these are the camps where the Nazi's would slaughter two million people of various nationalities and religions. In the World of Darkness, it became the Kingom of Wire. This is one of the biggest independant kingdoms in Stygia. It exceeds the dimensions of the real world counterparts.

As a whole, Charnel Houses of Europe: the Shoah is informative, hard to read, and thourough. It does not villify the people any more than their historical counterparts. It is well worth the time to look for and read.

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