Extensive studies have been conducted by scholars and psychologists and personal interviews have been conducted to better understand the trauma of survivors after a genocide. The research below consists of information from the existing state of literature from scholars and psychologists through academic books, recorded testimonies, and scholarly journals. Throughout the paper, first-hand accounts of survivors experiencing trauma will be referenced and analyzed in an attempt to learn more about the aftermath of the Holocaust and one of the many struggles survivors continue to experience. This research paper attempts to better understand the trauma of survivors that carried on after the Holocaust and how this trauma is passed from one generation …show more content…
Does trauma from Holocaust survivors get passed down from one generation to another? If so, what has been passed down through this transmission and how does it occur? Research shows that countless survivors from the Holocaust have had struggles with overcoming their past. PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder has been a disorder used to characterize Holocaust survivors experiencing trauma. Research proves that this trauma is passed down from one generation to the next, affecting individuals such as children and family members. The goal of this study is to reveal the impact of the Holocaust on survivors and how that effects people’s emotional, spiritual, and physical state and how this unresolved trauma effects proceeding generations. Finally, the study will suggest effective coping mechanisms that have been proposed by survivors such as, Francoise Muteteli, from the Rwandan Genocide in order to overcome their current trauma and put an end to the trauma that is passed down from one generation to the …show more content…
While Jews were subject to extensive physical harm and mistreatment, many anti-Jewish measures were also taken by the Nazi Party. Jews lost their jobs, businesses were required to close, and Jewish property was taken away. Jews were also prohibited from going to public places such as libraries and pools. As the Nazi Party took over the Third Reich, Jews were forced out of their homes and had to live in ghetto and rural areas and some were forced to flee the country. The difficulties that Jews and other victims of the Holocaust had to experience resulted in trauma that still continues to persist. While many individuals struggle to let go of their past experiences, many are still troubled and continue to strive to overcome their fear and
Nazis treated the Jews inhumanely. The side locks, that some religious men were wearing, were cut off, and sometimes, even pulled, along with the skin. At first, their houses and businesses were taken away and everyone was moved into the ghettos. However, this was not enough for the Germans; their true goals of Jewish extermination led them to ghettos’ liquidations and forcing the Jews to live in concentration camps. During the transition, the Jews’ belongings were taken away. The families were separated and children were taken away from their parents. While some attempted to escape or hide, thousands were
Imagine being trapped in a ghetto, seeing communities leaving in trains, families being split up, never to see each other again.. The emotions that each and every Holocaust survivor must’ve gone through is overwhelming. Some things that are taken for granted, will never be seen again. While reading the two texts, Night by Elie Wiesel and “I Never Saw Another Butterfly” by Pavel Friedman, The two predominant emotions that prevailed most to Holocaust victims and survivors were hope and fear.
...l are unity of identity, and polarization. These themes are seen in the external conflict of the Holocaust and with the internal conflict of guilt and will to live respectively. The unity of identity stems from a common experience and social support. Both of these are steps in the recovery process, a process in which all the Holocaust victims had to go through together. Yet, those affected secondarily or afflicted internally had to suffer alone, moving to constriction, a stage in trauma in which one withdraws from themselves and others. In this novel, it illustrates the importance of recovery at both a personal and group level. This importance of recovery is not restricted to those of massive trauma, it is of importance to even those who simply suffer from guilt. One small trauma, such as a scolding by one’s father at a young age, can make a lifetime of difference.
During the war jewish families were forced to abandon their homes and all their possessions, and eventually they even lose their humanity and grips on life.
Those who survived are here to tell the tragic and devastating history of their lives. The survivors have shared brutal but yet realistic stories from each of their experiences before, during, and after the Holocaust. History shall never repeat itself in the manner of racism, murder, and fear of our leaders. The burning hope of those who were involved still generates an enormous sadness upon the many who have heard the horror of the Holocaust.
The Holocaust was a traumatic event that changed everyone that survived. The psychological effects that survivors experienced were Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (“PTSD”), shock and depression. PTSD is a type of anxiety disorder that occurs after you have been through an extreme trauma that involves a threat of injury or death. The prisoners in concentration camps were being tortured, putting them in constant danger of injury or death. People with PTSD experience symptoms such as flashbacks which cause these people to relive the trauma over and over. These people also experience nightmares which make them feel unsafe even when they sleep and physical symptoms such as their hearts racing or sweating due to instinct to fight or flight danger. PTSD may also result in avoidance symptoms such as staying away from places, events, or objects that are reminders of past traumas. The way people think about themselves as well as others around them often change because of the trauma they suffered. This interfered with their social lives as well as their relationship with themselves because they began to feel gui...
"A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust-Victims." A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust-Victims. University of South Florida. Web. 19 May 2014.
The Holocaust was a very impressionable period of time. It not only got media attention during that time, but movies, books, websites, and other forms of media still remember the Holocaust. In Richard Brietman’s article, “Lasting Effects of the Holocaust,” he reviews two books and one movie that were created to reflect the Holocaust (BREITMAN 11). He notes that the two books are very realistic and give historical facts and references to display the evils that were happening in concentration camps during the Holocaust. This shows that the atrocities that were committed during the Holocaust have not been forgotten. Through historical writings and records, the harshness and evil that created the Holocaust will live through centuries, so that it may not be repeated again (BREITMAN 14).
In the years after the Holocaust the survivors from the concentration camps tried to cope with the horrors of the camps and what they went through and their children tried to understand not only what happened to their parents. In the story of Maus, these horrors are written down by the son of a Holocaust survivor, Vladek. Maus is not only a story of the horrors of the concentration camps, but of a son, Artie, working through his issues with his father, Vladek. These issues are shown from beginning to end and in many instances show the complexity of the father-son relationship that was affected from the Holocaust. Maus not only shows these matters of contentions, but that the Holocaust survivors constantly put their children’s experiences to unreasonable standards of the parent’s Holocaust experiences.
The Holocaust is considered the largest genocide of our entire world, killing more than 600,000,000 Jewish people during the years of 1933-1945. The memories and history that have filled our lives that occurred during the Holocaust are constantly remembered around the world. Many populations today “think” that constant reminders allow for us to become informed and help diminish the hatred for other races still today. These scholars believe that by remembering the Holocaust, you are able to become knowledgeable and learn how to help prevent this from happening again. Since the Holocaust in a sense impacted the entire human race and history of the world, there are traces of the Holocaust all across our culture today. As I continue to remember the victims of this tragic time period I think of all the ways that our world remembers the Holocaust in today’s society. Through spreading the word, works of media and memorials across the world, I am continually reminded of the tragedy that occurred.
Grenville, John A.S. “Neglected Holocaust Victims: the Mischlinge, the Judischversippte, and the Gypsies.” The Holocaust and History. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Abraham J. Peck. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1998. 315-326.
"Victims." A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust. University of South Florida, 1 Jan. 1997. Web. 19 May 2014. .
During World War II, there was a Holocaust that the world will never forget. The word “Holocaust,” means the destruction or slaughter on a mass scale, especially caused by fire or nuclear war. Because of what the Germans did to discriminate the Jews, Jewish people developed trauma which impacted generations. The Germans caused to future generations of Jews, obesity, schizophrenia, certain fears, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and a handful of other things can be passed down to the children. Trauma can be passed to the next generation because it has been proved in scientific research on the Holocaust, testing on mice, and the effects of this post war DNA change today.
Who survived the holocaust? What are their lives like today? What has been the government's response towards those who survived after World War II? Have the survivors kept their faith? How has the survivors next generation been affected? The survivors of the holocaust were deeply effected by the trauma they encountered. This unforgettable experience influenced their lives, those around them, and even their descendants.
The Holocaust continues to exist as a black mark in the history of Germany; through the government supported torture and extermination of both men and women, more than 6 million lost their lives. As a consequence of the collective tragedy for both sexes, there has been much debate pertaining to the focus of gender specific suffering in Holocaust literature; for this reason, the Holocaust accounts of women writers were largely ignored prior to the 1970’s. Many historians still refute disparities existed between the male and female experience. However, it is worth noting that the social, familial, and cultural expectations of men and women, both prior to and during the war, varied greatly. Moreover, these diverging roles promoted distinctively different coping, processing, and accounting of the tragedies stemming from the Holocaust. By examining the unique experiences of women, both within and outside the concentration camps, one can logically conclude these remarkable accounts broaden the scope of Holocaust literature. Embedded gender roles helped the survival efforts of women, and these unique female perspectives are valuable in accurately portraying the Holocaust experience.