Trauma Response In Tadeusz Borowski's This Way For The Gas

Surviving such a horrific environment requires that the narrator of This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen, rely on either the fight, flight, or freeze trauma response. He is unable to fight such a substantial threat or flee such a well-guarded camp. Therefore, freezing, or detaching from his current situation, is his only hope. Freezing is a common response, when faced with insurmountable fear or trauma, even in society today. Through his unconscious detachment, the narrator creates an emotional barricade between himself and the horrors of the camp. Tadeusz Borowski uses the narrator’s unemotional tone and descriptions to illustrate the freeze trauma response.
The withdrawn and emotionless writing style, utilized by Borowski, reflects

his sense of detachment from the horrors around him. While the narrator’s testimony is utterly disturbing, his tone comes across as though he is an outsider, far removed from the events. He speaks in the manner that a journalist, reporting on the situation would. His blunt description of the men dying in his same barracks seems cruel and callous. All around camp he is taking part in and bearing witness to horrific events, yet he seems unmoved. This apathetic behavior is a result of his detached state and his suspension within the freeze response. His brain is allowing him to escape in thought, what he cannot physically escape. His brain has allowed him to escape in thought, what he cannot physically escape. He feels as though he is outside his own body looking in on the horrific events. This feeling is similar to what many rape victims describe. Survivors often report an inability to fight back or flee a predator. Often the victim, paralyzed with fear, is unable to move. In many cases, their minds drift without their control. Some will report the event as an out of body experience. They see the attack as if it is happening to someone else and they are helpless to stop it. Others report their minds wandering to familiar and mundane situations far removed from the attack, such as completing chores or running errands. This sense of detachment protects the victim the initial pain associated with the rape.
Attempting to detach from the appalling conditions, the narrator seeks to dehumanize those around him.

Whenever placed in a morally compromising position, he detaches from the situation by viewing the victims as less than human. Forced to carry the corpses of crushed infants out of the cattle cars, he refers to the innocent victims as chickens. Referring to other dead bodies as mounds of meat, also helps him escape his current reality. By removing the human aspect, the narrator is better equipped to handle horror of his assigned task. Without this detachment, he would shut down, overcome by disgust and descend into madness. His fellow prisoners, particularly the Greeks, take on animal traits as well. He criticizes the way they scramble for food, comparing them to insects and pigs. This detachment from reality allows him to forget momentarily that the food he hoards for his own survival could keep others alive as well. Many Americans practice a similar form of detachment in their avoidance of refugees. Afraid that they or their loved ones could be in danger if refugees are allowed to stay in the United States, they do what they feel is necessary to survive. In an attempt to overcome the perceived threat, they detach themselves. The need to survive takes overtakes their brains and citizens turn a blind eye to the suffering of others. Frightened, they perpetuate the idea that American lives are worth more than those overseas. Rather than seeing everyone as part of the human race, they see people either American or not. They view refugees as beneath them and concern themselves only with the needs of their

nation.
In an attempt to escape his own immoral actions, the narrator escapes into a detached world of fantasy. Part of freezing is accepting that one cannot fight or flee and the narrator does this. However, he continues to detach from his surroundings by falling into fantasy. He allows his mind to escape, while his body performs the tasks necessary for his survival. The narrator’s mind tries to perceive the job of cleaning out the cattle cars like any other job. Comparing the systematic slaughter of thousands to a well-run business allows him an escape from reality. The S.S. soldiers represent the typical boss figures. The well-dressed men are precise, composed, and authoritative. Through this fantasy, he sees his role as essential and therefore, less monstrous. This escape into fantasy is common for victims of trauma caught within the freeze response. Most children will develop an imaginary friend at some point. However, victims of childhood abuse often find themselves spending copious amounts of time in their own fantasy world. Children in abusive homes do not typically have the options to act on the fight or flight trauma responses. Therefore, they utilize the freeze response, and their brains enter a fantasy world as a way of detaching. It can be difficult for children to let go of these fantasies and recognize the difference between fantasy and reality. Some victims remain plagued by this issue long after the initial physical or emotional abuse occurs.
Borowski’s brutal testimony perfectly illustrates the natural human response to freeze and detach from one’s surroundings when faced with extreme fear or trauma. The narrator spends much of his time at camp, detaching, either through dehumanizing the prisoners or escaping into fantasies. Freezing offers him the ability to detach from his surroundings and protect his sanity.