Demoralization and social supports among Holocaust survivors

Article Abstract:

Although numerous studies have shown that many Holocaust survivors bear scars from their experience several decades later, less attention has been paid to those survivors who did not develop severe psychological symptoms. More specifically, the most common finding among survivors is demoralization, which can be measured in many ways. The current study used an evaluation scale (the Demoralization Scale of the Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Interview, PERI), whose validity and reliability have been tested extensively, to test two groups of women living in Israel. The groups consisted of 76 Holocaust survivors born in Poland between 1919 and 1924 (index group), and 69 women with similar sociodemographic characteristics to those in the index group but who lived in Palestine during World War II (comparison group). Forty-six percent of the index cases had been in extermination camps, and 29 percent had survived in ghettos, in hiding, or in disguise. Respondents were interviewed by telephone and face-to-face to assess their demoralization (a state in which the victim sees no outlet), social supports (measured by a standard test), and degree of victimization. Demographic and religious information was also elicited. Results showed that the rates of demoralization among all subjects were 40 percent in the telephone survey and 30.2 percent in the face-to-face interviews. More educated subjects reported less demoralization. Demoralization was highest among those who had been in extermination camps, next highest among those displaced or in camps in the Soviet Union, and next highest among those in ghettos, in hiding, or in disguise. It was lowest among those who were in Palestine during the war. Survivors with greater contemporary social support had lower demoralization scores. A brief review of the literature concerning asymptomatic Holocaust survivors is presented. The findings show the relationship between demoralization and the brutality of the wartime experiences, as well as the benefits of a social support system. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

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How did they survive? Mechanisms of defense in Nazi concentration camps

Article Abstract:

A study was conducted on the mental mechanisms of survival in Nazi concentration camps. In line with this, twelve autobiographical accounts written by authors from different backgrounds were examined. Some of the factors that dictated a prisoner's condition in the camps were racial and national classification and social position. Results indicated that reversion of the feelings of estrangement, opposing instincts and moral strength were some of the mechanisms that helped prisoners survive in Nazi camps.

Concentration camps

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