The Holocaust
The Holocaust"If we were not an eternal people before, we are an eternal
people after the Holocaust, in both its very positive and very
negative sense. We have not only survived, we have revived
ourselves. In a very real way, we have won. We were
victorious. But in a very real way, we have lost. We'll never
recover what was lost. We can't assess what was lost. Who
knows what beauty and grandeur six million could have
contributed to the world? Who can measure it up? What
standard do you use? How do you count it? How do you
estimate it...? We lost. The world lost, whether they know it or
admit it. It doesn't make any difference. And yet we won,
we're going on." This quote is from the testimony of Fania
Fenelon. The signs and symptoms that are among the Jews
because of the Holocaust definitely characterize abnormality.
These abnormalities include the physical effects, the spiritual
effects, and the second generation.
The physical effects were enormous among the Jews. The
conditions of the camps defy description. The nutrition was
worse than inadequate and the results being the well-known
"musselmen": skeletons covered by skin. After the Jews in
prison camps were freed, their diseases were treated as well as
could be treated. Premature aging was one of the most
prominent disabling effects of survivors. Digestive tract
diseases were also very common because of the emotional
disturbances and inadequate diet during their incarceration. The
experience also placed them at risk of coronary diseases,
cerebrovascular diseases, and arteriosclerosis. All of this was
consistent with the premature aging and the atrophy of the heart
muscle due to the extreme undernourishment during captivity.
Spiritual concerns also followed the survivors of the
Holocaust. The Jews had to face up to one of the most painful
realities of all...What it means to be a Jew. They had to decide
whether or not to remain a Jew. The Holocaust had threatened
the Jewish people near extinction. A anger directed towards the
Non-Jewish world was intense because they had been persecuted
by Gentiles. The Holocaust had caused...
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