Book Reviews by Eva Metzger Brown, Ph.D., ABPP
Clinical Psychologist and Child Survivor of the Holocaust
Child Holocaust Survivors: Memories and Reflections by Robert Krell
Reviewed by Eva Metzger Brown, March 6, 2008
I am delighted to review the second edition of this excellent, moving and insightful book on child survivor experience. Dr. Robert Krell, a psychiatrist and child survivor of the Holocaust from Holland, gathered these papers, mostly given at the World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust meetings (Gatherings) between 1983-2005. Chapters include the work of Dr. Sarah Moskovitz, a developmental psychologist, known by many as the "mother" of the child survivor field, Professor Elie Wiesel, a world known child survivor, author and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in l986, Dr. Haim Dasberg, psychotherapist and child survivor from Israel and Professor Martin Gilbert, a historian. Additionally, there are five new papers by Dr. Krell, added to those published previously.
Though written originally for child survivor gatherings, these first hand accounts and insights of child survivor experiences are also important reading for survivors' families, historians, and professionals in the psychotherapeutic field as well as world leaders who continue to deal with new eruptions of genocide in the world everyday. These essays recognize not only the depth and complexity of early psychic trauma, but also the strength, endurance and courage it takes to survive and succeed in a new world. As the authors point out, child survivors' stories of suffering went unnoticed, unrecognized and unheard for decades. Only with the work of these pioneers was the silence of the child survivor broken and their stories told, valued and understood paving the way for healing to begin.
As Krell points out, the gatherings of Child Survivors began to take place in l981, fully thirty-six years after World War II ended. Prior to that time, child survivors were not only largely silent but also most often isolated from one another. Dr. Krell details, usefully, the history of the development of Child Survivor meetings and the functions of those meetings. These meetings provided the child survivor with a group (a "family") and an audience - each other, with whom to share their history of childhood loss and childhood hiding...in attics, holes in the ground, forests, orphanages, attics and the like. Child Survivor Meetings would become a place where child survivors could gather with people who would "understand," empathize and care about what had happened to them.
Sarah Moskovitz talks of the "journey" of so many of the child survivors: the sense of wonder of having survived at all, the efforts to create continuity for their future generations and the frequency with which child survivors entered the "helping" professions. She was one of the first to recognize not only the extreme trauma that child survivors had undergone, but also their resilience, courage and endurance.
Elie Wiesel, shares his wisdom on the importance of telling one's story to the world, not only because it is important to tell what happened, but also because it is essential to speak for those who can no longer speak for themselves. "Other Jewish children could not find hiding places." But for those who survived, he encourages the child survivor to think not only in terms of fear and sadness, but also in terms of "joy and hope and gratitude."
Haim Dasberg weaves the themes of the "lost childhood of child survivors," his own included, with their desire to "belong" and find "a common ground." These are all themes with which child survivors can identify and themes that professionals need to hear and understand.
Professor Gilbert, speaking as a historian, emphasizes the importance of "Not Forgetting." He strongly encourages child survivors to write down and record their memories so that their history can be distributed as widely as possible. Only in this way can the child survivor help others "Not To Forget."
The new essays from Dr. Krell focus on the aging of child survivors, as they enter their final years and confront the losses that come with old age. He reminds the reader that there can be a recrudescence of memories of earlier times, times of traumatic losses and fears. He discusses the question of rage and wisely, suggests that one act it out not within the family. His message is that survivors have a mission. It is to take the rage of the past and transform it into a voice for good. He advises child survivors to tell their story to their children and to pay attention to the words used by the media and political leaders; the task for child survivors is to become watchdogs for new genocides as they arise. Ending on a positive note, he states, "We are the remnant (those of us who survived) that serves as a reminder as to what is possible. And we remember and we know. Everything is possible - even Peace."
In my opinion, this book is a must read if you want to understand the experience of childhood Holocaust trauma better. Reading it will enrich your life and the understanding of aspects of your own life's traumas...and silences.
The reviewer, Eva Metzger Brown, PhD, ABPP, is a clinical psychologist and author, as well as a child survivor from Nurnberg, Germany.
Swimming Against Stereotype: The Story Of A Twentieth Century Jewish Athlete by Helen Epstein
Reviewed by Eva Metzger Brown, November 23, 2006
Helen Epstein's work has always been a favorite of mine: informed, well written and in a style that teaches as she tells her personal stories.
Her father's story occurs at a time in Germany where there was an increased threat to Jews. It was a time when caricatures of Jewish merchants, store owners and athletes were used to build the foundation of making Jews as "different from us" and "less than us." It was this step that began to mark Jews as "non-people"and "not one of us," the German population. In so doing, when the Final Solution became evident, Germans no longer viewed Jews as regular people with whom to identify and care about and defend. Epstein's father's efforts attempted to counter such stereotypes and false separation amongst human beings. By using his athletic prowess he attempted to portray Jews as people like you, the everyday German person, persons who could become athletes, good athletes, very good athletes and so good that they could even make the Olympic team. This was meant to communicate that Jews could be people just like the people of other groups, including Germans, people whose plight one could empathize with. Kurt Epstein's efforts, among other things, worked to break down the separation of "you" and "me."
Helen Epstein's loving portrayal shows how an individual can make a difference. Her father was a HERO in that he made an unpopular decision for a worthy cause that many did not understand at the time.
These reviews are posted on Amazon.