Holocaust Survivors and Nazi Soldiers
From the outset of the Holocaust, the devastation that would ensue could never have been imagined by any of those who were affected the desolation. Diaries and journals kept by those who were part of this horrible period of time give great insight as to the thoughts and feelings that they experienced. Following the Holocaust a multitude of studies were performed in order to gain a better perspective into the effects, both psychologically and religiously, that these episodes had on survivors and soldiers of the Holocaust. Both survivors and Nazi soldiers experienced the Holocaust, but what type of religious and psychological effects did the same event have on two different groups of people?
Hitler's AntiSemitism
Anti-Semitism is defined as hostility toward or prejudice against the Jewish population. Throughout history, Jews have faced prejudice and discrimination. Among the most common form of antisemitist manifestations were pogroms which were riots against the Jews by local residents as well as Nazi soldiers. As the Nazi's grew to power, these attacks became increasingly violent: they demanded separations of "Ayran" and "non-Aryans" as well as burning synagogues and Jewish owned properties.
"The Jews has become a special target not only because of Hitler's pathological hatred of them but also because they provided an especially convenient target to channel the passion for pogrom of the rank-and-file anti Semites into action" (Braham 23). Hitler essentially changed the entire psyche of the men who were part of his Nazi group. He changed their human nature and manipulated these men into truly believing that Jews, along with other that were persecuted, were truly a weaker people. "Human behavior is dependent on some kind of frame of reference. Our behavior toward our fellow human beings is affected usually by the attitudes and values of our families and society" (Braham 26). Such psychological learning, similar to Bandura's attention, retention, and motivation to commit an act, is liable to stick with a person throughout their entire life. Nazi soldiers saw what Hitler was doing to people and were motivated to do his work, not only because they were brought into believing it, but also because it served as motivation to not end up in the situation that Jews found themselves in during that time. "Nazi culture with its psychopathic symbols succeeded in placing the majority of Germans in a 'pseudo-aesthetic trance' in which they no longer knew who they were or what they had become" (Luel 34). Inevitably, Hitler appeared to be "right" and the Jews, by this model, appeared to be "wrong."
Nazism as a Religion
Nazism itself became a form of religion in Germany as it spread its rule. It was sometimes referred to as Esoteric Hitlerism. Hitler and his Nazi leaders made use of Pagan and Christian symbols and beliefs as they spread their propaganda through Germany. It is still unknown as to the exact form of religion that Hitler claimed himself to be a part of. (Nazism 1)
Psychology of Survivors
"Survivors of the Holocaust of World War II have been described in the psychiatric literature as suffering from a 'survivor syndrome'" (Braham 33). Survivors have exhibited such symptoms as acute anxiety, nightmares, survivor guilt, depression, hypochondriacal fears, and a life long sense of heightened vulnerability. Such symptoms are analogous to the symptoms demonstrated in "Post traumatic stress disorder." "Many psychiatric disorders are rooted in the loss of a loved one, leaving behind someone to survive that loss" (Krell 27). A multitude of factors influence the degree to which the survivors experience trauma attributed to the Holocaust, but most often survivors still view themselves as victims (Braham 34). Von Baeyer et al. in 1961 desribe two aspects of a traumatizing effect with respect to the Holocaust experience: "The first is the loss of safety and security in relation to the larger social world when one's own group, the Jews, has become the target not only for verbal hostility but also for physical extermination. The second aspect is the loss of safety transmitted to the children and young people by the adults' loss of confidence in themselves and in their world" (Luel 57).
Religion of Survivors
Of a group of 21 survivors who were part of a survey on their post-Holocaust feelings of their religion the following was collected:
- 7 declared feelings of alienation connected with their ethnic origin; 2 were ashamed of their religion 1 was proud of it, 10 stated its influence on the relations in peer groups which were normally negative
-Many made attempts to preserve their Jewish religious practices: 4 people converted to Christianity because they wanted a better life that was not attainable for Jews; 3 didn't feel as if they fit into their surrounding; 1 declared the Zionist orientation; 3 considered themselves of the cosmopolitan orientation. (Echoes 1)
This study examines Holocaust survivors and their religious outlook following their Holocaust experience and shows the effect that their experience with the Holocaust had on their religious beliefs.
The "Holocaust demonstrated the ultimate conclusion of Jewish powerlessness" (Luel 183). For some Jews, the Holocaust confirmed that the world hates Jews and wants them dead, but this is an extreme point of view and it can be argued that this point, with respect to the Holocaust, is "not merely a Jewish projection but has an objective basis in the history of anti-Semitism" (Luel 186).
Conclusion
Both Nazi soldiers and Holocaust survivors suffered from psychological and religious effects during and following the Holocaust, but the suffering each were encountered with differed greatly and had a range of effects on Nazi soldiers and Holocaust survivors.
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