Holocaust Psychological Effects

World war 2 was a phenomenon conflict that involved virtually every part of the world. It lasted for 6 years and 3 days (1939-1945). It was divided into two groups axis and allies. The 40,000,000–50,000,000 deaths incurred in World War II made it the bloodiest conflict, as well as the largest war, in history. 6 millions of those passings were the Jews who were murdered by the Nazis; this mass murder is called the Holocaust. The Holocaust was an egregious event lead by revenge driven Hitler and the Nazis; this odious event still leaves incessant impact on the world. The word Holocaust itself comes from the Greek words holos (whole) and kaustos (burned). It also signifies a tradition in which the Jews burned people as sacrifices for their

The long range psychological effects of the Holocaust on the mental health of survivors are indeed multitudinal and complex. There can be no doubt that profound shock enveloped those arriving at the death camps. What had once been only rumor was, in fact, truth. Shock was followed by apathy. Martin Wangh asserts that "recovery from these two states could occur only by a means of psychic splitting. This meant that some form of denial or 'psychic numbing, ' 'derealization, ' or 'depersonalization. ' had to take place." Also, in general, the senses became heightened, and one lived as a hunted animal, always on the alert for danger. Any aggressive, vengeful impulse had to be constantly suppressed, thus a paranoid attitude could become deeply rooted. Apathy was a period filled with extreme danger, any new arrival, who was already exhausted from the dehumanizing conditions of his transport or the ghettos, who remained in shock for any length of time, would surely be killed. And if he retreated into himself for too long, he would be shunned by other prisoners, and would be thus deprived of their support. One way they tried to cope was the idea of family, but unfortunately most of them found that everyone they knew was dead. Others tried to find work but that was hard to come, so mostly all of them migrated mostly to the USA or Israel. In the United States, in addition to the difficulties shared by most immigrants, the majority of survivors encountered a unique cluster of negative reactions and attitudes. Most arrived as penniless refugees and received initial financial aid from relatives and Jewish organizations. The survivors were provided with very little help, however, in emotional rehabilitation. Their war accounts were too horrifying for most people to listen to. In addition, bystanders ' guilt for having knowingly neglected to do anything to prevent their fate, led many to believe that survivors were pointing a finger at