Trauma and Resilience in Holocaust Memoir: Strategies of Self-Preservation and Inter-Generational Encounter with Narrative

(Paperback)

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Through narrative analysis of the memoirs of six holocaust survivors from a single extended family, Trauma and Resilience in Holocaust Memoir: Strategies of Self-Preservation and Inter-Generational Encounter with Narrative examines strategies of self-preservation of young people exposed to violence and persecution at different ages and life stages. Through the lens of studying resilience in child development, this book describes the striking diversity of holocaust-era experiences and traces the arc of a remarkable global diaspora. Birnbaum argues that stories from the past can enhance understanding of the internal lives of todays young refugees and survivors of violent conflict. Exploring the socio-politics of narrative and memory, this book considers the ways that children of holocaust survivors may honor the past while also allowing a new generation to engage family history in a conversation with contemporary concerns.

Reviews

In this collection of Holocaust memoirs, Birnbaum presents the unique first-person stories of six child survivors, all members of her fathers extended family. The stories trace wars ravages through the eyes of rapidly maturing children and adolescents. Each tale is extraordinary. One chronicler tells of passing as a gentile, surviving by selling her blood and submitting to Nazi experiments for pay; another details her escape from Poland to Lithuania to Africa; another memoir depicts the liquidation of the Warsaw ghetto and the authors daring escape; yet another family member describes her wartime sojourn in the relative safety of Shanghai. Riveting as these stories are, Birnbaum adds yet another layer to enhance the reader's understanding. In a chapter-by-chapter analysis that follows the memoirists through each year of the war, Birnbaum explores textual cues that illustrate childhood resilience. Through the astute perception of a psychiatric nurse, she elucidates survival strategies and ties them to todays young survivors of traumatic conflict. This book is an important contribution to Holocaust psychology studies and will be of significant value to both specialists and those interested in obtaining a deeper awareness of the effects of catastrophic sociopolitical upheavals on children. Highly recommended.

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This is a remarkable book, very well researched and captivating with its emotional details. The book stands out among the many holocaust narratives. In addition to the extraordinary manner in which the six members of this family has survived, the book is rich in theoretical explanations of how the author had arrived at her conclusions. -- Anna Ornstein, M. D. Professor of child psychiatry (retired), University of Cincinnati

Author Bio

Shira Birnbaum is science and medical writer at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.