History of Sorts

When a loved one dies, it’s important to grieve; if you don’t, it will eventually come back to haunt you.

Dealing with grief can be challenging, and the time it takes varies from person to person. However, it is vital to allow oneself that time. Under normal circumstances, you will have the opportunity to grieve, even though the feeling of loss may never fully disappear—and it shouldn’t because it is this sense of loss that generates memories.

One aspect that is often overlooked regarding the Holocaust is the grief of the survivors. They were not allowed to grieve and were often too busy trying to survive. Immediately after their arrival from the death camps and soon after the selections, those who lived did not know the fate of their loved ones. They often only learned the truth after their loved ones had been murdered. Some survivors had to help carry their child, parent, or spouse out of the gas chambers to be cremated. If these survivors showed any sign of grief, they risked being murdered themselves. The last memory they had of their loved ones was one of horror.

This denial of grief had psychological effects that lasted long after the war ended. It was a trauma that survivors often had to endure for the rest of their lives.

These days, I often hear that we should leave the Holocaust in the past and move on. However, for the few survivors who are still alive, the Holocaust never left them. Sometimes, the grief that was denied has been transferred to their children and grandchildren.