After the Darkness?
Holocaust Survivors’ Emotional, Psychological, and Social Journeys in the Early Postwar Period
978965308652
280 pages
Yad Vashem Publications
Overview
Emerging from the horror and ruins of the Holocaust, survivors were confronted with many challenges, both physical and psychological. The loss of their loved ones, the destruction of their world, and prolonged exposure to violence and suffering would leave an indelible mark. This volume examines how individuals—physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, psychoanalysts, educators, social workers, or activists and organizations understood, evaluated, and responded to the war’s emotional impact on Holocaust survivors. What kinds of programs or support networks did they develop and offer? How did the survivors themselves face their emotional and psychological wounds and needs?Author Bio
Constance Pâris de Bollardière joined the George and Irina Schaeffer Center for the Study of Genocide, Human Rights, and Conflict Prevention in 2016 and became the Assistant Director of the Center in 2021.
Her research pertains to the social and cultural history of Holocaust survivors. Since her PhD, she has been studying the reconstruction and migration of Yiddish-speaking Holocaust survivors in early postwar France, with a special focus on the connections they maintained with others centers of the "Yiddish diaspora", particularly with New York City.
Since 2017, she has also been developing a cultural analysis of survivors' testimonial productions in various contexts, from early publications in Yiddish to more recent collections of video interviews.