The present state of people who survived the holocaust as children

Abstract

A total of 103 Holocaust survivors who suffered from Nazi persecution during their childhood years were interviewed in 1992. The interviews were conducted using a questionnaire specially prepared for statistical studies of Holocaust survivors. The study demonstrated that most survivors in this sample still suffer today, more than 50 years after the outbreak of the Second World War, from symptoms of the survivor syndrome. Their mental suffering is in positive correlation to the intensity of the trauma they suffered in their childhood. Those who were in death camps suffer more than those who suffered during their childhood from other forms of persecution by the Nazis. The coping and adjustment of child survivors of death camps were also less successful than the coping and adjustment of child survivors who went through other forms of persecution.