Retrospective Emotional Interpretation of Holocaust Victims: Case Studies of USC Shoah Foundation Testimonies

Extensive research has been conducted on the emotional and psychological conditions of survivors post-Holocaust, specifically symptoms of trauma of which many have been grouped and coined into terms such as “survivor syndrome” and “concentration camp syndrome” (USHMM, 2015). In addition, the treatment of such conditions has been studied and implemented. Conversely, significantly less research has been conducted regarding the emotional/psychological experiences of victims during these events, as recollected by victims in the present. Personal narratives of Holocaust survivors shed light on the emotional and psychological implications of the Holocaust’s traumatic events on individuals. In this paper, Holocaust survivors’ retrospective descriptions of emotional responses as experienced during these events will be analyzed. Ps yc ho lo gy THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION Personal narratives of Holocaust survivors shed light on the emotional and psychological impact of the Holocaust’s traumatic events on individuals. In this paper, Holocaust survivors’ retrospective descriptions of their emotional responses as experienced during these events will be analyzed. Extensive research has been conducted on the emotional and psychological conditions of survivors post-Holocaust, specifically symptoms of trauma of which many have been grouped and coined into terms such as “survivor syndrome” and “concentration camp syndrome” (USHMM, 2015). In addition, the treatment of such conditions has been implemented and studied. Significantly less research has been conducted regarding the emotional and psychological experiences of victims during these events, as recollected by victims in the present. This largely may be due to the implications of retrospective emotional interpretation. When individuals recount events in their past and describe their emotional interpretations of these events, they are simply recounting these emotions from memory and not physically reliving it. Therefore, these recollections of past emotional experiences are influenced by the individual’s subsequent experiences in life, as well as the general passing of the time. In addition to these potential inaccuracies, which are further discussed later in the paper, research on the emotional states of victims during these traumatic events may seem far less prevalent than the emotional state of survivors in the present. This may be due to the fact that, although the emotional and psychological symptoms of the past may be studied, only emotional symptoms of the present may be studied and treated. Some may also view the emotional aspect of psychological analysis as problematic because emotions may elicit contrary perspectives on historical events such as the Holocaust. I argue that research on the emotional interpretations of victims during the time of the Holocaust is critical for our understanding of 1) how these events were interpreted by victims psychologically, and 2) the influence of these emotional experiences on the present day psychological and emotional state of victims. For example, the memory of emotional experiences can reflect the emotion regulation strategies used in a particular situation. Emotional regulation refers to attempts to influence one’s subjective emotional experience and expression, involving both up-and-down-regulation, as well as antecedent-focused and response-focused emotional regulation (Gross, 1998). Emotional retrospection can provide insight into the type of emotional regulation used in the present, specifically when dealing with post-Holocaust emotional and psychological burdens. Finally, remembering the emotions one experienced in the past is one of the core elements of the human experience. For individuals who experienced a life event as emotionally heavy and significant as the Holocaust, recollection of the emotions from these events, although indescribably difficult, is a deeply meaningful reflective