Child Survivors of the Holocaust

by Paul Valent

At the end of the Second World War approximately 1.5 million Jewish children had been killed by the Nazis. In this book, ten child survivors tell their stories. Paul Valent, himself a child survivor and psychiatrist, explores with profound analytical insight the deepest memories of those survivors he interviewed. Their experiences range from living in hiding to physical and sexual abuse. Child Survivors of the Holocaust preserves and integrates the personal narratives and the therapist's perspective in an amazing chronicle. The stories in this book contribute to questions concerning the roots of morality, memory, resilience, and specifc scientific queries of the origins of psychosomatic symptoms, psychiatric illness, and trans-generational transmission of trauma. Child Survivors of the Holocaust speaks to the trauma facing contemporary child victims of abuse worldwide through past narratives of the Holocaust.

Genres: Nonfiction, War, Holocaust, History

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Maureen Grigsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Paul Valent interviewed 10 men and women who had been child survivors of the Holocaust. These individual stories remind us that early trauma impacts a child’s entire life. Loss, separation, physical trauma, rejection. All of these issues never leave a person, demonstrating again the importance of a safe childhood for future happiness.

As we watch these horrific family separations at our American borders, we should be aware of the cost of these traumas!!!

[Carolyn Scarcella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not exactly a holocaust story. This author is a child of survivor. This is another extraordinary and a powerful book to read because it is brilliant and a hell of survival in a masterful way. Paul was born in Bratislava, Slovakia. He came from a good Jewish family. During 1938, his family escape to Budapest, Hungary where they spent days as an Aryan. His parents were caught one time then they manage to escape from the train which is headed for Auschwitz. His parents were not with him the whole time because it will be risk to seen together. They were separate. Paul was hidden on a farm for the whole war. He was reunited with his family and emigrate to Australia, Melbourne. He is a psychiatrist for trauma children, families of the holocaust survivors and generations. He also helped the families of disasters with flood and bushfires in Australia. He interview 10 different stories about the holocaust, flood and bushfires at the time.

[Big H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and anger-inducing true stories.