Ciera Butler

Professor Wertz-O
UWRT 1102-006
9/21/15
Academic Article Response
In the aftermath of the Holocaust many Jews were faced with guilt and shame for having
survived. The academic article I read was titled Shame, Guilt, and Anguish in Holocaust
Survivor Testimony, by Micheal Nutikewicz. Being published in the Oxford Journals in the
Spring of 2003, the article solely showcases survivors and their feelings on life after the
Holocaust.
In Shame, Guilt, and Anguish in Holocaust, Nuitkewicz sits down with a number of
survivors and hear their stories. He learns how the survivors cope and interpret the meaning of
their specific traumatic experiences. SB, a Jewish survivor from Germany, shares the story of his
rape with Nuitkewicz. SB explains how he has two different interpretations of his rape. One
being during the war, when there was no uniqueness in such a crime because all the Jews were a
victim to many traumatic experiences. After the war when SB didnt hear survivors speak about
rape he came to the conclusion that it was a private, shameful experience. It is an experience SB
says he thinks about at least once or twice a day. Other interviews revolved around the idea of
the moral choices people made within camps.
The point of this article was to observe how survivors organize the experience of the
Holocaust. Nuitkewicz also argued that survivors have to live countervailing pressures in their

everyday lives. He tries to get readers to understand how tough it is to live with such traumatic
experience and cope on a day-to-day basis.
After reading this article I have a deep sense for what some Jews endured during the
Holocaust. I felt for survivors like SB, who went through a traumatic rape at a very young age.
Many Jews had the idea that being silent was more of a matter of filtering than pushing a
memory out of the conscious. I feel that people were just so desperate to live that many didnt act
when they needed to. Guilt silenced many survivors which questions the nature of choices they
made. I dont blame the Jews for not speaking up because I dont think I wouldve either. Its
hard to speak up when you fear for your life.
I find this information on the survivors very informative and interesting. Not only does it
give me an understanding of the disturbing experiences many survivors have went through but it
also gives me a sense of appreciation for never having to experience anything like the Holocaust.
The article Shame, Guilt, and Anguish in Holocaust would have been even more appealing if it
discussed the impact survivors guilt had on their families. I think that many of the survivors
families have to go through a lot because of the damage their loved ones had to endure. Just as if
it were one of my family members, I would probably be very resentful towards everyone who
had something to do with the Holocaust.
Shame, Guilt, and Anguish in Holocaust directly connects to my inquiry question because
it focuses on survivors shame and guilt after living through the Holocaust. It examines how
Jews organize their entire experience and argues that they are faced with countervailing pressures
every single day. This article has made me eager to continue my research on the topic of
Holocaust survivors and their emotions post Holocaust.