NCJ Number
210596
Journal
Child Sexual Abuse Volume: 14 Issue: 2 Dated: 2005 Pages: 69-83
Date Published
2005
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study conducted qualitative interviews of 22 survivors of the Holocaust who were children during World War II and suffered sexual abuse as 1 component of their victimization during the war.
Abstract
The research aimed to give the survivors, who were recruited in Israel and the United States, a voice in exploring the long-term impact of multiple extreme traumas during childhood. The sample of 14 men and 8 women ranged in age from 64 to 72 at the time of the interviews. Regarding their childhood sexual abuse, 28 percent had been sexually abused by their biological parents or another male Jew; 46 percent were physically and sexually abused by their Christian foster parents; 12 percent were sexually abused by their foster siblings; and 14 percent were sexually abused by someone else who knew their true identity and threatened to expose it. A content analysis of the open-ended interviews was conducted. Participants reported that during the time of the abuse, usually during the war and its aftermath, they felt fear, physical and emotional pain, and loneliness; however, in later years after the termination of the abuse, they reported symptoms of anxiety, numbness, emptiness, or depression. Regardless of the ethnicity of their abusers, the respondents perceived their sexual abuse as part of their overall suffering as Jews. Some perceived that they deserved the abuse, both physical and sexual, because of their being Jewish; however, feelings toward their abusers differed by abusers' ethnicity. Hatred, hostility, and disgust were expressed toward abusers who were Jewish, particularly biological parents; but more ambivalent feelings were held toward abusers who were Christians. Most of the survivors reported continuing internal struggles to control anger, aggressiveness, or panic, with many reporting that they were unable to achieve intimacy with their spouses and children. 43 references