Cancer, Suicide, and Holocaust Survivors (Research, Video 2:17)

Question: Do you think a higher number of older adult Holocaust survivors who have cancer would commit suicide more than their counterparts who have cancer and are not Holocaust survivors? After all, many older adults were children when they witnessed and experienced the atrocities related to this part of history.

It’s easy to assume that Holocaust survivors with cancer would have more suicides. But a study of these older adult cancer patients indicates otherwise. The incidence of suicides were not significantly different between the Holocaust exposed and nonexposed groups. Past exposure to maximum adversity did not increase the suicide risk among persons with cancer.

These Holocaust cancer-suicide research results were surprising to me in a good way. Erika is my Jewish friend who was a child during the Holocaust. Her firsthand stories give history a name and face that validate the plight of those murdered during that horrific period. She attributes her current existence to a sympathetic family that hid her in their home from Nazi soldiers. Like many survivors who are older adults now, Erika continues to cope with the trauma of her childhood experiences. 

This video titled Holocaust Survivor Testimony: Menachem Frenkel showcases another Jewish child who survived the Holocaust due to the extraordinary goodwill of others who risked their own lives. Rescue attempts were made by three organizations -- the OSE (Children's Aid Society), Amitie Chretienne, and the Jewish Underground in Lyons -- to remove some 100 Jewish children from a concentration camp. Menachem and his sister were among those rescued one night. They escaped being among the 1.5 million Holocaust victims under the age of twelve. 

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble .

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Holocaust Survivors and Offspring: How Are They Coping? (Research, Video 2:17)

Erika is my Jewish friend who was a child during the Holocaust. The Holocaust refers to the Nazis' systematic murder of more than six million European Jews, as well as members of other persecuted groups such as gypsies, homosexuals, and the disabled.

Her firsthand stories give history a name and face that validate the plight of those murdered during that horrific period. She attributes her current existence to a sympathetic family that hid her in their home from Nazi soldiers. Like many survivors who are older adults now, Erika continues to cope with the trauma of her childhood experiences. 

Because of their backgrounds, Holocaust survivors may find aging more stressful. Their children may find maintaining their parents’ daily satisfaction with life more challenging at times as a direct result of parents’ posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD is an anxiety disorder that occurs after witnessing or experiencing a traumatic event.

How are the two generations faring in general? The University of Haifa in Israel researched Holocaust survivors and their offspring for information on their lives. They studied them using a case study design with 174 participants of two generations with four groups: 32 elderly female Holocaust survivors and 47 daughters, and 33 elderly women in the comparison group, and 32 daughters. Mental health, physical health, and cognitive functioning were examined

Results revealed that “Holocaust survivors still display posttraumatic stress symptoms almost 70 years after the trauma.” On a positive note, adult offspring of Holocaust survivors showed no differences in their physical, psychological, and cognitive functioning as compared to matched controls. I noticed they used the word “functioning,” which is quite different from saying they carry no negative impact regarding that part of their history.

This video titled “Holocaust Survivor Testimony: Menachem Frenkel” showcases another Jewish child who survived the Holocaust due to the extraordinary goodwill of others who risked their own lives. Rescue attempts were made by three organizations -- the OSE (Children's Aid Society), Amitie Chretienne, and the Jewish Underground in Lyons -- to remove some 100 Jewish children from a concentration camp. Menachem and his sister were among those rescued one night. They escaped being among the 1.5 million Holocaust victims under the age of twelve. 

Frances Shani Parker, Author

"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes” (paperback, e-book)

“Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog”

Dementia and Jewish Holocaust Survivors (Audio)

Dementia refers to a group of conditions that gradually destroy brain cells and lead to mental decline. Many conditions can cause dementia, but Alzheimer’s (Ahlz-high-merz) disease is the leading cause. Most people who have the disease are over sixty-five, with eighty being the average age of diagnosis. There is no cure for patients with dementia, and they need complete care eventually.

Survivors of the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were killed, experience special challenges with dementia. At eighty-two years old, Fred Festinger is one of sixty-five Holocaust survivors at the Los Angeles Jewish Home for the Aging. He can still recall being brought to a Nazi concentration camp at the age of sixteen. His main goal in life then was to reach the age of twenty. Two months after he turned twenty, he was liberated.

Like numerous survivors, Fred’s liberation was only a physical one. Because many of the survivors’ trauma was never treated through therapy or medication, they still suffer with flashbacks and nightmares. Dementia has resulted in even less control for them over anxiety symptoms caused by blurred realties of the past and present. You can listen to more about Fred’s life in this podcast at the NPR Web site.

Frances Shani Parker, Author
"Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog