Liberation+of+Survivors

When the survivors of the concentration camps were first found, the Allie soldiers were disgusted. Not by the rotting corpses, or emaciated bodies, although that would surely disgust most of us, but by the fact that a person could actually do something of this magnitude to another human being. In some camps, bodies were left lying in piles as Nazi soldiers struggled to get away. At other camps, buildings were blown up, the crematoriums and gas chambers were evidence to the mass murders that had been happening. The camps themselves were falling apart, but the humans being kept inside were in worse shape.

Most of the survivors would not have survived another day if the Allie soldiers did not come when they had. They were emaciated, starving and diseased. There poor bodies were shells of the humans they used to be. The bodies were mere skeletons, ranging from 60-80 pounds, many had massive height loss. The reactions when the soldiers arrived ranged from shock to joy to apathy. Many had no strength left to feel emotion. After the arrival of the allies, many of the "survivors" died anyways due to disease and starvation. At Bergen-Belson, a concentration camp in Germany, of the 60,000 people freed, 14,000 people died soon after liberation. The survivors of the holocaust are sometimes called, She'erit Hapletah or, "the handful that survived." **(Ayer)**

For some of the Jews, the arrival of the Allies did not mean liberation from the concentration camps, but that they were allowed to come out of there hiding places. One such instance was Samuel Pisar. He had hidden in a Bavarian section of Germany in an abandoned farm house during the last few days of the war. He is quoted saying,

"In an instant, the realization flooded me: I was looking at the insignia of the United States army... My skull seemed to burst. With a wild roar, I broke through the thatched roof, leaped to the ground, and ran toward the tank....Recalling the only English I knew...I yelled at the top of my lungs, "God bless America!"...In a few minutes, all of us were free." (Ayer 17) Others who were being freed from the concentration camps felt joy also, and a renowned appreciation for life, such as Helen Waterford,

"The lilies of the valley were never more beautiful than in May of 1945...I walked out of the gate at the Women's Labor Camp in Kratzau, Czechoslovakia--Free! I threw myself into the large field of these dainty little flowers, embracing as many as I could, overwhelmed by their fragrance, which filled me with joy, hope, rebirth and a new security." (Ayer 17)

Not everyone felt the joy of the liberation, being free meant that they now had to face the losses that they had suffered. These poor souls had to go back into a world where they had always been criticized for being Jewish, and were now even more outsiders than before. Some had no family left and no one to turn to. Hadassah Bimko was one of these Jews, "For the great part of the liberated Jews...There was no ecstasy, no joy at our liberation. We had lost our families, our homes. We had no place to go, nobody to hug, nobody who was waiting for us, anywhere. We had been liberated from...the fear of death, but we were not free from the fear of life." (Ayer 17**)**

Many thought only of the food and rations. Every emotion was repressed except the will to survive. When the "She'erit Hapletah" returned, out into the world, one would normally expect them to be greeted with respect, but the hatred lived on. It was sometimes heard on the streets, "Why didn't they kill you?" They were different and misunderstood as they had been for centuries and centuries before. People did not wish to accept them, the Jews were not wanted back. Now, coupled with the nightmares of what the survivors had endured, they now had to tolerate being once again treated as "less than." How did they take it? Some were so scared that they could barley speak to anyone Gentile, there was no trust for anyone. People were still living on instincts and the bare minimum of what a human being needs to survive. Feelings towards the Jewish faith either leaned towards rejection and denial towards Judaism, or to embrace the religion with a new passion. Many Jews headed to America, where immigrants were more largely accepted and people for the most part were less Anti-Semitic. Some traveled to Palestine, the Promised Land. There, lives were rebuilt, and pasts were dealt with.

In the book, //Against All Odds,// by William Helmreich, Helmreich describes the top ten traits of the most successful survivors. They were... Flexibility Assertiveness Tenacity Optimism Intelligence Courage Ability to distance oneself from the past Ability to identify oneself with survivors Ability to gain strength and confidence from what they endured Ability to find meaning in their lives These traits put together showed the strength of the people who endured the Holocaust. Any survivor of the Holocaust and their family, serves as an example of the "victory of human spirit", an example that every day is a gift and miracle, and should be lived to the fullest potential. The world must never forget.
 * (Ayer 78)**

If you are interested in more survivor stories, I suggest [|looking through these links]. This links you to a website with a collection of survivors stories.

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