A Holocaust Survivor in America

A Holocaust Survivor in America
Excerpt:

Though using phrases such as "these people" and " a holocaust survivor" sound good, learning about the hardships of a holocaust survivor in America is much more interesting when researching a person who you knew and loved. My grandmother, Maria, was a holocaust survivor. She was a Hungarian native. After the war she moved to the U.S with her husband and small child (my father). She left her family behind for a new life. This was one of many separations. My grandmother was a very "clingy" person. She always wanted you around and expected many phone calls. At times, it was frustrating, but I think she needed to know that she was not alone. This is one symptom of the Concentration Camp Syndrome. If we would forget to call, she would be scared to death. My grandmother was pessimistic, always expecting the worse. Not to mention, that whenever my grandmother came over to my house, my overly friendly dog would come over. My grandmother pretended like it didn't bother her and in fact liked my dog, though it was "the dog" that scared her. When she heard the dog bark, it instantly brought back memories of guard dogs at the concentration camps. Another symptom of the syndrome that was very easily seen in my grandma was that she was a pack rat. After being deprived of so much while in the concentration camp, little things were important. She kept everything; bills, recipes, old pictures, t.v guides. . . you name it, she had it. This particularly annoyed my father. He felt that my grandma should talk to a doctor about her feelings about the war. Though, she would not. This refusal just proved even further how hard it was just to think about the war. Plus, whenever we would go to my grandmother's house for holidays, like Hanukkah, the amount of food served was incredible. We could have fed 25 people though there were only 7 or 8 there. We would be sent home with jugs of Matzo ball soup. After being deprived of food in the camps, my grandmother always had to have enough. Now these are some of the symptoms that my grandmother indirectly showed.

Unlike the above indirect symptoms shown, my father(G. Gaster 97) had to live with my Grandma for eighteen years. I asked my father how he was affected, being the son of a holocaust survivor. He began by saying that he had always been told that he was alone, reffering to the fact that all his relatives were dead. Imagine going through your childhood thinking you had no one. He also mentioned that his mother was very, very over-protective. He remembers being sheltered from sports and other activities. My father also remembers waking up at night to the sound of my Grandma having horrible nightmares. I'm sure it hurt him to see his mother in such pain.....