Conceptualizing a Holocaust Survivorship Model

Abstract

This article is one of the first in an issue that presents the findings of the study “Forgiveness, Resiliency, and Survivorship Among Holocaust Survivors” funded by the John Templeton Foundation. The issue includes findings from a major quantitative study of 133 survivors and a number of smaller qualitative studies of sub-samples of survivors. The Templeton study incorporated a number of theoretical frameworks to describe critical events in survivors' lives before, during, and after the Nazi Holocaust. Each framework offered a perspective on how people dealt with extreme stress and trauma and what was required for them to survive and then make meaning of these events, adapt, and grow. A Holocaust Survivorship Model was created to suggest how individuals, families, and communities develop a positive engagement with life after long-term exposure to adverse and even life-threatening events. This article summarizes these findings and describes how they were used to conceptualize a preliminary model.

KEYWORDS:

• Holocaust Survivorship Model

Notes

This research was funded by Grant 10282 from the John Templeton Foundation: Roberta R. Greene (principal investigator); Marilyn Armour, Harriet L. Cohen, Constance Corley, and Carmen Morano (co-investigators); Shira Hantman (statistical consultant); and Sandra A. Graham (project manager). The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.

^aParticipants were asked, “Some people who have looked at the issue say that survivors … Do you agree?”

^bParticipants were asked, “Do you think survivors …?”

Note. *p < .001.