Article Analysis: Intimacy And Sexuality By Fritz

From 1933 to 1945, millions of lives were thrown into chaos because of the Holocaust. Families were ripped apart and values were washed away as citizens were forcefully placed in concentration camps to either be immediately killed or to work until they died. Every person within the camps faced unthinkable trauma. Once everyone was released, the prisoners began to search for lost loved ones and a sense of normality. However, the anguish did not end with the end of the Holocaust. Following the Holocaust, first generation survivors developed abnormal values, societal dependence, and a need to avoid the topic of the Holocaust as an effect of their trauma; these side effects were then passed down to future generations

The Nazis killed over six million Jews and millions of other Polish and Soviet civilians in the Holocaust. They also killed gypsies, physically and mentally disabled people and homosexuals. The number of survivors today are quickly dwindling down. Clinical psychologist Natan Kellermann defines a Holocaust survivor as any Jew who lived under Nazi occupation and was threatened by the “final solution” (Kellermann 199). This definition can be applied to not only Jews, but to anyone in general whose life was threatened by the Nazis. When these survivors were liberated, they believed the suffering was over, but for many, this wasn’t the case. The trauma of the horrors they faced is still evident in their life. By analyzing the effects of post traumatic stress disorder after the Holocaust, readers can see that the aftermath of the Holocaust is still prevalent in the survivor’s everyday life; This is important to show that while the trauma may not be overcome, the survivor can be more at peace with the events.

The Holocaust which was one of many of the controversial events that have happened in the history of our world demonstrated a significant amount of cruelty and dehumanization. Because of such a controversial event, many have suffered through physical and unfortunately psychological upheaval and distress. With previous knowledge and novels’ read on the Holocaust, it came to be known that the event was triggered through obedience and conformity due to the not specifically the Germans’ beliefs of anti-Semitic and propaganda, but more of leader Adolf Hitler. The time of the Holocaust was used to dehumanize which enhanced the understanding of mental health and human psychology. During the Holocaust, many psychological principles affected individuals forever. The principles include groupthink and of course knowing the outcome of the event. Such principles sooner explain the reality of life because it stresses how individuals react due to their past experiences like the Holocaust and most importantly how traumatic events build them as who they are today.  Innocent Jews went through starvation, terrible working conditions, and the elimination of race through torture such as gas chambers. Furthermore, the history of this controversial event is now being used to be alert of the health and wellness of those who have gone through such events that sooner change their behavior and mentality for the better or even worse.

The Holocaust was a horrifying time period for the Jews. Nearly 2,700,000 Jews were sent to extermination camps, where they were immediately killed. Millions of others were sent to concentration camps, where they were either killed or used as slave labor. However throughout this hellish time period, there were still some people who managed to stay positive. Etty Hillesum said that “big things” helped people’s spirits survive. During the Holocaust, love laughter and nature were the things that helped many spirits triumph.

Coping with a disability many would assume that sexuality is no longer a factor or want. However, this is another result of societal barriers and stigmas people place on individuals with disabilities. Sexual healing as Mitchell mentioned, should be part of the rehabilitation process. Mitchell states that he learned more from his peers and mentors whom have acquired disabilities and I find this interesting. He learned and gained the most knowledge from others in his situation and I believe many are educated this way similarly to young children learning societal norms. The social learning theory is a great example of Mitchells closing analysis about men with disabilities. Men apply what is learned socially throughout life. After an individual becomes disabled attitudes prior to and after the disability should be addressed in treatment. For Mitchell learning from others that he could understand and relate to was a form of

People can often be stronger than what they think they are when faced with harsh, bestial, and generally unpleasant conditions. Many of the people who have endured the Holocaust, or passed trying, have tolerated the absolute maximum amount of torture mentally, physically, and spiritually as well. While it may be impossible to think that people of this time could survive the savage conditions of the Holocaust, some may actually possess the willpower to push through. One would like to open with this quote from the novel, Night, by Elie Wiesel, “We were masters of nature, masters of the world. We had forgotten everything- death, fatigue, our natural needs” (Wiesel 87).

It was extremely difficult for survivors to rebuild their lives back in their home town. This is because “Jewish communities no longer existed in much of europe”(United States Holocaust Museum). And when the survivors tried to return to their houses most “just didn't feel welcome”(United States Holocaust Museum); “ they found that in many cases, their homes had been looted or taken over by others”(United States Holocaust Museum). On top of their houses often being stolen from their possession, there had been “anti-Jewish riots [that] broke out in several Polish cities” (Levine). Struggling with PTSD and attempting to find their lost relatives and friends that were more times than not killed in the holocaust, survivors really did not have a place to call

During the time of the Holocaust, many people didn’t know what was going on. This is because the world kept it secret, so that they would not cause any distress. It was an emotional time for those that figured out what happened, afterwards.

“The fact is they know I went through hell.” -Professor Bacharach, Holocaust Survivor. Ever since many centuries ago, Jewish people were treated unfairly and unjustly according to their religion and characteristics. The Holocaust was a fearful and painful genocide because of anti-semitism throughout European countries. Up to six million Jews died in the harrowing genocide, along with the death of many other religious and ethnical groups ("Documenting Numbers of Victims of the Holocaust and Nazi Persecution"). As much as a fraction of the number of Jews survived. With much grief and sorrow during the Holocaust, the survivors had to suffer the emotional and physical trauma after the event. Survivors had to face the reality of rebuilding their lives after the

Six million perished in the flames, mass shootings and gas chambers of concentration camps during the Holocaust. This started when the Nazi party established a “Final Solution” that sought out to eradicate the inferior Jewish race from Germany and the world (“Holocaust”). A person cannot look at this event and see nothing except for the dark, evil side of human nature. However, if a person looks at the Holocaust from a survivor’s point of view, they can see the good side of human nature, especially if someone looks at it from Elie Wiesel’s perspective. Elie Wiesel and his family were Romanian Jews who were, unfortunately, swept into the Holocaust’s horrors. Elie managed to escape the Holocaust using tools of survival, including love for

Despite over 6 million innocent Jews dying in World War II, the oppressed also often found a way to persevere. Resistance to hate and intolerance was crucial to their survival. The existence of hope and resistance was present throughout the Holocaust, and was seen at many different times and places. The Jews and other targeted groups in World War II had many creative ways to avoid death and destruction. The examples set by resistance groups still teach newer generations lessons about refusal to give in and optimism in the face of appalling circumstances. During the Holocaust which featured an evil reign of terror, oppressed people were able to confront hate and prejudice, whether it being shown in a 1940’s Polish ghetto, a children’s book, or even across the world in a rural Tennessee town as shown in the documentary Paper Clips.

The Holocaust can be described by facts, pictures, history lessons, among others, that can make a strong and lasting impression on an individual. However, testimonies are when the true horrors of this event become real. Testimonies are personal. Their authentic emotions, thoughts, and feelings are wrapped up in a little box with a red bow and given to the public as a fragile gift. Survivor Manya Friedman wrote, “I had little confidence when I started. My hands were so shaky I could barely read my own writing. As I started writing, I was given confidence, support, and encouragement. If I can do this, then you can too” (“The Transition”). Due to her strength and many others, individuals who weren’t affected by the holocaust are fortunate to be provided with such thoughtful insight about how the lives of these Jewish individuals were affected and remain affected. Even so, their experiences are something we will never be able to fathom.

If sexual orientation is something that we can’t change or choose, then how are these specific preferences such as heterosexuality and homosexuality created? How does one person progress to either heterosexuality or homosexuality? Studies showed that there were genetic factors linked to influencing sexual orientation in males before they were born by increasing the female reproductive capacity in mothers during multiple births. (Iemmole, Ciani, 2008: 393) Though that doesn’t mean that there technically is a “gay gene” that has been discovered, just that several human genome studies has suggested promising areas of research that are pointing to that direction. (Iemmole, Ciani, 2008: 393) With more

At the time of the Holocaust, the Jews put into concentration camps reacted in several different ways. Some of them lost all hope and were destroyed because of their circumstances, however others thrived and grew because of this time. Also numerous things may have been thought to cause these responses to tragedy. The main reason that caused the different results in people, was the self motivation that they stored inside. Without motivation and encouragement, their souls could become destroyed; In response to the effects of the camps they become immune and aren’t devastatingly affected. The future of their lives depends on how they perceived this situation. To them it could have been a new beginning or an end to all.

Speaking about sexual practices with others can be an uncomfortable situation. If an individual has a disability, this conversation can be even more challenging. In fact, most of the population believe that those who have a disability not only should not have sex; that they simply are unable. This belief is false. It is crucial for the general population to understand that those with disabilities are just as capable of engaging in intimate acts with their loved ones as those who were born without constraints engage. While it is important to recognize that both mental and physical disabilities carry a stigma, for the sake of this paper I will be focusing on those who have a mental impairment. I believe this to be of utmost importance, as society seems to stigmatize those with intellectual disabilities even more than those with physical constraints. In this text, I will prove that those with mental disabilities are just as capable of engaging in erotic acts as any other person, despite the additional obstacles in their way. To do this, I will use highlights from the 2012 film The Sessions, produced and directed by Ben Lewin, to display the additional disgrace bestowed on those with mental handicaps. Additionally, I will draw on Michael L. Perlin and Alison J. Lynch’s article “All His Sexless Patients: Persons with Mental Disabilities and the Competence to Have Sex” to prove how capable individuals with intellectual problems are.