How did Nazi persecution affect the later lives of children and
young adolescents? In "Light from the Ashes," eighteen eminent
social scientists trace the connection between their early wartime
experiences and their adult research careers, personality, and
values. Autobiographical essays describe their trauma of fleeing
from or surviving the Holocaust during childhood or adolescence,
and how this influenced their eventual choice of work and general
outlook on life.
The introductory and closing chapters set these narratives in
historical and theoretical context and discuss their broader
psychological and social implications. A unique feature of the book
is that its contributors were children or adolescents when they
became targets of Nazi persecution. Each chapter covers the
contributor's experiences during and after the war, his or her
professional education, development, and activities, and the
perceived connection between those factors. The wider impact of the
early years on adult attitudes, political orientation, ethics,
religion, family life, important values, and personality
characteristics is also discussed.
The book will be of primary interest to psychologists and to
literary scholars interested in narrative and autobiography. It
will be relevant to historians, sociologists, and philosophers of
science, especially social science; and to scholars and researchers
of all disciplines interested in the impact of traumatic violence,
dislocation, war, persecution, and emigration (particularly, but
not only, related to the Holocaust) on the subsequent lives of
children and adolescents. It will also be valuable to
psychologists, psychiatrists, and other scientists working in the
field of stress and coping.
For the general reader, the book offers the reminiscences of
articulate and introspective people who as children experienced a
wide variety of adverse circumstances and responded to them--then
and later--in a wide variety of mostly adaptive ways. Readers
intrigued by first-person narratives of war, persecution, and
resilience will find the book of great interest.
Peter Suedfeld is Professor of Psychology, University of British
Columbia.
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