Hidden Children

Hidden Children [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] ,[8][9][10][11] or sometimes "Hidden Children of the Holocaust," is the term that describes the (mainly Jewish) children who, during the Holocaust, were hidden in various different ways, in order to save them from the Nazis. Not all the attempts to save them were successful, see for instance the story of Anne Frank.

In section 2, we describe these different ways. But first we present an official recognition that these hidden children, precisely because they were children, suffered a special extra trauma:

Extreme Extra Trauma Recognized by German Government Award of 2,500 Euro

The extreme extra trauma suffered by these Hidden Children has been recognized in a most remarkable fashion. The German Government, through the Claims Conference, has arranged to make a symbolic payment of 2,500 Euros to each such Hidden Child.[12][13]) and.[14] And see section (3) below for more details of such trauma.

The Different Ways In Which a Hidden Child Was Hidden

1) a child who was actually hidden with at least one of his parents, in some physical location, such as a secret attic. The family would need at least one outside non-Jewish "helper," who brought daily food and other supplies. The lives of the helpers were in extreme danger if the Nazis were to find out this deception, since then they themselves would all be murdered.

2) a child who was "hidden" in a convent, as-if one of the other regular Catholic children. The child would have to be able to behave as all the other Catholic convent children behaved - know his prayers, know how to handle a rosary, know how to behave during mass, etc. All these skills the child would have to learn very fast. In this case, at least one of the nuns, and generally more, would have to know that the child was actually Jewish and "hiding." Once again, the lives of the nuns were in extreme danger if the Nazis were to find out this deception.

3) a child who, during the Holocaust, was placed into the care of a "foster-family," usually Catholic, and raised as-if one of the family.[10][11] To explain the sudden "arrival" of this "new" child into the family, he might for instance be described as a cousin who had come to join this family, perhaps from the countryside. Since he was now a new member of this Catholic family, he too would have to be able to behave as other Catholic children behaved - know his prayers, know how to handle a rosary, know how to behave during mass, etc. Once again, the lives of the true family-members were in extreme danger if the Nazis were to find out this deception.

Some such "foster-family" children were only babies at the time they were "placed" with a foster-family, others only toddlers or else still very young.

The experience of these "foster-family" Hidden Children is very similar to that of the One Thousand Children (see particularly the section "Holocaust Child Survivors and Hidden Children,..."). In that section, and the previous section "Emotional and Practical Effects" (in OTC), these similarities and differences are very importantly compared and contrasted.

4) a child "hidden" by the <Œuvre de Secours aux Enfants: ("O.S.E.") as part of the several OSE activities in France. (During the War, OSE was unable to continue its earlier work in Poland and elsewhere.) Many of these activities are described in detail in the Wikipedia article Œuvre de Secours aux Enfants.

In each of these cases, there had to be at least one non-Jewish, probably Catholic, helper on the outside, who risked his own life to help. Whenever there are any records about such a person, that person is designated and honored as a Righteous Gentile

Conscious and Unconscious Trauma Felt by a Hidden Child [15][16]

Most importantly, except when he was in hiding with at least one parent, the Hidden Child had "lost " his parents and his parental support during the war. Instead he went into the care, good or bad, of strangers, who could not fully replace his parents.

For the younger Hidden Children, often he was too young even to "remember" his parents and his hopefully happy childhood and family before the war; however, the unconscious awareness of his loss itself caused trauma.

The older Hidden Children knew that if they were discovered by the Nazis their fate was dire. Here indeed was deep psychological trauma.

After the war, as with nearly all Child Survivors of the Holocaust, the Hidden Child never regained his parents, who nearly surely had been murdered by the Nazis. Usually some difficult delay, generally he would be truly adopted by a caring new family - but the trauma just mentioned would remain with him.

And see the section "Emotional and Practical Effects" in the One Thousand Children.

And most importantly, see again the second section above: "2,500 Euro Award for Each Hidden Child." Here, specifically, the German Government recognizes this extra trauma, and honors it with a symbolic award..

Documentary Movie About the Hidden Children

A documentary movie has been made about the Hidden Children: "Secret Lives: Hidden Children and Their Rescuers During WWII."

That Wikipedia entry tells many more details about the Hidden Children.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10006127
  2. ↑ http://archive.adl.org/hidden
  3. ↑ http://www.yadvashem.org/yv/en/education/newsletter/24/hidden_children.asp
  4. ↑ Œuvre de secours aux enfants
  5. ↑ http://www.jewishgen.org/databases/Holocaust/0171_Hidden_Children_in_France.html
  6. ↑ http://hmlc.org/hidden-child
  7. ↑ Much about the Hidden Children was included in an Exhibition held at the United States Holocaust Museum (USHMM) in 2006: "Life in Shadows." http://www.ushmm.org/exhibition/hidden-children/index
  8. ↑ Even more information can be found at the hyperlinks in the prior reference: http://www.ushmm.org/exhibition/hidden-children/index
  9. ↑ A related important Exhibition at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, NYCH, also described the Hidden Children http://www.mjhnyc.org/LISHC/index.htm"
  10. 1 2 The Andi-Defamation League (ADL) is a source for information about the Hidden Children http://archive.adl.org/hidden/
  11. 1 2 Here the ADL describes, with photos, a few Child Survivors, not all being Hidden Children http://archive.adl.org/children_holocaust/children_main1.html
  12. ↑ This program is described at http://www.claimscon.org/2014/09/child-survivors/
  13. ↑ http://www.claimscon.org/what-we-do/compensation/child-survivor-fund-frequently-asked-questions/
  14. ↑ http://www.claimscon.org/what-we-do/compensation/apply-for-compensation/
  15. ↑ Moskovitz, Sarah "LOVE DESPITE HATE - Child Survivors of the Holocaust and their Adult Lives." Schocken Books, New York 1983. ISBN 0-8052-3801-8.
  16. ↑ Krell, Robert "Child Holocaust Survivors, Memories and Reflections." Trafford Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-4251-3720-5.
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