Research
Findings

One major finding in this article was that during the Holocaust, many children lost their family and friends. Groups of children were formed, in which they stuck together in order to survive. This causes the children to form groups when they escape as well. The article explains that, "The children were well aware that many of their madrichim had lost their own families during the Holocaust, and that none of them received payment for their dedicated work." (Cohen, 2012). The children all had a common understanding of what they had endured and used that to support one another.

Faith was also a uniting factor, and it was agreed upon by some scholars that, "All Jewish religious factions agreed that these were imperative for the rehabilitation of young Jews who had been through the Holocaust." (Cohen, 2012). The children had been united by faith, and using that as a stronghold was thought to be beneficial.

Scholarly Disagreements

The idea that religion should unite the Holocaust survivors has shown to be controversial, as some survivors wanted to forget their past. Believing in a God and suffering greatly for it can be challenging to accept, making the idea that Judaism would center children controversial at times.

The literature reveals that Holocaust survivors faced complex emotional, social, and economic challenges after escaping the camps. Many found hope and purpose through Zionist youth movements, community rebuilding, and support systems in displaced persons (DP) camps. Survivors struggled with trauma but also showed resilience by forming new families, advocating for Jewish statehood, and building meaningful lives. Differences in experience were influenced by age, gender, and support networks available after liberation.

Scholarly Disagreements

Scholars hold differing views on Holocaust survivors' post-war experiences. Some, like Avinoam Patt, argue that youth survivors actively embraced Zionism and helped shape the future Israeli state out of genuine conviction and a need for belonging. Others, particularly post-Zionist scholars, claim that survivors were manipulated by political leaders who prioritized state building over individual well-being.

Similarly, debates exist around gender roles. Some view female survivors primarily as caretakers, while others emphasize their agency as leaders and community rebuilders. These conflicting positions show that interpretations of survivor identity and motivation remain contested within the field.

One of these consequences is simply living in the fear that something might happen again. The article brings up a quote from a survivor of the Holocaust who describes this fear by saying, "It happened, therefore it can happen again: this is the core of what we have to say. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere." Because the Holocaust had such detrimental effects on the Jewish community, many still live in fear that another event like this could happen again. Not only does this scare Jewish people, but also other oppressed groups in society today.

Another effect of these concentration camps that we see in our society today is the leading role that American Jews have within the Jewish community. Since many of the concentration camp's victims were European Jews, the demographic of Jewish people shifted to be majority American. This massive loss of European Jews' culture and civilization has meant that learning and keeping Jewish culture has fallen into the responsibility of American Jews.

Due to the trauma experienced in concentration camps, research has shown that this trauma can affect a person's genes in a way that can be passed down without modifying the DNA. Although research on this is still being studied, this phenomenon is called epigenetic change, and has affected generations of survivors even today.

Concentration camps have led to a necessity for laws and regulations that try cases of international crimes, including genocide. Formally called the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, this institution was created to include genocide in the category of crimes against humanity, with the goal of preventing genocide.

About 73% of American Jews claim that remembering the Holocaust should be considered an essential part of being Jewish. Out of 8 other criteria of aspects of Jewish life, this was ranked the highest. This shows the cultural importance that the concentration camps and the Holocaust have on the present day Jewish community. Remembrance days are acknowledged in order to keep the memory and mourning of lives lost in the concentration camps.

Scholarly Disagreements

Although both articles present ideas on how concentration camps and the Holocaust still have a lingering effect on the present day, the article by Pew Research seems to highlight the subjective effects of these events such as how remembering the Holocaust is essential to the Jewish community. The other article looks at more objective effects such as how concentration camps created generational trauma, as well as the laws and regulations that came out of the Holocaust.