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Survivors of the Holocaust Create a Unique Quilt


"Mirrors of Our Lives"
Paula David, MSW, Toronto

With acknowledgements and thanks to the Pomegranate Guild of Toronto for the finishing touches, Alvin Rose for the computer work and most of all Karin Rose, who brought the dream to reality.

 

As the survivors age, their strengths and issues also evolve. People who care for them must be prepared to meet these changing and complex needs with innovative and resourceful responses. There is no precedent for the massive early life traumatic assaults on these individuals and an understanding of their impact on aging survivors is evolving on a continuum. As the current literature and practice modalities cannot maintain pace with the day-to-day changing needs of those survivors eighty-five years and older, professional responses demand the creative use of theory and practice, constantly seeking new ways to connect with and strengthen aging survivors. Practitioners and policy makers must understand the demographic changes in order to provide quality services for these individuals and their families (David, 1998).

This paper examines a craft project undertaken by a group of elderly survivors. While not responsible for the actual handiwork, they activiely participated in the planning, discussion, and compositon of the project. However it was the therapeutic effects of the various dimensions of both the process and the product within a context of social work with groups that will be discussed. The group is one specifically for survivors, and the project was intended to facilitate discussion of difficult material within a mutually supportive environment.

The early life traumatic events experienced by survivors of the Holocaust seem to have left an indelible mark on every aspect of their life experiences. Vander Kolk (2000) defines the human response to psychological trauma as "one of the most important public health problems in the world." Kahana et al (1989) and Rosenbloom (1985) suggest that as survivors of the Holocaust age their behavioural and cognitive functions are affected in both particular and more acute ways than that of the overall aged population who did not have similar life experiences. As such, as survivors grow older and are confronted with the stresses and challenges of aging, they potentially face an exponential increase in vulnerability.

The needs of aging Holocaust survivors and their families are as diverse and complex as the individuals affected. In order to meet the changing clinical needs and challenges presented, professional caregivers must respond with a creative and co-ordinated approach. It is important to remain sensitive and responsive to the events that challenge the aging survivors and their families while at the same time looking for creative means to explore those challenges. To do this effectively, they must be informed, cognisant and thoughtful in the type of work conducted and the manner in which they approach this complex domain.


Social group work, by any perspective, with its ability to promote competency, a sense of community and individuality, is the ideal medium to reach out to elderly survivors. Group work has a proud tradition of working with and emphasising the best potential of individuals, empowering the disempowered, the disenfranchised and the disadvantaged sectors of our population. Aging, by its very nature implies an unrelenting series of losses that make the individual particularly vulnerable and in need of support. Social work with groups, paradoxically, is about validating and supporting individuals so that they can in turn support each other. (David, 1998, Toseland, 1994). Group work is a normalising non-intrusive method of reaching out and enhancing existing strengths.

The Terrace Holocaust Survivors' Group was created to offer resident survivors an opportunity to meet each other; form friendships based on the sharing of similar past traumas and current lifestyles and hopefully develop a network of support amongst members as they coped with aging. While the needs of aging survivors may be complex, they require and deserve individualized, holistic and multifaceted care to address them.

The group approach to discussion and mutual support can make the issues seem less overwhelming. For the past eight years, the women of the Terrace Holocaust Survivors Group have come together on a regular basis to share their experiences, losses and hopes with each other. The notion of a "therapeutic group" was foreign to these individuals and the members' original goal was just to be together where only they "could understand".

In offering groups specifically for survivors of the Holocaust, there are unique vulnerabilities and opportunities for mutual aid. Paradoxically the majority of survivors, over fifty years after the fact, in order to have coped this long, have in one way or another demonstrated remarkable strengths and coping mechanisms beyond the scope of the average imagination. The members' need is not one based on a pathological foundation, but one of coming to terms with the inconceivable, settling with the ghosts of the past when they are often uncountable, and verbalizing the gist of fifty years of silence, fearing the return of deaf ears (David 1998).

Their 'stories' were minimalized at best and at worse not believed, and they retreated into a shell of defensive silence in order to protect themselves and take on the burden of building a new life on a shattered foundation. They were further confronted by continuous generalizations on the meaning and psychology of "survivor".

Venaki et al reminds the reader how, "Much of past discussions of the psychological consequences of the holocaust are based on clinical case studies on pathological phenomena".
Giberovitch looks to strengths saying, "We can play an important role in empowering survivors to realize and appreciate their own competence and capabilities. After all, surviving the Holocaust and the obstacles and ordeals in the post-war years were not passive acts".

In an effort to maintain interest and a progressive therapeutic milieu, a variety of creative options have been introduced for group members to explore their feelings and work with their memories. Publication of "The Terrace Holocaust Survivors Group, Collective Poems" used the vehicle of taping meetings and producing "poetry" to attempt to articulate thoughts that few could individually find words for. (David 1998). Last year we looked to find a comparable artistic expression to explore post war lives.


The Survivors' Quilt had been a concept that was discussed for a few years, and members had discussed options for creating one. The actual production was based on a photo transfer technique that was capable of applying anything that could be photocopied on paper to fabric. Discussions had centred on which members had photos, who had other suitable memorabilia, what was suitable memorabilia, who could still sew and who would be interested and capable of tackling a major craft project. The reality was that the frail and elderly group members were unable to hand a project of such magnitude and the group leader did not possess the necessary skills.

A fortuitous discussion with a faculty member at a local nursing school introduced the quilt concept and captured her imagination. She volunteered to spend her summer holidays working with group members and the leader, taking the conceptual framework and design ideas and translating them into reality. At the onset, no one really conceived either the magnitude of the task at hand or the extent of the therapeutic benefit that the project would have. The project demanded many hours of skilled interview techniques as well as concurrent craft skills.

Karin Rose, the volunteer, attended Group meetings to help present the concept and elicit suggestions from group members. We were committed to using the Quilt as a group project that would encourage and support discussion about sensitive issues. There was also the need to discuss practical matters such as colour, composition and design. There were some frustrations as many Group members had been competent sewers, stitchers and designers and due to physical limitations, were unable to actually participate in the physical creation. However the sensitivity and commitment of the volunteer and her willingness to extend her "job description" enabled people to trust her and feel a part of the creation. It became apparent that a great deal of the negotiating and work would have to be done outside of Group meetings.

Initially there was a reticence to participate a project that required photos…. there were so few that survived the War, and those that did were extremely precious. Even discussions of what photographs were available triggered memories of destruction and reminders of the enormities of the losses. The leader established that each participant had at least one pre-war photograph and every one had photos marking the progression of life events since. Whether they evoked memories of better times and provided comfort, or were harsh reminders of multiple losses, each photo was cherished. Once everyone realized that they only had to release them for a quick photocopy, the fears of sharing them were allayed.

Initially the task of finding pictures and selecting appropriate ones distracted participants from the stories they represented. In this case the task was a gentle introduction to the challenging but therapeutic narrative that followed. Eron and Lund explore the concept of integrating narrative and strategic concepts. (1993). The notion of focused therapeutic intervention coupled with an opportunity to produce a narrative that can reconstruct a 'story' and reality with which the client can share with his/her community works well with the issues of the aging survivors. While a quilt as product was the functional focus, the therapeutic element in sharing and developing narratives both individually and in the group context elicited new disclosures and provided the necessary safe and supportive environment to do so. The deconstruction of personal narratives, supported by visual aids allowed group members to reframe their traumatic memories and stories and present them in a positive and rewarding context.


The role of both pre and post war photographs and other important memorabilia was discussed in the group and what would constitute an appropriate representation. Since the plan was to display the quilt in a prominent position in the residence, there were long and heated discussions about what might upset, inspire and educate viewers, while simultaneously comfort and honour survivors. The debate itself was therapeutic in that group members had to look at themselves and define what might trigger difficult emotional responses and what might provide solace. While these responses were individualized, the commonalties were considered as criteria for the quilt composition.

Since each member was allotted a 12.5"x12.5" square, there would be a personalized approach to composition and design. The emotionally and therefore physically draining task of identifying and describing treasured photos was one that the leaders felt was best done separately in the comfort of individual apartments. This was a time consuming and intensive process that was only possible with the inclusion of a dedicated volunteer who possessed both clinical and artistic skills. Within the Group, the group leader discussed the quilt; its therapeutic and design potential and helped members to respond to the various issues that ensued. Outside of group meetings they were asked to look at their own possessions and select what might be appropriate for the quilt, and then with the volunteer, considered their items, chose appropriate pieces and discussed colour and design as they related to their individual items, personality and taste.

The Quilt is over 10 feet wide and five feet high, and each of the 18 residents helped produce a square. Each square forms a collage of photos, colours, patterns and documents...all transferred onto fabric and stitched together with other Survivors' squares to form a testament to human resilience and courage. Mirroring the strength and mutual benefits to be found in group work, the quilt takes individual contributions, and brings them together to create a new entity where the total has greater impact than its parts. There were both clinical and organizational challenges in working on a project with concurrent group and individual components, but they somehow paralleled the creation of a quilt where individual bits and pieces are collected to form a new whole.

The Quilt has a visual impact that speaks to all that see it. The 18 survivors whose stories it represents are in their late eighties. Their faces reflect the trauma they have witnessed, the strength they have shown and the mortality they face. Where there are photos of them in their youth, they are a poignant reminder of a life pre-War, when there was a time that people could relax and smile for a photographer, secure in the knowledge that the world was a safe place for collecting memories. Pictures taken soon after the War, whether on passport photos, travel documents or displaced persons camps, have pain and solemnity etched on the faces. There is a progression in the photos, so that later photos show the advent of new families, homes and celebrations; with faces beaming at a new generation born in new countries. However, some survivors never lose a sadness about their faces, and some show still very few family members and less successful post War lives. The assortment reflects the diversity in the Group.

The potential of modern technology was introduced to and embraced by the Group. Copying their pictures and memorabilia made participation possible and phototransfer capablility enhanced fading pictures and documents. Further enhancement was made possible by computer scanning, adjusting and printing, allowing enlargements, reductions and touch-ups that most group members hadn't realized were even possible.


Miriam's block is a perfect example where the combination of computer enhancement, phototransfer and creative intervention allowed her to create a square from very little, while still giving her great satisfaction and comfort.

Miriam's body appears strong and does not reveal the painful arthritis that plagues her. Her face is handsome although she rarely smiles. She is an intelligent quiet woman who survived the Holocaust, although her 8 siblings, parents and all other relatives did not. When she talks about the war, her face hardens; she is bitter and angry. Initially Miriam had problems with the design of her block, as, along with her entire family, all pictorial records were also lost in the war. Her most cherished possession is a travel book she discovered in Israel after the war. It includes an old group photo of young adults from her Polish town, with her father as a young man. The book is worn, the photo is tiny and the details obscured. All that remains of her mother is the picture reflected in Miriam's eyes, telling us all how much she resembled Golda Meir. Using computer-scanning techniques, the quarter inch portrait of Miriam's father was enlarged, the contrast adjusted and then transferred onto fabric alongside another scanned and matched to size photo of Golda. Several photos of Miriam's Baycrest friends and their families fill her block, creating one of the busiest designs in the entire quilt. We all bask in Miriam's pleasure as she points out her block, complete with photos of "her parents" and her rich life. The quilt has the capacity to bring a smile to her face.

Anna's square is very different, but equally poignant.

Anna was married when the War began, but she and her husband were separated very early. Before he was sent to a labour camp and she to a ghetto, they made a pact that if they survived, they would meet back at their home. Anna was sent to a ghetto, and had no idea where her husband was. She knew would be deported to a death camp from the ghetto, and so when a Polish woman offered her a floral shawl, she escaped disguised as a Pole. Anna made it to the woods and joined a Partisan group as their cook, and to this day, she treasures the shawl, crediting it with saving her life. When the War ended, Anna slowly made her way back to her town, finding no one alive and her home gutted. She waited and some weeks later, her husband arrived. He was ill and starving, but had managed to walk across the country, to fulfil his commitment to his wife only because he had acquired a pair of boots from a dead soldier. Two months later he died. Anna's photo of herself, wrapped in her Polish shawl, wearing her husband's boots, standing by his grave, is the remnant of that marriage.

Anna's choices for her square were touching and revealing.. While in a Displaced Persons Camp, she met and married a man with whom she enjoyed a good life for almost forty years. Although he died almost ten years ago, his children and grandchildren have maintained close contact with Anna and treat her well. She has many photos of herself with this family, but chose not to include them in her block. The focal picture is of Anna and her first husband. She is surrounded by pictures of his family which were salvaged after the War, surrounding the photo of the young Anna at his grave. The rich fabric floral reds and blues framing the photos are the same as in her precious Polish shawl. Since we weren't about to destroy this treasure for the quilt, it was re-created by photocopy and phototransfer techniques, and now the replica adorns her block as proudly as the original in her apartment. Anna, when given the choice of how to commemorate her life, chose to highlight the passion and losses of her youth and to commemorate and celebrate a life that she has held quietly and alone all these years. Rather than depress her, her face glows every time she walks by the quilt.


This project demonstrates the remarkable human ability to survive the unspeakable and demonstrate the resilience to recoup and find joy and passion reflected through the wisdom of aging. Within the context of the Survivors' Group, we have shared oral histories and anecdotes, and now with the Quilt moved into the realm of visuals, sharing lives and stories with a different and unique impact. Quilting represents an age-old tradition of holding on to scraps and discarded bits of fabric to re-use and recreate a new and different art object, that has both functional and aesthetic value. There is a heart-breaking parallel in the lives of the Survivors, where they too had been torn apart and discarded by the Nazi regime. They too with great struggle and challenge pieced their lives together again and re-created something new that is reflected in the photos of their families, homes and communities.

The Group created a Quilt to warm and comfort the soul, mixing images of murdered family members and destroyed homes with the joy of beaming faces of children at their weddings and grandchildren holding their babies. Each square represents a visual and narrative miracle; a poignant combination of past, present and future that represents a personal life statement that contains universal truths. The finished Quilt has an impact that transcends both art and craft, making a unique contribution to Holocaust expression. The Group made a Quilt that honours the victims, gives solace to the creators and hangs as a legacy for future generations.


"This Quilt is about us, and it is about our life. It may look just like material or cloth to you, but to us, it is everything. Now this Quilt can tell the stories, the stories that are important-not just our lives, but Life for the World". Fela Karmiol, member of the Terrace Survivors' Group


REFERENCES

Cohen, B. (1991) Holocaust Survivors and the Crisis of Aging. In Families in Society, 70 (1), 226-232.

David, P. (1998). Meeting the Needs of the Aging Holocaust Survivor: A Comprehensive Approach. Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care.

David, P., (1999) Train the Trainer; A Comprehensive Approach to Working with Healthcare Professionals Caring for Aging Survivors of the Holocaust, presented to 1st World Conference on Jewish Services for the Elderly, Jerusalem, Nov. 1999

David, P. (2000) Social Group Work with Older Adults in Residential Facilities, invitational paper for the 22nd Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups Annual Symposium, Toronto

Eron, Joseph B. & Lund, Thomas W., How Problems Evolve and Dissolve: Integrating Narrative and Strategic Concepts, Family Process, Vol. 32, September, 1993

Giberovitch, Myra, Working with Survivors; Different Settings, Different Treatments. Paper Presented at an Institute on Working with Holocaust Survivors and Second Generation, pre-Conference of the World Conference of Jewish Communal Services, Jerusalem, 1994

Goldhar, J. & David, P., (2001), The Effects of A Support Group Intervention on Adult Children of Holocaust Survivors Self-Reports of Feelings of Isolation: A Single Subject Social Work Research Study, If Not Now, an e-Journal, www.baycrest.org/ifnotnow.html

Kahana, B., Harel, Z., Kahana, E. (1989). Clinical and Gerontological Issues facing Survivors of the Nazi Holocaust. Marcus et al (Eds). Healing Their Wounds: Psychotherapy with Holocaust Survivors and their Families, New York, 197-211.

Rosenbloom, M. (1985) The Holocaust Survivor in Later Life, Gerontological Social Work Practice in the Community, 181-190

Tomb, D.A., (1994) The Phenomenology of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. In Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, 17,(2), 237-250

Van der Kolk, B.A., (June 2000) Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and the Nature of Trauma, paper presentation for Trauma and Memory, Toronto

Schindler, R., Spiegel, C., Malachi, E., (1992) Silences: Helping Elderly Holocaust Victims Deal with the Past, International Journal of Aging and Human Development, Vol 35(4) pp.243-252,

Toseland, R., Group Work with Older Adults, 1990, New York University Press, New York
Venaki, S.K., Nadler, A., Gershoni, H., (June 1998) Sharing the Holocaust Experience: Communication Behaviours and their Consequences on Families of Ex-Partisans and Ex-Prisoners of Concentration Camps, Family Process, V.24, pp.273-280