Editors Hedgepeth and Saidel’s Sexual Violence Against Woman During the Holocaust, is by no means an easy book to read, but it is vitally important to the study of the Shoah.
As the authors in the collection explain, the study of gender violence in the Holocaust was never explored until the 1980s. It was deemed not worthy of study; or more darkly, women who were victims of sexual assault were blamed for the crimes committed against them. Under such a spurious shadow, women did not share their experiences.
Also, Nazi racial laws did not permit sexual relationships of any sort between Germans and other “races,” particularly Jews. Historians took this law at face value, believing, contrary to evidence, that sex crimes against Jewish women by Germans were rare. This volume shows us that they were not.
Unfortunately, as in all wars, women were sexually assaulted during the chaos of the Holocaust. The dehumanizing environment of the Shoah was the perfect atmosphere for men to commit sex crimes against women. This study shines a light on these crimes, to the eternal benefit of the victims, and so we can learn the truth.
As the authors in the collection explain, the study of gender violence in the Holocaust was never explored until the 1980s. It was deemed not worthy of study; or more darkly, women who were victims of sexual assault were blamed for the crimes committed against them. Under such a spurious shadow, women did not share their experiences.
Also, Nazi racial laws did not permit sexual relationships of any sort between Germans and other “races,” particularly Jews. Historians took this law at face value, believing, contrary to evidence, that sex crimes against Jewish women by Germans were rare. This volume shows us that they were not.
Unfortunately, as in all wars, women were sexually assaulted during the chaos of the Holocaust. The dehumanizing environment of the Shoah was the perfect atmosphere for men to commit sex crimes against women. This study shines a light on these crimes, to the eternal benefit of the victims, and so we can learn the truth.
No comments:
Post a Comment