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Survival of Type 1 in Concentration Camp.

  • Thread starter Thread starter catherinecherub
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What an interesting story, and very sad the way people were treated. He is a very lucky man to have survived, his guardian angel was certainly watching over him.
 
Words cannot begin to describe the horror and atrocities that took place during WW2 during the persecution of these people, a truly remarkable story by a very courageous man.

Nigel
 
This is a really interesting story, amazing how he managed in those truly difficult situations!
 
This is an astounding story. Opportunity and cunning were the saving graces.
Many of the details, which seemed like incidental horrors in some Nazi atrocities I have read, are repeated here in exact reporting.

Thanks for posting it; so happy , Ernest's dog must provide comfort. Is he still alive?

BTW, I have never really been able to understand such sadistic behaviour en masse;
as that of the Nazi officials and soldiers-- one psychopath - yeah, one crack addict - maybe; but an entire army -- i don't get it. It's enough to make me a cynic, which I suppose I am.
 
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If the culture is sadistic then people easily become brutalised. Wartime and the Fascist nature of the Third reich make this era an extreme example but it can happen very easily.

When we hear of neglect and cruelty towards children and the elderly in places where they should
be protected we wonder how it could happen but it is the same sort of thing. If those in charge
do not actively prevent these things happening then the latent cruelty or bullying in some people
will gradually get the upper habd. It can take a great deal of courage for individuals to fight such a culture

I was recently made aware of a similar story -although not about diabetes, I was struck by the fact that the man in this story put his success down to his move to the US. The man I heard of
arrived in this country with nothing , all his relatives were killed but he has been incredibly successful -and lucky. I was led to wonder if the Jewish people just have a greater than usual instinct for survival , owing to their religion. culture and history or if it is just that surviving incredible horrors in youth gives means that no everyday problem dauns them and this leads o success in whatever they attempt.
 
Unbeliever,

I have a great book with a sociopsychological analysis of crowd behaviour in fascist circumstances: "The Nazi doctors" by Robert Jay Lifton. These movements are very complex and difficult to understand. Fundamentally, I think it is cultural brainwashing. What you suggest is that men acting as individuals have a choice to make between right and wrong, and probably many Germans did choose right. But the bottom line might be that brainwashing takes that freedom of will away. It's a mystery why some men lose their freedom to choose and others don't. I don't know why; i just conclude that man is weak under some circumstances. Maybe we should get rid of the circumstances.

As for facing these circumstances, I think that "survivors" do not give up and are in a position where they have resources to not give up. But diabetes or any serious illness in wartime stacks the cards against you. That's why this story is so remarkable.
 
Thanks for the book title Erin and the link catherinecherub. I am sure it is cultural brainwashing but find that discussion of these things often leads to more questions than answers.

A huge subject.

The story of the diabetic surviving the prison camps was truly amazing. He obviously thought that luck had played a large par in it but i ofen think you have to be able to recognise and utilise opportunity and not everyone can do that.
 
Luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Certainly true in the case of the story above! Fascinating read! (Reminded me of Papillon for some reason???)
 
I have tears in my eyes just thinking about what this man went through!
 
Put's things in context when I'm next moaning about the NHS.
 
Wow. A story of survival.. I'm surprised he went back to Vienna though.. After the war the Americans were warning Jewish concentration camp survivors taken from that area not to go back due to the Russians..?
 
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