The emotional toll on child survivors of the Shoah: Examining the work of Paul Friedman M.D

After the Shoah, the adult world which for the most part had not managed to save the millions of Jewish children, were now put to the task of having to rehabilitate the remnant that had survived. Arguably one of the most significant aid organizations in the immediate post-war period was the American Joint Distribution Committee (JDC). Whilst the need to give material assistance to the children was a given, members of the Health committee of the JDC raised the need to provide the young survivors with emotional and psychological support. As a result, the JDC appointed the psychiatrist Dr. Paul Friedman, to conduct a study on the state of child survivors of the Shoah currently living in institutions in Europe. From July 10-December 20, 1946, Friedman travelled to Europe in order to conduct his study. His report is entitled: “A Survey of the Mental Conditions of the Surviving Jewish People,” is a rich and telling document which is an invaluable resource for social historians of the immediate post-war period as well as for researchers of who examine the effects of trauma on young children.