I get a mixed reaction when I tell people I work at the Holocaust Survivors' Centre. Some people immediately say "that must be interesting" but others ask "isn't that depressing?". To answer I say - yes it is interesting because the people I meet there are so interesting - as for depressing - certainly not. The Centre is a vibrant and exciting place - a "social" centre rather than a "day" centre - it is after all a testament to survival - the members (who are either refugees, hidden children, slave labourers or camp survivors) came to this country and established new lives, learned a new language and built families....many without the support of family members or close friends. Their common experience is that of having been wrenched from their previous secure lives - and thrown into the maelstrom we now call the Shoah - perhaps they were children sent away from their parents (as in the case of those who came on the Kindertransport) or perhaps they were herded into overcrowded Ghettoes where they lived on meagre rations; where disease was rife and where the sight of dead bodies in the street was commonplace or perhaps they were one of those transported in cattle trucks to a concentration camp undergoing that infamous selection before entering that nightmare world where all values were distorted .... turned upside down...where they were victimised, degraded, starved and dehumanised.
However, walk into the Holocaust Survivors' Centre and there is music, laughter and enjoyment.
On behalf of Jewish Care, Judith Hassan, our director, together with the survivors formed Shalvata and the Holocaust Survivors' Centre. The two services offer therapeutic options to help survivors live with the trauma and find some relief from their dreadful memories. The philosophy underpinning the Centre is that of the active involvement of the members in its running which empowers them and gives them a voice - as Judith states in her book "A House next Door to Trauma" - "if power had been taken away from you, if you had been ignored as though you did not exist it becomes essential to counteract that experience" (P.191). (For her work with Holocaust Survivors, Judith was awarded an OBE in 2008)
At the Centre they have built a community in which they feel they belong and in which they feel strengthened by being together. The Centre offers a very varied social programme including, art, a creative writing group, a Yiddish group, outings to the theatre and opera as well as bridge and many other sessions. There is a drop-in café where thick nourishing freshly made soup is always available as well as fresh salads. There are no food lines here and bread is always freely available - an important counter to the memories of the past.
At Shalvata (situated next-door to the Centre) there is a team of highly qualified therapists who specialise in offering a range of therapies for those survivors who find that memories of events from the past re-emerge as they grow older especially if they experience a current trauma such as the death of someone close. In addition, there is also help available from specialist workers who offer practical and emotional support for past trauma and current difficulties.
One of my own areas of responsibility is that of our Testimony Project. We have a small and dedicated group of volunteers who record interviews so that the survivors' stories are saved for posterity and filed with the National Life Story Collection at the British Library. In this way the survivors' feel their suffering is acknowledged and that the memory of those who perished will not be lost.
We also work with more recent trauma experienced by refugees from former Yugoslavia and give advice to other professionals working in the field of war trauma.
What makes the people I meet at the Centre so interesting?.... It is that despite their experiences they embody the will to live on. Surviving the Holocaust is not the end of the story............ there is another story for each one and that is ....how they survived the period after the Holocaust.
What they witnessed in the Shoah often remained hidden as unfinished business and unmourned grief, though physically set free, they carried their emotional wounds with them. Despite all this most have been able to live full lives.
I feel very privileged to work as part of a team which through our Director's vision gives relief to traumatic memory.
Holocaust Survivors' Centre - 020 8202 9844 Shalvata - 020 8203 9033
May. 25th - 26th
5th Sivan
Begins: 20:46
Ends: 22:03
Sedra: Bamidbar