Читать книгу Creation Out of Nothingness - david Psy.D. wolgroch - Страница 3

Creation Out of Nothingness is certainly not the first book written about the Holocaust, but it might be among the last. The plethora of informative material about this atrocity attests to society’s desperate attempts to come to terms with its significance. Academic researchers, politicians, novelists, and even anti Semites have carefully extracted relevant facts and presented them in chronological order so that we can learn, understand, and reach conclusions. Even Holocaust survivors and their offspring have courageously shared their experiences with others.

It would have been nice if my childhood had proceeded unhindered by the pervasive influence of the past. Mom and Dad would have waited until I was deemed mature enough, sat me down in a comfortable armchair, and told me about their dark past in an organised manner. But, life is not like that.

Instead, tales of their experiences emerged almost randomly without much consideration for accuracy, chronology, or relevance. I knew, for instance, about Dad’s liberation way before I was told about his experiences in the Warsaw Ghetto. Frequently, the significance of events is revealed in what is left unsaid, more than what is overt. Some children of Holocaust survivors, the second generation, have called this ‘the black box’.

So, if while reading Creation Out of Nothingness you find yourself confused about the timing of events, the association between a particular event and a specific person, or the distinction between actual events and conjecture, know that you are experiencing some of what it is like living with this legacy.

Creation out of Nothingness illustrates the personal significance of the Holocaust Legacy across four generations of one family: my family. However, it would not surprise me if other members of the second generation find themselves highlighting certain passages that evoke memories of their own experience. Notwithstanding, Creation Out of Nothingness is a story of universal significance, with which everyone can identify. It is a story of human tragedy, survival, love, humour, angst, and care. It is told from the heart.

It took me eight years to write. Actually, wrote most of it within several months; the remaining years were spend deliberating over the final chapter. During this period nothing much happened. During this period a lot happened. Unbeknown to me, my father, Chaim, was preparing his own narrative describing his harrowing Holocaust experiences. He had recruited someone to help him write I Summons the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to Court. When the first ghost-writer succumbed to the bare dreadfulness of dad’s vivid testimony, another was found. The same occurred with her. Hence, I Summons remained unfinished, unrefined, and uncensored.

Dad sent me and my brother, Mike, a copy in the hope that we could procure a publisher. No luck there. The manuscript, on the surface, appeared as if it required extensive revision in order to correct obvious errors in grammar, spelling and format. But, I had decided that it was complete and set out to retype the manuscript myself. Except for some minor alterations, Dad’s simple testimony remained as direct, powerful, and unflinching as he felt. Despite this, it was much harder than I had anticipated. Emotionally, I could manage to retype only several pages at a time before feeling overwhelmed. Strangely, my fingers became stiff, my eyes watered, and my mind wandered…At these moments I sought solace in mindless television programmes, or called a friend to talk about nothing important. Alternatively, I cruised the nearby shopping mall to seek reassurance in everyday humanity by noticing young children effortlessly gliding on wheeled shoes, young girls excitedly chatting about a particular boy who had blushed at their party, or an elderly man sharing the remaining portion of his ice cream with a strange dog leashed to a post.

For me, personally, the writing of this book served a vital, if not belated, therapeutic function. I hope it does the same for you. Clearly, this book will not answer all of your questions about the Holocaust. In fact, it may produce more troubling thoughts. But, you may not feel the need to ask.