Life Satisfaction of Holocaust Survivors

Abstract

Objective: Find out the impact of the Holocaust trauma on life satisfaction of alive Czech survivors, and to compare it with a control group of respondents.                                                       Design: Prospective study                                                       Participants: The total number of respondents in the study was 130. The exposed group consisted of 65 Czech Holocaust survivors (average age 88.5 years), control group of 65 Czech seniors (average age 88 years).  Methods: The article presents a quantitative research assessing the life satisfaction of survivors using the standardized Life Satisfaction Questionnaire by Fahrenberg et al. (1986) on a main group, and compares it with a control group. A nonparametric test for two selections (Mann – Whitney) at a significance level of 0.05 was used to test the hypotheses.                                                       Results: In spite of wide spectrum of the Holocaust effects, the exposed group shows higher or the same satisfactionin the most of the monitored areas compared to the control group (Health Me 4 vs. 3, p – 0.000; Workand employment Me 6 vs. 5, p – 0.000; Financial situation Me 6 vs. 4, p – 0.000; Leisure time Me 4 vs. 4, p – 0.002; Marriage and partnership Me 2 vs. 0, p – 0.284; Own self Me 4 vs. 3, p – 0.000; Sexuality Me 3 vs. 3, p – 0.879; Friends and acquaintances Me 5 vs. 4, p – 0.002; Housing Me 5 vs. 4, p – 0.000; Overall life satisfaction Me 5 vs. 4, p – 0.001). On the contrary, they are less satisfied in the area Children (Me 4 vs. 5, p – 0.016).                                                        Conclusions: The research displays integration of hardiness and vulnerability, lust for life and the ability of man to live and survive in extreme conditions and still feel a joy of life.