Sexual Abuse of Jewish Women in Auschwitz-Birkenau

Abstract

Is it possible for us to understand Auschwitz? Can we use our own language to delve into the history of the camp and, in particular, into the sexual exploitation of Jewish women in the camp? Is it appropriate for a historian to try and decipher the reality she wishes to describe? Are the well-established rules and methodologies of historical inquiry sufficient? Can the experiences of these women be recounted by scholars who did not stumble out of their shattered realities, who did not experience the extreme loss, all the more incomprehensible as it involved loss of a sense of self? Is it not preferable to leave the camp behind, to let the wounds heal and the screams be cried out, and to allow death to perish?