Themes
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In Bernice Eisenstein’s memoir, I was a child of Holocaust Survivors; there was an abundance of different themes and symbolism. These themes include: loss, memory, and recovery.
Loss
To begin, loss was a very big theme in this book, as almost everyone that Bernice knew in her childhood, whom were connected to the Holocaust had lost someone very dear to them, including Bernice herself. For example, the book actually starts out with the author speaking about her father’s funeral and the days of mourning that follow it. For example “Death leaves a hole that grows covered with longing. After my father was buried, I put aside the garment the rabbi had cut, symbolic of the rendering of loss…” (Eisenstein, 2006, p.p. 11). We found this specific example of loss, to be somewhat of a representation of the hurt and sadness that many went through during the time of the Holocaust, when they to lost their loved ones, and in many ways, this was a way that the author came to understand the struggles and hardships of her own parents.
In this memoir, the author also speaks about her father’s loss, whose mother, father, and two sisters, had all been killed during the Holocaust. For example “His fist would be clenched and he would hold within himself a silent, mournful howl that was to stay with him throughout his life” (Eisenstein, 2006, p.p. 39). This example also illustrates the theme of loss, as mentioned earlier, that loss is something that stays with you forever, and with her father as well as with many Holocaust survivors, loss of friends, family, and loved ones, was too something that stayed with them forever. Some of the most prevalent examples of the theme of loss in this book are found in the chapter titles “The Group”, where Eisenstein gives us much insight into the experiences of her relatives and family friends, and their own personal stories of loss. One such example includes that of Norman, a family friend. “Norman had a wife and young child before the war but they died in a concentration camp” (Eisenstein, 2006, p.p. 159). This particular example provokes a great deal of sorrow and loss, as this person lost his young family, which is a tragic loss the many experienced during the holocaust.
Memory
Eisenstein also strongly conveys the theme of memory and remembrance in her memoir, and does so in a variety of ways. One of the strongest ways she conveys the theme of memory is when she illustrates her younger self interacting with family, iconic figures, or a variety situations, both real and hypothetical. Through this method, one gets a sense of her own personal memories of her family and relatives on a more emotional level. A photograph, though accurate in its portrayal of a certain time and place, does not capture the emotional responses, relations, or personality of the people in her life as her own illustrations do. Eisenstein also conveys the theme of memory in another very brilliant way: through her parent’s wedding ring, which in itself also contains a great deal of symbolism and the themes. For example, when Eisenstein and her mother are going through her father’s belongings and find this ring, both have very touching and heartbreaking memories associated with it. For example, the mother tells us of her experience in a concentration camp, and working in a storehouse named Canada. For example:
“Now I will tell you it’s story,”…My mother arrived in Canada long before the country became her new home. When she was in Birkenau, she would be marched daily with other female prisoners to a section of the camp named after a country for the abundance it held. For a short while, my mother worked there, in “Canada,” in one of the many storehouses. It was a place where the confiscated possessions of Jews were sorted….One day my mother was so cold she found the nerve to ask the guard if she could take a coat from the heap of so many, wear it just for the duration of her work duty. The guard nodded and gestured towards the pile of clothing. My mother put the coat on and slid her hands into the pockets so as to have the luxury of momentary warmth. Inside, she felt something sewn into the lining, and without attracting any attention to herself, she managed to slip out of its hiding place a ring—this golden ring she was giving to me now. She hid the ring in her shoe and was able to keep it until the end of the war. It was the ring she gave to my father when they married, not long after liberation. It was all that she had to give him and he wore it forever” (Eisenstein, 2006, p.p. 15).
What Eisenstein remembers in association with this ring deals more with the death of her father. For example “It belongs to my image of him as he lay dying” (Eisenstein, 2006, p.p. 15) In this example, not only does the ring hold memories of the mother and her experiences in a concentration camp, but also Bernice herself and her last memory of her dying father. The ring itself seemed to convey a great deal of symbolism, particularly life, or the cycle and hope of life. For example, when Eisenstein’s father was dying, a memory that she closely related to her parents wedding band, she states “…when on the day before my father dies, the lament in his heart extinguishes as I stand close to him and he puts his open hand on my pregnant belly and says that my child will have his name” (Eisenstein, 2006, p.p. 39). Another way that Eisenstein conveys the theme of memory is through the book itself. This memoir is a collection of her parents and her own memories, a way of not only remembering her parents, but bringing light to the tragedy of the Holocaust itself, and it’s terrible atrocities. This memoir provides us with real and relatable people, who feel as though they too are family to the reader. When one learns of their personal stories and loss, we can see the true gravity of the Holocaust, which will forever be engraved into our minds as a memory of our own. Through this book, the author is also keeping the memory of her parent’s memories alive, so that future generations may not forget. I believe this point is illustrated best by the quote at the end of her book “Only guard yourself and guard your soul carefully, lest you forget the things your eyes saw, and lest these things depart your heart all the days of your life, and you shall make them known to you children, and to your children’s children.
Recovery
Recovery was another theme that was expressed in Eisenstein’s memoir. In her memoir many of her relatives, and family friends, and wore a great deal of damage and sorrow from their experiences in the Holocaust. For example, almost everyone in Eisenstein’s family had lost someone, whether it be a sibling, sister, brother, friend, or parent, and each expressed their sorrow and sense of loss. However, though this burden of loss and sorrow would be something that many in her family would carry with them until they passed away, many through a great deal of strength and determination we able to go on and live happy and peaceful lives. Norman, as mentioned earlier, who had lost his young family in the Holocaust eventually remarried and had children. For example “Now he sits at the table, weightless in his tuxedo, content and prosperous, with his wife and their two sons…” (Eisenstein, 2006, p.p. 159). In fact all of the survivors mentioned in this memoir went on to live better lives and find happiness. Another example of the theme of recovery in this memoir is expressed when she refers to the phrase “oyf Simchas” (Eisenstein, 2006, p.p. 78). For example “confused? A phrase heard at a celebration and also when offering condolence? Oyf simchas—May we meet on joyful occasions” (Eisenstein, 2006, p.p. 78). On page 78 there are images of many people saying this phrase to one another in both happy and sad occasions. However on page 79 there is an image of Auschwitz and the train tracks, with a man saying this exact phrase. This seems to symbolize the themes of hope and recovery for many survivors who went through these terrible atrocities, that many survivors will reflect and hope on more positive things that of all the negative they experienced.
Eisenstein, B. (2006). I was a child of Holocaust survivors.Toronto, On: McClelland & Steward Ltd
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