Speaking the Unspeakable: Gender, Sex, and Survival in the Holocaust

• In Event: Gender, Sexuality, and the Holocaust, Session 2

Abstract

Many historians are reluctant to compare men and women’s experiences based on sex, as
they believe that men and women were targeted as Jews, not because of their gender. This has led to a gap in the historical conversation about the Holocaust. After the Holocaust, memoirs and diaries became widely available and more insight into sex and sexual abuse provided scholars with some sources when researching these topics. However, even with these sources available, many of which are used in this study, scholars are still hesitant when it comes to discussing sex and gender in the Holocaust. The main source for this study is individual testimonies and survivor interviews. One of the more intriguing aspects of this study is the research of prostitution as a form of survival during the Holocaust.
The purpose of this study is to show that gender, sex, and survival were all a part of the Holocaust. Gender did matter due to the biological differences between men and women and sex and sexual abuse played a major role in the experiences of survivors and victims of the Holocaust.It is important to show these aspects of the Holocaust. The arguments in this thesis will show how, and why, gender, sex, and sexual abuse affected survival and experiences during the Holocaust.

Author

• Stephanie Taylor