Shrija Acharya1

Shrija Acharya
UWRT 1102-009
4/16/2015
Why are "They" so quiet?: A Research Review on Sexual Assault of Women
Sexual Abuse of women has always been one of the topics that has not been tackled
properly till date. Even in a century like this, women are raped and their existence is limited. I
was curious about how this problem was tackled and brought up during and after the holocaust.
Moreover, it was surprising and hard to find even one single article written or documentary
recorded about women who were victims of sexual assault during the holocaust. Sexual assault
of women at that time definitely had taken place; however stories of it are still unheard. I was
confused to make this my topic of inquiry because it's such a big topic. Nevertheless, I was really
curious about knowing why holocaust is known for genocides of Jews but not of women's
dignity. For this, I wanted to inquiry more on why's and how's. Hence, I chose the topic, "Sexual
Assault of women during holocaust".
The two articles that really spoke to my curiosities are "The Shame is Always There" by
Esther Dror and Ruth Linn and "Forced Sterilization and Abortion as Sexual Abuse" by Ellen
Ben-Sefer from the book "Sexual Violence against Jewish Women during the Holocaust" written
by Sonja M. Hedgepeth and Rochelle G. Saidel. The first article, "The Shame is Always There"
really answers my inquiry questions because this article clearly explains why women were quiet
about them being sexually abused. This article introduces three survivors out of which were two
women and one man. In this article, the writer introduces a very disturbing situation. Women

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were raped, by force or by their own will in order to live, but the shame of admitting that from a
personal point of view was always there.
One of the surprising things this article introduced me to was that women who were
interviewed had so many knowledge about prostitution and rape cases; however they were never
one of those victims. Leah, one of the survivors, quotes, "Despite the fact that among her friends
from the ghetto, in the camp, and even after liberation, there were those who bartered sex for
survival, and even though she herself had received and refused a proposition, Leah says: I know
nothing and I havent a clue(5). To add to this, the writer says, "Why is her story told from a
viewpoint of denial? It seems that more than once Leah found herself rejecting rumors in which
she herself was a victim of sexual abuse"(5). The women who were interviewed when asked said
that they were never raped but the women who they knew were. The disturbing not me but she
answers drove the whole article. To add to that, the witness even mentioned that faith and belief
in doing good deeds always came across whenever they saw women selling themselves to the
men. They said that they would follow their faith and die than to have sexual relations with men
and live. It was very shocking to see so many denials and excuses for just one single question.
Just how a person has to live and adapt oneself in the rules of the society, women had to
do the same after the war as well. This article describes such a situation where a mother had to
sacrifice her happiness and keep the pain deep within for the sake of her family.
One of the survivors, Reuven from the interview quotes, From my mothers perspective
it was shameful, he said. He continued: It was shameful. She told me. . . . in Israel, we
would often talk about it. . . . when she reached the age of sixty she, apparently as a result
of the war, went crazy. She was treated . . . and when I spoke with the doctors then they
told me that the pressure expresses itself after many years. Everything is inside, inside,

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until it explodes. And . . . she told me many times. She said: I was ashamed, but I knew
it was part of life. If you want to live, because, otherwise, he could have put a bullet
through your head and it would all be over" (14).
Women were shameful because of the world they were living in. Before, there was a world of
war, where one's eagerness to do anything in order to survive one more day was an adaptive
quality. And later, there was the free and comfortable world, where one had to live their lives
with criteria such as values, culture, and self-respect in mind. Such "values" shut her mouth. He
was a man whose mother was raped by a German and his brother was born to look like an
Aryan. The man unlike others didnt hesitate to say that someone who was his own mother was
raped. This gives a very strong conclusion saying that the shame of being raped or saying that
she herself was raped will never be accepted by the world.
This article even provides another reason why women might have kept quiet. The women
who were raped or didn't want to share it needed a strong reason to deny it. The writer quotes,
The writer quotes, "On various occasions Leah asserts that those who used sex as a
means of survival cannot be judged. But where she herself is concernedas a young,
innocent woman who had received a strict upbringing in a religious home the option
does not even arise. Despite her assertion that those who did it in such dire
circumstances are not to be judged, she claims that sexual abuse of all types depends on
conscious acquiescence on the part of the victim: I want to say that even there, in that
same graveyard, one had free choice. . . . the ability to be bad, the ability to be good, the
ability to be wanton, and the ability . . . to keep your honor, to preserve your body. No
one raped, no one forced. Unfortunately, various other womens testimonies negate this
statement" (5).

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It was so shocking to see some woman defending herself so that she could keep up with the
denials and excuses that she had been supporting. I would want to know from her why she even
said that when sexual violence did take place during the holocaust. I was more than surprised to
see her bringing up values and beliefs when trying to make her point.
The second article, "Forced Sterilization and Abortion as Sexual Abuse", written by Ellen
Ben-Sefer from the same book as above, provides a central message that the topic of sexual
violence, an issue still surrounded by taboos, silence, and shame, is still uncovered but out there.
He explains how not only rape but the act of forced abortion and sterilization are also forms of
sexual abuse which have hardly been spoken of about. This article basically describes and
explains why events such as sterilization and abortion are also forms of sexual abuse and how
important it is to have women know and speak up for it. This article introduces such a term that I
was unaware about and that clearly shows why women might have kept quiet.
The writer quotes, "Joan Ringelheim describes as a split memory both leaving the issue
of gender out of Holocaust research and womens ambivalence about disclosing any form
of sexual abuse. She writes: First, gender is considered irrelevant to the Holocaust. This
results in forgotten memories; memories that are misunderstood by the survivors or not
taken as Holocaust-related and thus split from the Holocaust. Second, there is a dividing
line between what is considered personal and private to women, and what has been
designated as the proper collective memory of the Holocaust"(1).
Till now, I always thought women hid their stories about sexual abuse but this article helped me
understand that there are cases when the victims don't intend to forget; they just do. Too add to
that, the writer puts his point by saying that no one would prefer sharing what happened to them
just so others can be aware of about. To some extent what he writes is practically true.

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The writer quotes, "Although often ignored, forced sterilization and abortion relate to a
central tenet of cultural norms valid during the time of the Nazi regime: women were
expected to bear children. Thus, being forced to give up a fundamental function of ones
dened feminine role was emotionally painful. For those who were the victims of forced
abortions and were then able to bear children after the war, their ordeal may have
remained a painful secret, best left private. For those who suffered permanent damage as
a result of abortions performed crudely, either in concentration or death camps, the
consequences of infertility may have been too shattering to discuss"(2).
Although I personally want women to speak up about what happened to them as well, I also can
feel how they might feel about sharing the pain they went through. The writer beautifully
explains that it isn't always so easy to do something that's asked even though that helps in
bringing awareness or anything better. This can also be interpreted from the following paragraph
the writer quotes, "About 120240 Gypsy women and adolescent girls were forcibly sterilized
during the final months of the war, but the total number of Jewish and Gypsy women sterilized in
Ravensbrck is not known" (7). It was more than surprising to see this fact because the trauma of
240 women being abandoned from bearing a child is almost impossible to imagine and explain.
Had I been in their position, I would have never been able to build up the strength to say this in
front of the world. I would have never been able to gather so much courage and memories and go
through the same pain I lived again.
The first article relates to the topic of inquiry because they provide reasons as to why
women are ashamed and shut regarding the matter of sexual abuse. The truth of women being
sexually abused was never regarded important. Why? Why was it never unfolded? Why did
women never mention it? These questions that clearly relate and answer my inquiries are

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answered in these articles. This research made me conclude that it isn't always shame; the trauma
of some events can affect one's condition in one way or the other. That might be one of the
reasons why nothing was spoken about sexual abuse. Too add to that , the argument that the
writer makes is that both sterilization and abortion have remained shameful for most victims, a
hidden secret too painful for them to discuss despite the passing of years. Even when women
were forcibly sterilized or forced to have abortions, the victims often blame themselves and do
not speak of these experiences. The writer argues that this shouldn't be the case and that provides
several incidents and events of women being abused to the audience so that other survivor
victims of the same cause will speak up which I believe is hard to do. I argue that the victims
shouldn't feel guilty for what happened to them because it wasn't their fault however, I do feel
the difficulty in expressing the experience. Hence, the two articles completely provide me
reasons as to why women might have kept quiet, which basically are my answers to the inquiry
question.
Works Cited:
Dror, Esther, and Ruth Linn. "The Shame Is Always Always There."Sexual Violence against
Jewish Women During the Holocaust". Hedgepeth, Sonja M, Saidel, Rochelle G
Waltham: Brandies University Press, 2010. 275-92. Project Muse.
Sefer, Ellen Ben. " Forced Sterilization and Abortion as Sexual Abuse."Sexual Violence against
Jewish Women During the Holocaust Hedgepeth, Sonja M, Saidel, Rochelle G Waltham:
Brandies University Press, 2010. 275-92. Project Muse.