Subject(s)
Concentration Camps/history , Ethics, Medical , Human Rights , Physician's Role , Germany , History, 20th Century , Humans , Norway , Psychiatry/history , Psychiatry/trends , WorkforceSubject(s)
Torture/history , Ethics, Medical , Europe , History, 18th Century , History, 20th Century , History, Medieval , HumansABSTRACT
After the Second World War most studies showed that concentration camp prisoners suffered from serious somatic and psychological damage. This survey documents that Norwegian ex-prisoners from concentration camps were examined and diagnosed, and received adequate somatic therapy; moreover that the majority also attained an acceptable, financially--more or less--secure existence. But eventually it could be observed that, apart from a few who received individual psychotherapy, too little was done to help ex-prisoners with their psychological problems.
Subject(s)
Concentration Camps/history , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/history , History, 20th Century , Humans , Norway , Research , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/rehabilitationABSTRACT
The author reports on a Norwegian investigation extending over more than 30 years, which showed that, apart from a few exceptions, all former concentration camp inmates and prisoners in Nazi jails manifest permanent physical and psychic damage. On the basis of these findings the Norwegian government has established a generous statutory compensation program. Unlike its counterpart in the Federal Republic of Germany, this program does not require applicants to demonstrate the cause of illness or its consequences in each case. The method of the investigation is presented in detail.
