Trauma & Atrocity:
The Boundaries of Understanding & Emotion
Dr. Danny M. Cohen
School of Education & Social Policy
Northwestern University
NAVIGATING EMOTIONAL RESPONSES
What would you do?
(a) What is happening?
(b) Why is it happening?
(c) How might you respond?
THE EXHIBITION
You are visiting a Holocaust museum. Your assigned tour guide asks everyone to break into small groups and spend ten minutes exploring an exhibition on Jewish and Roma resistance in the Nazi camps. You notice three teenagers leaning against a wall. One teen is holding a phone, and they appear to be gossiping.
(a) What is happening?
(b) Why is it happening?
(c) How might you respond?
THE PHOTOGRAPHS
You are a high school teacher. You are leading an introductory unit on Holocaust history. Today, through photographs, you are teaching about the T4 Program (the Nazis’ policy to systematically murder adults and children with mental and physical disabilities) and Paragraph 175 (the German law that the Nazis used to imprison gay, bisexual, and trans people). A few minutes into the lesson, a student asks to leave the room. When you ask why, the student hesitates and then responds: "This is too personal."
(a) What is happening?
(b) Why is it happening?
(c) How might you respond?
THE FILM
You are a parent. For homework, students have been assigned to watch a Holocaust documentary. You encourage your teenager to invite friends over, to watch it together. The film includes footage of naked prisoners in a liberated concentration camp, as well as photographs of Jewish women and children, stripped naked and waiting to be shot into an open mass-grave by the Nazis' Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing squads). Whenever these images appear on the screen, the teens begin to giggle and some laugh out loud.
(a) What is happening?
(b) Why is it happening?
(c) How might you respond?
THE CEREMONY
You attend a public community program to commemorate the killings, deaths, and suffering of civilians in Gaza and Israel over the last six months. Many families are in attendance. Part of the ceremony includes reading out loud the names of Israeli and Palestinian children. Just before this part of the ceremony begins, one of the program leaders announces to everyone: “Now, you should know that what you’re about to hear might make you cry.”
(a) What is happening?
(b) Why is it happening?
(c) How might you respond?
COMMON EMOTIONS
Worry ... Dread ... Disgust ... Fear ... Terror ...
Sadness ... Sorrow ... Grief ... Anger ... Rage ... Hatred ...
Surprise ... Astonishment ... Awe ... Overwhelmed ... Shock ...
Confusion ... Anxiety ... Apathy ... Detachment ... Numbness ...
Shame ... Guilt ... Powerlessness ... Despair ... Distrust ...
Connection ... Sympathy ... Compassion ... Empathy ...
Understanding ... Overidentification ... Love ...
Relief ... Satisfaction ... Fascination ... Obsessiveness ...
Hope ... Inspiration ... Empowerment ... Pride ... Grounding
... and many more ...
EMOTIONS IN PRACTICE
BEFORE:
PREPARATION & EXPECTATIONS
What do we expect to see?
What emotions do we expect to feel?
What are all the possible emotions we could feel?
What is vicarious trauma? And how can we minimize it?
Lessons: All emotions are valid; Everyone responds differently;
We often feel many different emotions back-to-back, and even all at once
DURING:
PAUSING & CHECKING IN
What emotions are we feeling?
What is most surprising to us?
Which of our emotions seem to be in conflict?
Which emotions are difficult to face, and how can we face them?
Lessons: We can become aware of our emotions;
We can become aware of and respond to each other's emotions;
We can face and cope with difficult emotions
AFTER:
MAPPING & REFLECTION
What was my emotional journey?
What does my 'emotion map' look like?
How did my emotions help me learn about myself?
How can we use our emotions to guide our positive actions?
Lessons: Our emotions can help us learn, heal, and take action;
Emotions are better expressed than kept hidden; We can build resilience
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