The Eichmann Trial and Its Influence on Psychiatry and Psychology
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Judith Stern
This article reviews professional mental health publications before and after the Eichmann trial. Psychiatrists rejected the massive denial of survivors' emotional reactions that was prevalent in Israeli society at the time. The Eichmann trial permitted the opening up of survivors' experiences in public. Legal procedure enabled the witnesses to speak about what they had hidden until then. The judge's presence gave legitimacy and power to the accusations, transforming the survivors from outlaws to partners in justice. The audience came to support this stronger survivor identity. Through a slow process, it became a valid issue for psychotherapy, allowing the weaker aspects of the survivors' personalities to be addressed. This article reviews professional mental health publications before and after the Eichmann trial. Psychiatrists rejected the massive denial of survivors' emotional reactions that was prevalent in Israeli society at the time. The Eichmann trial permitted the opening up of survivors' experiences in public. Legal procedure enabled the witnesses to speak about what they had hidden until then. The judge's presence gave legitimacy and power to the accusations, transforming the survivors from outlaws to partners in justice. The audience came to support this stronger survivor identity. Through a slow process, it became a valid issue for psychotherapy, allowing the weaker aspects of the survivors' personalities to be addressed.
©2011 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Article
- Communities of Judgment and Human Rights
- The Force, Frailty, and Future of Human Rights under Globalization
- Rethinking the Concept of Harm and Legal Categorizations of Sexual Violence During War
- One Life for Another in the Holocaust: A Singularity for Jewish Law?
- Preparing the Eichmann Trial: Who Really Did the Job?
- The Eichmann Trial and Its Influence on Psychiatry and Psychology
- Eichmann's Mind: Psychological, Philosophical, and Legal Perspectives
- Theaters of Justice: Arendt in Jerusalem, the Eichmann Trial, and the Redefinition of Legal Meaning in the Wake of the Holocaust
- In a Different Voice: Nathan Alterman and Hannah Arendt on the Kastner and Eichmann Trials
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Article
- Communities of Judgment and Human Rights
- The Force, Frailty, and Future of Human Rights under Globalization
- Rethinking the Concept of Harm and Legal Categorizations of Sexual Violence During War
- One Life for Another in the Holocaust: A Singularity for Jewish Law?
- Preparing the Eichmann Trial: Who Really Did the Job?
- The Eichmann Trial and Its Influence on Psychiatry and Psychology
- Eichmann's Mind: Psychological, Philosophical, and Legal Perspectives
- Theaters of Justice: Arendt in Jerusalem, the Eichmann Trial, and the Redefinition of Legal Meaning in the Wake of the Holocaust
- In a Different Voice: Nathan Alterman and Hannah Arendt on the Kastner and Eichmann Trials
