If I had been born in Europe in the early 1940s, I might not be alive today. Instead, I might have become a victim of the Holocaust, killed because I was deaf and considered "useless." In the Holocaust, deaf people not only were killed for being deaf - more than 1500 were killed - many thousands were forcibly sterilized.
I became more aware of the experiences of deaf people in the Holocaust through viewing the fascinating exhibit, "In der Nacht." The In der Nacht exhibit was detailed in the Winter 1987-88 issue of Gallaudet Today. This photographic exhibit told the very moving and tragic story of a deaf Jewish couple.
Gallaudet University Press has published a book on deaf people in the Holocaust, "Crying Hands." (compare prices) page of the Press web site. Another Gallaudet University Press book is Deaf People in Hitler's Europe (compare prices). There was also a littleinformation inanother Holocaust book, The Other Victims.
In addition, three excellent articles about deaf people in the Holocaust are available:
- Deaf People in Hitler's Europe - Classic Fall 1998 Gallaudet Today magazine article. Combining a report on a conference with historical information and lavishly illustrated, this article also includes a related article on survivors. An earlier issue of Gallaudet Today (Winter 1987-1988) features the story of Gallaudet professor Eugene Bergman, a survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto.
- Deaf People Trapped in Hitler's Holocaust - Written for deaf teens, this online special has three articles plus a teacher's guide. Also available but not linked to from the main page of the special, is an article on the forced sterilizations.
- History of Deaf Holocaust Victims - This illustrated article is on the site of the JDCC. Included is a photograph of a memorial to deaf people killed in the Holocaust.
Finally, the Jewish Deaf Community Center (JDCC) online newsletter has run a six-part "Surviving the Holocaust" series: #1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6
