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Rebuilding Lives After Genocide pp 151–198Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Identity and Adaptation

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Compromise after Conflict ((PSCAC))

Abstract

Genocide survivors have to manage a changing identity once they migrate to a new country. New identities become open to them in terms of new nationalities and becoming viewed as a survivor or a victim. This chapter explores how survivors manage this identity adaptation over time, and how they come to see themselves as a survivor, particularly analysing the concept of a hierarchy of survivors. The notion of being a survivor is one which has seen much discussion, and this chapter explores the nuances of the terms ‘survivor’ and ‘victim’. In addition, this chapter also explores the idea that genocide survivors constitute a field (in the Bourdieuian sense) in themselves, discussing how this field functions and impacts upon survivors. In doing so, this chapter examines which individuals become dominant and achieve a higher status in the survivor field. In closing, the chapter considers how survivors talk about their experiences and how memory, both individual and cultural, affects the retelling of stories.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Around 70% of Hungarian Jews were murdered during the Holocaust. Jack lived in Budapest and, benefited from Raoul Wallenberg’s protective passport scheme. Wallenberg was a Swedish diplomat and served as Sweden’s special envoy in Budapest for the last half of 1944. During that time, Wallenberg issued around 9000 passports. Jack’s family were part of a further 10,000 people who were housed in properties that Wallenberg had designated Swedish territory and hence were protected by diplomatic immunity.

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  1. Leeds Beckett University, LEEDS, West Yorkshire, UK

    Linda Asquith

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  1. Linda Asquith
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Correspondence to Linda Asquith .

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Asquith, L. (2019). Identity and Adaptation. In: Rebuilding Lives After Genocide. Palgrave Studies in Compromise after Conflict. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14074-8_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14074-8_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

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  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-14074-8

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