Therapeutic dreams in Auschwitz

Authors

  • Wojciech Owczarski University of Gdansk, Institute of Polish Philology

Keywords:

dream, therapy, the Holocaust, concentration camp in Auschwitz

Abstract

The aim of this article is to answer the question whether the dreams of Auschwitz prisoners had a therapeutic function. The author selected 51 dreams (out of 208 dreams reported in 1973 by former Auschwitz inmates) from which it followed that a particular dream had some kind of a positive influence on the dreamer: on his or her mood, frame of mind, faith in the possibility of survival and liberation, or even his or her health condition. The author found three dominant groups of such dreams: “caring” dreams, “freedom” dreams, and metaphorical dreams, and described their helping effects.

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References

Engelking Barbara. 2013. “Sny jako źródło do badań nad Zagładą” [Dreams as a Source for Holocaust Research]. Zagłada Żydów. Studia i Materiały 9: 19-47.

Hall Calvin S. and Nordby Vernon J. 1972. The Individual and His Dreams. New York: New American Library.

Hartmann Ernest. 2001. Dreams and Nightmares. The Origin and Meaning of Dreams. Cambridge: Perseus Publishing.

Hartmann Ernest. 2011. The Nature and Functions of Dreaming. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Jagoda Zenon, Kłodziński Stanisław and Masłowski Jan. 1977. „Sny więźniów obozu oświęcimskiego” [Dreams of Auschwitz camp prisoners]. Przegląd Lekarski 3 (34): 28-66.

Jung Carl. 1974. Dreams. R.F.C. Hull, trans. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Owczarski Wojciech. 2014. “Therapeutic Effects of the Dreams of Nursing Home Residents in Poland”. Dreaming 4 (24): 270-278.

States Bert O. 1988. The Rhetoric of Dreams. Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press.

Published

2016-10-24

How to Cite

Owczarski, W. (2016). Therapeutic dreams in Auschwitz. Books Now. Gdańsk Humanistic Journal, (6), 85–92. Retrieved from https://czasopisma.bg.ug.edu.pl/index.php/JednakKsiazki/article/view/400