Fear and comfort: the plight of hidden Jewish children in wartime-Poland.

Jewish children in hiding during the Holocaust undoubtedly share many experiences. These have affected their lives in various ways. In general, many, if not most, formerly hidden have learned to master their painful childhood memories and paradoxically harness these to further their adult development As a person dealing these past nine years in the study of the Gentile rescuers of both Jewish adults and children, from countries of different political, economic and cultural backgrounds, and of various and even conflicting attitudes towards the Jewish population in their midst, I found the experiences of Jewish children in hiding in Poland to be especially overwhelming and heart-strinng. In that country, the various affectations were sharper and more accentuated than those experienced by their counterparts in West European countries; that is, the sufferings and fears, as well as the love and comfort which these children underwent in Poland were far more pronounced than similar situations elsewhere on the German-controlled continent.