The Role Of Solitary Confinement In World War II
During World War II, Millions of people were put into death or concentration camps and almost all of them suffered some form of mental illness afterwards. These people were forced to let go of basic human emotions and work for the people trying to get rid of them. Even though, they tried to stay with God through everything, their faith was tested. When they were questioning their own religion, they went through almost manic states. Being confined and stripped to almost nothing made them feel and act as if everything was hopeless. Throughout the years of World War II, many people were forced into concentration camps where they were stuffed into huts with not enough space. After these people were let out, doctors noticed they had a disorder
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Many prisoners, after being put into solitary confinement, seem to lose hope that anything will ever be fine again. Jason breslow records the statements of one Harry Harlow as he says, “‘most subjects typically assume a hunched position in a corner of the bottom of the apparatus. One might presume at this point that they find their situation to be hopeless.’ Harlow also found that monkeys kept in isolation wound up ‘profoundly disturbed, given to staring blankly and rocking in place for long periods, circling their cages repetitively, and mutilating themselves,’” in reference to many subjects he observed. He also goes to say most adjusted after a month or two but those who stayed the longest had their humanity almost obliterated. So the reader can infer that longer periods of time in isolated areas can have very permanent, long lasting effects. Also in the article, “What Does Solitary Confinement Do To Your Mind?”, researchers at McGill University had male graduate students go through an experiment where all of their senses were dulled, like that of solitary confinement, and some even went as far as having hallucinations (Breslow) much like in Night when Mrs. Schächter in the cattle car when she’s seeing fire (Wiesel). None of the subjects were able to last more than seven days. The conclusion of the experiment came sooner than originally thought and was simple, the people put in solitary confinement are, most likely, going to go
Many prisoners, after being put into solitary confinement, seem to lose hope that anything will ever be fine again. Jason breslow records the statements of one Harry Harlow as he says, “‘most subjects typically assume a hunched position in a corner of the bottom of the apparatus. One might presume at this point that they find their situation to be hopeless.’ Harlow also found that monkeys kept in isolation wound up ‘profoundly disturbed, given to staring blankly and rocking in place for long periods, circling their cages repetitively, and mutilating themselves,’” in reference to many subjects he observed. He also goes to say most adjusted after a month or two but those who stayed the longest had their humanity almost obliterated. So the reader can infer that longer periods of time in isolated areas can have very permanent, long lasting effects. Also in the article, “What Does Solitary Confinement Do To Your Mind?”, researchers at McGill University had male graduate students go through an experiment where all of their senses were dulled, like that of solitary confinement, and some even went as far as having hallucinations (Breslow) much like in Night when Mrs. Schächter in the cattle car when she’s seeing fire (Wiesel). None of the subjects were able to last more than seven days. The conclusion of the experiment came sooner than originally thought and was simple, the people put in solitary confinement are, most likely, going to go