Running head: CHORUS OF THE RESCUED: NAVIGATING LIFELONG TRAUMA 1

Chorus of the Rescued: Navigating Lifelong Trauma

Introduction to World Literature and Cultures

 2

Abstract

“Chorus of the Rescued” by Nelly Sachs illustrates the experience of Holocaust survivors as they

reintegrate back into society following the end of World War II. Sachs explores this topic using

unsettling imagery and delicate, relevant symbolism throughout to significantly enrich the

underlying message of the piece. By incorporating imagery that so clearly illustrates the author’s

intention, “Chorus of the Rescued” vividly depicts the unique battles Holocaust survivors were

tasked to fight, both physically and psychologically. Furthermore, Sachs effectively

communicates the long-term effects this historical event had not only on its direct survivors but

also on their families, friends, and those who aided them in re-entering the world after such a

traumatic experience. This piece explores the disturbing nuances of Holocaust survivors’

psychological, physical, and generational trauma through imagery and symbolism that clearly

describe the complicated experience of facing daily violence, death, and uncertainty, only to

attempt to rejoin society after.

 3

Chorus of the Rescued: Navigating Lifelong Trauma

Nelly Sachs’ poem “Chorus of the Rescued” highlights both the physical and

psychological pain that Holocaust survivors suffered by depicting their unique and poignant

struggles of integrating back into everyday life following such a harrowing, life-changing

experience. Sachs uses remarkable imagery to disturb the reader, invite uncomfortable questions,

and convey the very haunting message that these survivors, although now rescued, have been

forever changed. Using powerful word-choice, striking metaphors, and heartbreaking

symbolism, Sachs illustrates the unrelenting pain Holocaust survivors endured, not by describing

the horrors they experienced at the hands of Nazi soldiers or in concentration camps, but rather

through detailing the inescapable trauma that remained with them for the rest of their lives.

Imagery

Sachs opens with heavy imagery regarding death, describing survivors as “from whose

hollow bones death had begun to whittle his flutes” and “on whose sinews he had already stroked

his bow”. These dark and captivating terms instantly demonstrate just how close these people

had been to death every day, consequently hinting at the lasting impact of such an experience.

Garwood (2020) asserts that “Holocaust survivors were ordinary human beings who were forced

to endure extraordinary events. The mental processes available to them to survive these events

were the same as those available to all humankind”. The way Sachs states how their bodies

“continue to lament” and how “the worms of fear still feed on us”, describes very well the

lingering trauma survivors feel after years of living in such an unsafe, insecure environment,

having only their own coping mechanisms and psychological fortitude on which to rely.

Holocaust survivors were not simply tortured by ineffable fears and mental anguish, however;

Plunka (2017) explains that the most common manifestations of the psychopathology of these
 4

survivors included depression, nightmares, severe sleep issues, recurrent distressing memories,

often in the form of hallucinations, and various psychosomatic disorders; therefore, when Sachs

likens the survivors’ pain to a tidal wave, or mourns that their bodies were rescued but their souls

had been left behind, or asserts that the only thing they have in common with anyone anymore is

the imminence of death for everyone, she is quite plainly illuminating for the bystanders of this

tragedy just how deep-seated and irreparable the damage of this experience was and continued to

be for those involved.

Sachs later describes this pain like a tangible force, difficult to control or ignore, referring

to it as “badly sealed” and able to “burst forth again and carry us away”, further illustrating the

all-encompassing nature of the agony survivors felt and the way it not only impacted them but

also those around them. In fact, according to Alfandary (2021), regardless of how far-removed

future generations are from World War II and their relatives’ experiences therein, “the stories

told, and the stories avoided…are passed on [to children] through unconscious processes,

uncanny in nature, where they continue to exert a heavy burden”. Among many other things,

Sachs’ impressive imagery effectively communicates the hopelessness, sorrow, and long-term

impact that so many Holocaust survivors and their families experienced after the war had ended.

In the subsequent lines Sachs requests, “show us your sun…but gradually…be gentle when you

teach us to live again” lest they “dissolve into dust”, depicting both the tragic degree of caution

survivors had to exercise while re-entering the world, as well as the delicate nature of their

psyches after all the suffering they had endured.

Symbolism

Deeply woven into the images used in this piece is Sachs’ use of symbolism. She

specifically uses natural elements to describe complicated emotions and experiences, such as:
 5

describing the air before their nooses as “blue”, which typically symbolizes calmness or

peacefulness, to illustrate the submission they likely felt toward their seemingly hopeless

circumstances; describing the pain of survivors as water-like, with the fluidity to fill vessels and

drip through hourglasses, while also citing its unfettered and overwhelming might that can “burst

forth” and carry people away; and, lastly, often mentioning dirt and dust, which might be

referencing the fleeting and pointless nature of life, especially a life spent suffering – this

particular symbol could also be a reference to Old Testament scripture, that of the Jewish faith,

in which dust is described as the place from which humanity came and to which we will all

return.

Conclusion

Nelly Sachs’ poem “Chorus of the Rescued” uses powerful word-choice, haunting

imagery, and thought-provoking symbolism to illustrate the unimaginable suffering – both

physical and psychological – that Holocaust survivors endured during and after World War II.

The dark and meaningful imagery Sachs uses early in the poem immediately captures her

readers’ attention and invites them to react to her message from a place of deep emotion. Sachs’

distinctive examination of Holocaust survivors’ lives after the war gives outsiders a chance to

explore on a much more personal level the long-term effects of such trauma and its impact on

future generations, thus exemplifying on a very personal level just how devastating this historical

event truly was.

 6

References

Alfandary, R. (2021). Postmemory, Psychoanalysis and Holocaust Ghosts. Milton: Taylor and

Francis.

Garwood, A. (2020). Holocaust Trauma and Psychic Deformation. Milton: Taylor and Francis.

Plunka, Gene A. (2017). Holocaust Theater. Taylor and Francis.