"The flames engulfed us from all sides and the air roared" - A systematic diagnostic evaluation of the survivors of the "Hamburg Firestorm" of 1943

Abstract

In an interdisciplinary research project at Hamburg University, psychoanalysts and historians investigated the long-term psychological effects of World War II bombing attacks during the "Hamburger Feuersturm" (Operation Gomorrha) in 1943. The paper looks at the experiences from that time and the different modalities of how they were processed and compares them with the mental repercussions today. Evaluation of completely transcribed interviews with 31 female and 29 male contemporary witnesses (at the time of the firestorm between 3 and 27 years old) using "systematic diagnostic assessment."A matrix of the rated diagnostic characteristics was subjected to factor analysis and scales of severity were established in order to calculate correlation coefficients and to determine the degree of interdependence of the diagnostic characteristics. The primary experience of those interviewed was being bombed out of their homes, often with a complete loss of all personal belongings. In particular, the sight of dead bodies has remained in their thoughts to this day. The persistent psychological consequences include anxiety, nightmares, and an aversion to certain noises and smells that continue to be associated with the firestorm. The initial experiences after the war proved to be crucial to their subsequent well-being. Discussions of their dreadful experience remained mostly rare, but when they did occur, they were beneficial to their overcoming the associated trauma. We successfully quantified the essential qualitative information. Long-term psychological outcome appears to depend not only on the severity and circumstances of the - often traumatic - experiences during the war. The individual experiences in the years after the war held an important sway over subsequent well-being to the present day.