Menstruation and the Holocaust | History Today
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Menstruation and the Holocaust
Periods are a fact of life, but little talked about. How did women in the concentration camps cope with the private being made public in the most dire and extreme circumstances?
Jo-Ann Owusu | Published in History Today Volume 69 Issue 5 May 2019
‘Assignment to Slave Labour’, Auschwitz, Poland, c.1940.‘Assignment to Slave Labour’, Auschwitz, Poland, c.1940.
Menstruation is rarely a topic that comes to mind when we think about the Holocaust and has been largely avoided as an area of historical research. This is regrettable, as periods are a central part of women’s experience. Oral testimonies and memoirs show that women felt ashamed discussing menstruation during their time in the concentration camps, but, at the same time, they kept bringing the subject up, overcoming the stigma that is attached to them.