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כרוניקה של משפחה יהודית במאה העשרים #6
Shivitti: A Vision
Though the author survived two years in Auschwitz, the memories of the horrors he experienced gripped him mercilessly for years until he found relief through psychotherapy. This book is the author's unforgettable memoir of that experience.
134 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
2 people are currently reading
361 people want to read
About the author
Ka-tzetnik 135633
13 books47 followersYehiel De-Nur or Dinur (born: Yehiel Feiner; Hebrew: יחיאל דינור), known by his pen name Ka-tzetnik 135633 also Ka-Tsetnik (Hebrew: ק. צטניק) was a Jewish writer and Holocaust survivor best known for his 1955 novel "The House of Dolls", which he claimed was inspired by his time as a prisoner in the Auschwitz concentration camp.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 29, 2022
Ka-tzetnik 135633 è lo pseudonimo di Yehiel De-Nur, autore di alcune delle testimonianze più crude dell’orrore dell’Olocausto, fra cui lo struggente e bellissimo “Casa di bambole”, ispirato alla vicenda della sorella Daniella, sopravvissuta come lui al campo di concentramento di Auschwitz: proprio nell’inferno di Auschwitz 135633 era il suo identificativo di prigioniero e tale identificativo ha utilizzato per scrivere i suoi romanzi, parlando in terza persona, come se quella sorte terribile non fosse toccata a lui.
Ebbene, negli anni ’70 Yehiel De-Nur ha deciso di sottoporsi alle sedute del Professor Bastiaans, lo psichiatra olandese che per primo ha riconosciuto e identificato la “sindrome da campo di concentramentro”, curandola con una terapia che prevedeva la sommistrazione dell’LSD, una fra le più potenti sostanze psichedeliche: lo scopo era quello di far rivivere ai sopravvissuti l’orrore vissuto nei campi per poi liberarsene per sempre e riuscire a parlarne, come una sorta di catarsi. De-Nur all’inizio è scettico e impaurito, ma poi acconsente al trattamento, incoraggiato dalla moglie Nike. La trascrizione di queste sedute e le relative conseguenze sulla sua psiche costituiscono questo libro: una raccolta di immagini disturbanti, a mezza vita tra il ricordo e l’allucinazione, attraverso le quali De-Nur rivive, e fa vivere, la terribile esperienza che ha vissuto, la paura, la disperazione, l’appello a un Dio che, di fronte al crematorio, sembra assente. I riferimenti alla religione ebraica sono frequenti, a partire dal titolo, in quanto gli “Shiviti”, in ebraico, sono delle rappresentazioni meditative di un candeliere a sette braccia usato in alcune comunità per onorare il nome di Dio. Ma dov’era Dio, ad Auschwitz? Qual era il suo volto, di fronte a tutto questo?
Deliro e miseria, miseria e delirio. Ho parlato di catarsi ma a dire il vero no, De-Nur non è mai definitivamente uscito dai cancelli di Auschwitz, lui e gli altri sopravvissuti: gli incubi lo hanno perseguitato sempre, giorno e notte, e ovunque. E’ riuscito però, grazie a questa terapia, a tirare fuori quello che covava dentro, a raccontare, a testimoniare, senza rabbia, senza più paura. Bellissima l’immagine con la quale chiude il libro, lui che, in lacrime, dice alla moglie Nike: “E’ accaduto…è accaduto”. Cosa, è accaduto? E’ riuscito a scrivere, a mettere su carta questa esperienza straordinaria e allucinatoria, una nuova consapevolezza di sé e del proprio vissuto.
E’ buffo che io abbia letto dei deliri di De-Nur quando io stessa ero in delirio per la febbre, paradossalmente sono riuscita ad apprezzare di più il libro che, per quanto breve, non è certo di facile lettura. Ammetto di averlo cercato ovunque, eppure….non esiste! Non esiste nelle biblioteche di una provincia grande come quella di Milano, non è più in stampa, non si trova nemmeno nell’usato: l’ho trovato solo in due biblioteche di Milano città, mi ci sono recata apposta, tanta era la curiosità di leggerlo. Ho fatto bene, è una testimonianza molto particolare.
Ebbene, negli anni ’70 Yehiel De-Nur ha deciso di sottoporsi alle sedute del Professor Bastiaans, lo psichiatra olandese che per primo ha riconosciuto e identificato la “sindrome da campo di concentramentro”, curandola con una terapia che prevedeva la sommistrazione dell’LSD, una fra le più potenti sostanze psichedeliche: lo scopo era quello di far rivivere ai sopravvissuti l’orrore vissuto nei campi per poi liberarsene per sempre e riuscire a parlarne, come una sorta di catarsi. De-Nur all’inizio è scettico e impaurito, ma poi acconsente al trattamento, incoraggiato dalla moglie Nike. La trascrizione di queste sedute e le relative conseguenze sulla sua psiche costituiscono questo libro: una raccolta di immagini disturbanti, a mezza vita tra il ricordo e l’allucinazione, attraverso le quali De-Nur rivive, e fa vivere, la terribile esperienza che ha vissuto, la paura, la disperazione, l’appello a un Dio che, di fronte al crematorio, sembra assente. I riferimenti alla religione ebraica sono frequenti, a partire dal titolo, in quanto gli “Shiviti”, in ebraico, sono delle rappresentazioni meditative di un candeliere a sette braccia usato in alcune comunità per onorare il nome di Dio. Ma dov’era Dio, ad Auschwitz? Qual era il suo volto, di fronte a tutto questo?
Deliro e miseria, miseria e delirio. Ho parlato di catarsi ma a dire il vero no, De-Nur non è mai definitivamente uscito dai cancelli di Auschwitz, lui e gli altri sopravvissuti: gli incubi lo hanno perseguitato sempre, giorno e notte, e ovunque. E’ riuscito però, grazie a questa terapia, a tirare fuori quello che covava dentro, a raccontare, a testimoniare, senza rabbia, senza più paura. Bellissima l’immagine con la quale chiude il libro, lui che, in lacrime, dice alla moglie Nike: “E’ accaduto…è accaduto”. Cosa, è accaduto? E’ riuscito a scrivere, a mettere su carta questa esperienza straordinaria e allucinatoria, una nuova consapevolezza di sé e del proprio vissuto.
E’ buffo che io abbia letto dei deliri di De-Nur quando io stessa ero in delirio per la febbre, paradossalmente sono riuscita ad apprezzare di più il libro che, per quanto breve, non è certo di facile lettura. Ammetto di averlo cercato ovunque, eppure….non esiste! Non esiste nelle biblioteche di una provincia grande come quella di Milano, non è più in stampa, non si trova nemmeno nell’usato: l’ho trovato solo in due biblioteche di Milano città, mi ci sono recata apposta, tanta era la curiosità di leggerlo. Ho fatto bene, è una testimonianza molto particolare.
April 17, 2012
Yehiel De-Nur is one of the most interesting Holocaust survivors out there. For the past 30 years, every single night since after the war, he wakes up screaming in a bath of his own sweat terrorized by the memories of the past. Every single night he is afraid of going to bed, closing his eyes and facing the certain nightmares that will visit him during his sleep.
He has written numerous of Holocaust related books (for example House Of Dolls and Salamandra) but curiously enough, despite having survived Auschwitz and being a firsthand witness to the Holocaust, all his books are written in third person. He can't write about the Holocaust in first person, Kaa-tzentik the author and De-Nur the holocaust survivor are two different people to him.
For the past 30 years he has never revealed his tattooed arm in public. No matter the weather, he always wears a long shirt to hide the blue numbers on his arm. In fact he doesn't even know the number, to do so would mean having to look at it. Something he hasn't been able to bring himself to do since after the war.
De-Nur was a witness during the post-war Nazi trials, they had barely managed to ask him a few basic questions on Auschwitz before his body went into paralysis and he had to be rushed to the hospital.
In short, he is completely unable to confront his horrors on a personal level even though he can write about them in third-person all day long.
No matter what he reads, writes and says he can never get rid of the terrible intense nightmares. As a sort of a last resort De-Nur turns to the well known Dr. Jan Bastiaans, an expert in treating people with 'Camp Syndrome'. Bastiaans administrates LSD to De-Nur on five occasions and guides/oversees the journey back to the death camps.
I don't really consider this is a pure Holocaust book. The most interesting aspect of it is seeing a man journeying to the absolutely most dark and far out places of his own mind. Confront the things he has been burying deeper and deeper for the past 30 years and finally finding a way to express himself.
He has written numerous of Holocaust related books (for example House Of Dolls and Salamandra) but curiously enough, despite having survived Auschwitz and being a firsthand witness to the Holocaust, all his books are written in third person. He can't write about the Holocaust in first person, Kaa-tzentik the author and De-Nur the holocaust survivor are two different people to him.
For the past 30 years he has never revealed his tattooed arm in public. No matter the weather, he always wears a long shirt to hide the blue numbers on his arm. In fact he doesn't even know the number, to do so would mean having to look at it. Something he hasn't been able to bring himself to do since after the war.
De-Nur was a witness during the post-war Nazi trials, they had barely managed to ask him a few basic questions on Auschwitz before his body went into paralysis and he had to be rushed to the hospital.
In short, he is completely unable to confront his horrors on a personal level even though he can write about them in third-person all day long.
No matter what he reads, writes and says he can never get rid of the terrible intense nightmares. As a sort of a last resort De-Nur turns to the well known Dr. Jan Bastiaans, an expert in treating people with 'Camp Syndrome'. Bastiaans administrates LSD to De-Nur on five occasions and guides/oversees the journey back to the death camps.
I don't really consider this is a pure Holocaust book. The most interesting aspect of it is seeing a man journeying to the absolutely most dark and far out places of his own mind. Confront the things he has been burying deeper and deeper for the past 30 years and finally finding a way to express himself.
January 23, 2014
One of the most painful, nightmarish books I have ever read— and one of the best. Leave off any prejudices you may or may not have about subjects like LSD therapy. Embrace instead the story of a human being, trapped in the worst horrors of Auschwitz, unable to leave them behind for thirty years after his body has been rescued, and the courageous and terrible work that he did to finally free himself.
If you have an interest in the holocaust, or an interest in psychology, you should read this book. If you are interests in both, you have absolutely no choice but to read it.
If you have an interest in the holocaust, or an interest in psychology, you should read this book. If you are interests in both, you have absolutely no choice but to read it.
October 14, 2017
"Gli anni inferno durano più a lungo degli anni luce." (p. 12)
January 15, 2022
A very interesting insight into the use of LSD as part of psychotherapy for holocaust survivors. Mr De Nur is an interesting character and his lsd experiences are vivid, all over the place and meaningful, such is the nature of such substances. It appears the lsd therapy assists him greatly coming to terms with what he faced and experienced at Auschwitz. He appears to obtain greater understanding and clarity of thought regarding this time. It is clear that before the lsd therapy he was all over the place and was only coherent when he was writing in the third person about his experiences.
February 3, 2011
My father gave me this book years ago and I had no idea what it was about. He scours the B&N clearance rack regularly. I recently went through a phase (after reading Maus) in which I read any Holocaust literature I could get my hands on. The author is famous for writing House of Dolls, which is a graphic account of his "sister" and her experience in the "Joy Division" of Auschwitz, which is the forced prostitution ward. Apparently it's unclear whether or not he actually had a sister, but the novel was taken as truth for a long time and is still taught in Israeli schools. ANYWAY. That book is extremely hard to find, and costs upwards of $60 online...so I was bummed. Then the author's name struck a memory chord and I ransacked my bookshelf until I found Shivitti.
This is a tough one to review. It's not a linear tale and it's difficult to read sometimes. The author recounts his experience using LSD in an experimental and guided way to help clear himself of his residual trauma stemming from spending two YEARS in Auschwitz. I've read descriptions of LSD trips before, Jim Carroll does it beautifully...but this book got long-winded at times and if the passages weren't so catastrophically painful, I might have been bored.
The author is known for being highly sensitive. He was called to testify at the trial of Adolf Eichmann-he famously passed out on the stand and couldn't go through with it. That being said, I think the primary merit of this book, and it's not really one to be taken lightly, is its ability to really get you inside of the head of this lingering trauma. The author's mission is to basically relive the Holocaust, to let his mind be transported back so he can glean knowledge from what he has experienced and hopefully conquer his memories. I have tried LSD before and it terrifies me to even think about reliving a painful breakup, so I can't even imagine the fear he must have felt preparing to relive Auschwitz. It described certain things that happened to the author, and ways that he is still affected by the past, but his words drip with that mental and emotional sensitivity that transmit into everything he does. It was affecting, to say the least. I can't say that this novel should be mandatory reading, but it did what it set out to do, and it really got under my skin.
Ka-tzetnik 135633 was his concentration camp number.
This is a tough one to review. It's not a linear tale and it's difficult to read sometimes. The author recounts his experience using LSD in an experimental and guided way to help clear himself of his residual trauma stemming from spending two YEARS in Auschwitz. I've read descriptions of LSD trips before, Jim Carroll does it beautifully...but this book got long-winded at times and if the passages weren't so catastrophically painful, I might have been bored.
The author is known for being highly sensitive. He was called to testify at the trial of Adolf Eichmann-he famously passed out on the stand and couldn't go through with it. That being said, I think the primary merit of this book, and it's not really one to be taken lightly, is its ability to really get you inside of the head of this lingering trauma. The author's mission is to basically relive the Holocaust, to let his mind be transported back so he can glean knowledge from what he has experienced and hopefully conquer his memories. I have tried LSD before and it terrifies me to even think about reliving a painful breakup, so I can't even imagine the fear he must have felt preparing to relive Auschwitz. It described certain things that happened to the author, and ways that he is still affected by the past, but his words drip with that mental and emotional sensitivity that transmit into everything he does. It was affecting, to say the least. I can't say that this novel should be mandatory reading, but it did what it set out to do, and it really got under my skin.
Ka-tzetnik 135633 was his concentration camp number.
January 3, 2025
The thought of giving a Holocaust survivor LSD may be shuddering, but none of this would have been possible without the almost shamanistic guidance of Professor Baastians.
Among the testimonies of Holocaust survivors, the world of K.Tzetnik stands out in particular, perhaps because of the impression that he is a poet with such a sensitive soul, thrown into the worst place on earth. And indeed, this is also what made his talented writing so unique and possible; this sensitivity is also what led him to experience Auschwitz subjectively at depths that are difficult to describe or understand, sometimes, it looks, even to himself.
The visions he describes under the influence of the LSD treatments are deeply shocking. What was particularly interesting to me was identifying motifs and archetypes that are closely related to Jungian psychology. In fact, K. Tzetnik himself writes in this book that his life since Auschwitz has oscillated between the realm of Jung and that of Baastians. These are fascinating unconscious symbols and motifs that are related to archetypes and the collective unconscious, but not only that. K. Tzetnik's unconscious, probably because he grew up as a Hasidic and probably was a genius, revolves mainly around Jewish mysticism. This is a fascinating glimpse into the unconscious of both the Jew and the human being as a human being. He touches on aspects here that are almost inconceivable in their depth.
After the Eichmann trial, and the famous nervous breakdown, he distanced himself from the world, but this book was the only reason he agreed to be interviewed again, after many years, and his message was that if it depended on him, the message of this book should be distributed in every home, because the understanding that man is the one who created Auschwitz inevitably leads to the insight that man is also the one capable of pressing the red button of the atomic bomb.
It is difficult for me to formulate it precisely, but it seems that his redemption came to the realization that Auschwitz was not another planet, contrary to what he once preached, Auschwitz was a man-made thing. And since he is a man himself, Auschwitz could easily have been his own creation. It also seems that the weighty question of "Why?", he finds a solution in the understanding that perhaps these are calculations in the sky that are beyond our understanding. Even if he envisions mythological figures from the Bible who themselves struggle in Auschwitz.
That is of course an important message, but the density, mental difficulty and shocking images in this book may not be easy reading for everyone, certainly not for the casual reader who does not know enough about history.
In any case, as someone who grew up on the myth of K. Tzetnik somewhere in the background with Holocaust studies, this book, which is not discussed enough, brings with it a little comfort that that tormented witness from the Eichmann trial indeed was able to gain a little relief in the evening of his days, and it opens up a whole discussion about the branch of psychological therapy using psychedelic drugs with post-traumatic patients.
Among the testimonies of Holocaust survivors, the world of K.Tzetnik stands out in particular, perhaps because of the impression that he is a poet with such a sensitive soul, thrown into the worst place on earth. And indeed, this is also what made his talented writing so unique and possible; this sensitivity is also what led him to experience Auschwitz subjectively at depths that are difficult to describe or understand, sometimes, it looks, even to himself.
The visions he describes under the influence of the LSD treatments are deeply shocking. What was particularly interesting to me was identifying motifs and archetypes that are closely related to Jungian psychology. In fact, K. Tzetnik himself writes in this book that his life since Auschwitz has oscillated between the realm of Jung and that of Baastians. These are fascinating unconscious symbols and motifs that are related to archetypes and the collective unconscious, but not only that. K. Tzetnik's unconscious, probably because he grew up as a Hasidic and probably was a genius, revolves mainly around Jewish mysticism. This is a fascinating glimpse into the unconscious of both the Jew and the human being as a human being. He touches on aspects here that are almost inconceivable in their depth.
After the Eichmann trial, and the famous nervous breakdown, he distanced himself from the world, but this book was the only reason he agreed to be interviewed again, after many years, and his message was that if it depended on him, the message of this book should be distributed in every home, because the understanding that man is the one who created Auschwitz inevitably leads to the insight that man is also the one capable of pressing the red button of the atomic bomb.
It is difficult for me to formulate it precisely, but it seems that his redemption came to the realization that Auschwitz was not another planet, contrary to what he once preached, Auschwitz was a man-made thing. And since he is a man himself, Auschwitz could easily have been his own creation. It also seems that the weighty question of "Why?", he finds a solution in the understanding that perhaps these are calculations in the sky that are beyond our understanding. Even if he envisions mythological figures from the Bible who themselves struggle in Auschwitz.
That is of course an important message, but the density, mental difficulty and shocking images in this book may not be easy reading for everyone, certainly not for the casual reader who does not know enough about history.
In any case, as someone who grew up on the myth of K. Tzetnik somewhere in the background with Holocaust studies, this book, which is not discussed enough, brings with it a little comfort that that tormented witness from the Eichmann trial indeed was able to gain a little relief in the evening of his days, and it opens up a whole discussion about the branch of psychological therapy using psychedelic drugs with post-traumatic patients.
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January 7, 2020I wouldn't read this out of the blue. It's probably best to know a bit about the Holocaust and what took place in the camps before reading it, otherwise understanding what is expressed in this memoir? is too unnerving and hard to absorb. It's still difficult even knowing, but at least if you've read Holocaust material you have a framework within which to understand.
June 1, 2024
The ultimate litmus test for psychedelic trauma therapy is a survivor of an Auschwitz survivor. This book documents the author’s healing through guided LSD therapy and a recount of his experiences on LSD. Truly eye-opening, gut wrenching and powerful.
September 5, 2019
intense. short and intense. fascinating. beyond what i can possibly conceive.
December 13, 2023
An incredible story of perseverance and brilliance. This story weaves in and out of the authors persecution during WWII, and his therapuric LSD trips years after the war ended. It can be hard to tell what is real and not. Very trippy book.
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August 29, 2012no, not an other memoir of the holocaust, this really punches you in your heart and soul.when in our days, a fool raises and pretends it didnt happened while making a bomb to erase whats left of the Jewish people, it's a good time to remember and understand what's at stake.
March 12, 2013
Very thought-provoking. Not a historical work, per se, but of historical significance. More about consciousness and recovery than anything.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews