--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: . . . since being a Jew not only means…" description: "\". . . since being a Jew not only means that I bear within me a catastrophe that occurred yesterday and cannot be ruled out for tomorrow, it is-beyond b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/jean-am-ry-49525_auschwitz_since-being-a-jew-not-only-means-that-i_869180.jpg" --- # . . . since being a Jew not only means that I bear within… ![“. . . since being a Jew not only means that I bear within me a catastrophe that occurred yesterday and cannot be ruled out for tomorrow, it is-beyond being a duty-also fear. Every morning when I get up I can read the Auschwitz number on my forearm, something that touches the deepest and most…” quote by Jean Amery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/jean-am-ry-49525_auschwitz_since-being-a-jew-not-only-means-that-i_869180.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/jean-am-ry-49525_auschwitz_since-being-a-jew-not-only-means-that-i_869180.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0e/jean-am-ry-49525_auschwitz_since-being-a-jew-not-only-means-that-i_869180.jpg) > “. . . since being a Jew not only means that I bear within me a catastrophe that occurred yesterday and cannot be ruled out for tomorrow, it is-beyond being a duty-also fear. Every morning when I get up I can read the Auschwitz number on my forearm, something that touches the deepest and most closely intertwined roots of my existence; indeed I am not even sure if this is not my entire existence. Then I feel approximately as I did back then when I got a taste of the first blow from a policeman's fist. Every day anew I lose my trust in the world.” [Jean Amery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-am-ry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He feels his Jewish identity is a lingering catastrophe, eroding trust daily. **In simple terms:** Jewish identity feels like a constant trauma. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and heal trauma. Themes identity trauma memory trust Mood somber reflective Type philosophical emotive When to use this quote - counseling - education - community support - personal reflection Key Concepts historical trauma psychological impact Questions to Reflect On - How can one rebuild trust after trauma? - What role does memory play in identity? A Different Perspective Healing may be a lifelong process. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Auschwitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) [Bears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bears/) [Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Every morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-morning/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Holocaust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/holocaust/) [Jew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jew/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) [Policemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policemen/) [Roots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roots/) [Tomorrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tomorrow/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Yesterday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yesterday/) ## Related quotes > [You get the fear every morning: 'Do I look good enough?' And of course you do, but in your own head, you never look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cavill/you-get-the-fear-every-morning-do-i-look-good-enough-and-of-course/) [Henry Cavill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cavill/) > [I realized fear one morning, with the blare of the fox hunter's sound. When they're all chasin' the poor bloody fox, 'tis safer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-higgins/i-realized-fear-one-morning-with-the-blare-of-the-fox-hunter-s-sound/) [Jack Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-higgins/) > [If you are going to make companies, corporations, actually responsible for the safety of other people's lives, then if they fail in their duty,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-bawden/if-you-are-going-to-make-companies-corporations-actually-responsible/) [Nina Bawden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-bawden/) > [Courage that grows from constitution very often forsakes a man when he has occasion for it, and when it is only a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/courage-that-grows-from-constitution-very-often-forsakes-a-man-when/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“The sole sacred duty is to fear God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-sole-sacred-duty-is-to-fear-god/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [That courage which arises from the sense of our duty, and from the fear of offending Him that made us, acts always in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/that-courage-which-arises-from-the-sense-of-our-duty-and-from-the/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [“Our higher duty is to fear God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/our-higher-duty-is-to-fear-god/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [The most comforting feeling ever is knowing that someone truly likes your entire existence. I feel that way right now. Thank you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-b-jenkins/the-most-comforting-feeling-ever-is-knowing-that-someone-truly-likes/) [Jerry B. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-b-jenkins/) > [Perhaps we become aware of our existence only when we feel on our skin the touch of a place that has no name, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-stasiuk/perhaps-we-become-aware-of-our-existence-only-when-we-feel-on-our/) [Andrzej Stasiuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-stasiuk/) > [I want life. I want to feel it and live it. I want, for as much of the time as possible in this blink-of-an-eye…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-haig/i-want-life-i-want-to-feel-it-and-live-it-i-want-for-as-much-of-the/) [Matt Haig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-haig/) > [“It was strange to be conscious of another person’s existence, to feel it as a close, urgent necessity; a necessity without qualifications, neither pleasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-was-strange-to-be-conscious-of-another-person-s-existence-to-feel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Once you have known the generosity of existence you will never feel miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/once-you-have-known-the-generosity-of-existence-you-will-never-feel/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [“Life without a purpose, to me, is just an existence. Even if you feel your only purpose is to drag yourself to a job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-l-kline/life-without-a-purpose-to-me-is-just-an-existence-even-if-you-feel/) D. L. Kline > [I just thought you'd like to know I can read. You got anything needs readin' I can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-just-thought-you-d-like-to-know-i-can-read-you-got-anything-needs/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Reviews are great. I can read negative reviews and say, 'You know that point they made... they were dead on.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/reviews-are-great-i-can-read-negative-reviews-and-say-you-know-that/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) ## More by Jean Amery > [“The poem no longer transcended reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-am-ry/the-poem-no-longer-transcended-reality/) [Jean Améry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-am-ry/) > [ “\[F\]or me, being a Jew means feeling the tragedy of yesterday as an inner oppression. On my left forearm I bear the Auschwitz number;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-am-ry/f-or-me-being-a-jew-means-feeling-the-tragedy-of-yesterday-as-an/) [Jean Amery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-am-ry/) > [“Life ... is a burden. The day about to begin is an oppressive weight… The erect penis is heavy, even heavier the hanging one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-am-ry/life-is-a-burden-the-day-about-to-begin-is-an-oppressive-weight-the/) [Jean Améry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-am-ry/) > [“I am true only as I see and understand myself deep within; I am what I am for myself and in myself, and nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-am-ry/i-am-true-only-as-i-see-and-understand-myself-deep-within-i-am-what-i/) [Jean Améry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-am-ry/) > [The tortured always remain tortured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-am-ry/the-tortured-always-remain-tortured/) [Jean Amery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-am-ry/) [Explore all 6 Jean Amery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-am-ry/) ## More Auschwitz quotes > [I stated that Hiroshima and Nagasaki are 'among the most unspeakable crimes in history.' I took no position on just where they stand on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-stated-that-hiroshima-and-nagasaki-are-among-the-most-unspeakable/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [We need creativity. We need more poetry after Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rithy-panh/we-need-creativity-we-need-more-poetry-after-auschwitz/) [Rithy Panh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rithy-panh/) > [“I remember that one Holy Week, the magazine I got every Thursday, Anteojito , came with a free poster depicting the Stations of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcelo-figueras/i-remember-that-one-holy-week-the-magazine-i-got-every-thursday/) [Marcelo Figueras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcelo-figueras/) > [No sane person wants hell to exist. No sane person wants evil to exist. But hell is just evil eternalized. If there is evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/no-sane-person-wants-hell-to-exist-no-sane-person-wants-evil-to-exist/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [My own interest in Kafka's letter came about when I was writing an article on Peter Ginz, the boy novelist held in Terezin, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cartwright/my-own-interest-in-kafka-s-letter-came-about-when-i-was-writing-an/) [Justin Cartwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cartwright/) > [Eighteen months before I was born, my mother was in Auschwitz. She weighed 49 pounds. She always told me that God saved her so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/eighteen-months-before-i-was-born-my-mother-was-in-auschwitz-she/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [“I am keenly aware that the security we enjoy is frail, and could easily be disrupted. Secretly, a nagging fear gnaws at me: what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-waterman/i-am-keenly-aware-that-the-security-we-enjoy-is-frail-and-could/) [Daniel Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-waterman/) > [There is more to Jewish history than Auschwitz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romain-gary/there-is-more-to-jewish-history-than-auschwitz/) [Romain Gary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romain-gary/) > [“I once conjured up this image of Hitler. I imagined that he didn’t kill himself and that he was kept in a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-haybittle/i-once-conjured-up-this-image-of-hitler-i-imagined-that-he-didn-t/) [Glenn Haybittle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-haybittle/) > [“In February, 1943, eight months before she was murdered in Auschwitz, the German painter Charlotte Salomon killed her grandfather. Salomon’s grandparents, like many Jews,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-bentley/in-february-1943-eight-months-before-she-was-murdered-in-auschwitz/) [Toni Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-bentley/) > [There is no question in my mind that we live in one of the truly bestial centuries in human history. There are plenty of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-chargaff/there-is-no-question-in-my-mind-that-we-live-in-one-of-the-truly/) [Erwin Chargaff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-chargaff/) > [I know that elections must be limited only to those who understand that the Arabs are the deadly enemy of the Jewish state, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meir-kahane/i-know-that-elections-must-be-limited-only-to-those-who-understand/) [Meir Kahane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meir-kahane/) > [“It was, unbelievably, not the most depressing thing we had ever seen: a bride, ripped from her own wedding, separated from her groom, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/it-was-unbelievably-not-the-most-depressing-thing-we-had-ever-seen-a/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“He sounded chilly. “I’m sure she is.” Allegra was trying to back off, but she was annoyed that he had taken her father’s part,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/he-sounded-chilly-i-m-sure-she-is-allegra-was-trying-to-back-off-but/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [Auschwitz was one of the wealthiest places in the world. Everyone who was deported there had been in such a hurry that they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-lasker-wallfisch/auschwitz-was-one-of-the-wealthiest-places-in-the-world-everyone-who/) [Anita Lasker-Wallfisch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-lasker-wallfisch/) [Browse all 168 Auschwitz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/auschwitz/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": ". . . since being a Jew not only means that I bear within me a catastrophe that occurred yesterday and cannot be ruled out for tomorrow, it is-beyond being a duty-also fear. Every morning when I get up I can read the Auschwitz number on my forearm, something that touches the deepest and most closely intertwined roots of my existence; indeed I am not even sure if this is not my entire existence. Then I feel approximately as I did back then when I got a taste of the first blow from a policeman's fist. 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