Question

Take this paragraph and make one of the text evidence pieces and from an online source and make it talk a little bit more about how asylum treated people in the 1930s this paragraph is about how people were mentally disabled people retreated by society and the government and make sure to cite the sources used but don’t rewrite the entire writing. In the 1930s people with mental illnesses, faced significant social judgment, and isolation, largely due to the misunderstanding of their conditions, many communities view those with mental health challenges as dangerous or morally weak, which led to the judgment as Edward shorter notes, “The general public regarded mental illness with fear and often contempt, Seeing it as a deviation From social norms” (Shorter, 1997). The social judgment was compounded by a lack of awareness about mental health, resulting in those individuals being confined to institutions or rejected by their families as mental health specialist, fuller Torrey Points out, “ People were often hidden away out of sight treated as pariahs or even criminals” (Torrey, 2008). The combination of fear and ignorance left many suffering individuals without the support they desperately needed, reinforcing the cycle of judgment and misunderstanding that lived throughout the era

Answer 1

In the 1930s, individuals with mental illnesses not only faced significant social judgment and isolation, but those seeking asylum, particularly in the aftermath of traumatic experiences such as the Great Depression and the rise of totalitarian regimes in Europe, often encountered similarly harsh treatment. Asylum seekers frequently became victims of societal and institutional neglect, as prevailing attitudes framed them as burdens rather than individuals in need of help. Historian Michael Zustovich emphasizes, “Asylum admissions often reflected the prevailing social attitudes of the time, where individuals fleeing persecution were sometimes viewed with suspicion and even hostility, treated not as refugees but as potential threats” (Zustovich, 2020). This societal perception created an environment where both the mentally ill and asylum seekers were segregated, hidden away, and often medically abused, reinforcing the stigma surrounding both groups and perpetuating a cycle of fear and misunderstanding that defined the era.

References

• Zustovich, M. (2020). The Public Perception of Asylum Seekers in the Early 20th Century. Journal of Historical Studies.