Hi Liz, The word 'amidst' is a preposition. In this context, it can be understood as meaning 'in the middle of' or 'during'. An easier way of thinking about this sentence would be: War burns memories of pain into the minds of those who survive and attempt to return to normal life while the nation rebuilds itself. Another example using the same word: There was one black bird amidst a flock of white pigeons. I hope this helps!

Amid and amidst are two words meaning the same thing, it is a preposition that shows either that something took place in the middle of something. Or it can also mean something took place in the middle of something and while/during something happened. The context will tell you. For your sentence it took place in the middle of the destruction after the war when the nation attempted to rebuild from the (pain) rubble/destruction is implied. https://www.dictionary.com/e/amidst-vs-amid/ Your sentence is one where people will argue some saying it means in the middle of the war, some saying it means during the war, and some saying it means a subtle blend of both. But the clue is the beginning of the sentence "War burns memories of pain into the minds of those who survive --" We are talking about the event of war after the war and rebuilding after the war surrounded by what is left after the war (the pain). The nation attempts to rebuild after the war surrounded by the pain of war, (the destruction and painful memories). Amidst the memories of the pain of war, the people attempt to rebuild. War burns memories = the memories are etched deep into people memories the memories are so horrific they can't forget easily.

Amidst is one of those words that is often used in literary writing, and to me sounds a little oldie-worldie, but perfectly ok to use like "within" or "among" or "amongst".

I am just and English person not a teacher but I think amidst sounds OK there. It means "surrounded by" or "in the middle of" - rebuilding while surrounded by what is left of a nation after a war. Sorry I can't explain the grammatical construction.