Danieli, Y. (1982). Families of survivors of the Nazi Holocaust: Some short- and long-term effects. In C. D. Speilberger, I. G., Sarason, N. Milgram (Eds), Stress and anxiety (Vol. 8, pp. 405-423). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Hemisphere Publishing.

Abstract

Describes a representative sample of Jewish families with at least 1 member who survived the Holocaust—in the underground, by hiding, or in ghettos or work or death camps—and with 1 or more children born after the war. Data were obtained in clinical work with survivors and offspring participating in a group project in the New York City area begun in 1975. Approximately 50 survivors, aged 37–74 yrs, and 200 children of survivors, aged 17–33 yrs, were interviewed. Factors involved in the re-formation of survivor families, the “conspiracy of silence” or refusal to talk about camp experiences, psychological traits of those survivors who later adopted the role of either a “victimized Jew” or a “fighter,” the effects of these roles on the families, and the importance of understanding an individual survivor’s war history are examined. The most painful struggle underlying survivors’ attempts at coping with and integrating the impact of the Holocaust into the lives of the families is the impossibility of mourning. (54 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)