The effects of the holocaust on six offspring of survivors

The Nazi Holocaust inflicted serious emotional and physical scars on its victims, producing a characteristic symptomatology known as the “survivor syndrome.” There is now evidence emerging that these effects of the concentration camp experiences are being transmitted to the offspring of the survivors, the second generation, and possibly even to a third generation. It is with these transmittable effects of the Holocaust experience that this paper is concerned. Six adult offspring, aged twenty-nine to thirty-three, of Jewish survivors were interviewed in-depth through the use of an Adlerian work-up and a self-developed questionnaire. The purpose of the interviews was to add to the growing body of knowledge about the characteristics of the second generation. The findings were presented in terms of six case studies. It was revealed that these six individuals share a number of commonalities, both among themselves and with others reported on in the literature. For all, the Holocaust was a distinctive and formidable heritage that has had an undeniable influence on their lives. All reported that their parents suffered some emotional and physical scars due to the holocaust that has affected their own lives in varying ways and to various extents. At present, all are primarily well functioning men and women. However, they did display a number of disturbanced such as: overinvolvement with, and overdependence on, their parents; difficulty with identity development; and separation anxiety. They also evidenced highly passive behavior traits.