Concentration camp survival: a pilot study of effects on the second generation.

Abstract

Clinical observations of the families of concentration camp survivors presenting at a psychiatric outpatient department in a general hospital suggested that they manifested certain common characteristics distinguishing them from the general clinical population. These observations were subjected to a more systematic study. All the case material used in this study was taken from intake histories and diagnostic summaries. In the concentration camp families at least one parent had been in concentration camps during the war or had, up to the time of forced separation, been in close personal contact with members of his immediate family who eventually perished in the camps. All these families were Jewish. The control group consisted of families in which the parents were Jews of Central and Eastern European origin who did not have either of the two experiences listed as criteria for inclusion in the concentration camp group. As compared to the control families, the concentration camp parents manifested greater difficulties in self-control and in being able to control their children, and they showed a greater degree of overvaluation of the child. In families with more than one child, the children displayed a significantly greater degree of rivalry. No significant difference was found in the rate of occurrence of school problems but these tended to be less frequent in the concentration camp families. Examination of subgroups within the concentration camp group revealed that the most significant effects appeared to be attributable to the insurmountable process of mourning and the emotionally depleted state of the parents. The effects of concentration camps may conceivably manifest themselves in psychologically disturbed functioning of future generations.