Does Extreme Trauma Transfer? The Case of Three Generations of the Holocaust

Abstract

This chapter addresses issues of severe trauma that Holocaust survivors experienced and the consequences of the loss of attachment figures under atrocious circumstances. Specifically, we look into intergenerational transmission of trauma, which is inflicted by anonymous social and destructive forces external to the family, as is the case with Holocaust survivors, and compare it to trauma, which is inflicted by trusted attachment figures as often observed in maltreating families. Two main questions are raised: (1) Do survivors of extreme Holocaust trauma show marks of their traumatic experiences even 55 years and more later? (2) Was the trauma passed on to the next generations? We present data from a large-scale programmatic study that spanned over a dozen years with a focus on cross-generational transmission of extreme trauma and based on personal stories as well as psychological, interpersonal, genetic, physiological, and epidemiological data. The respective roles of attachment and social networks in trauma transmission are discussed in an attempt to shed light on vulnerability and resilience associated with catastrophic life events.