Intergenerational Transmission of Holocaust Trauma: Lily Brett’s The Auschwitz Poems, an Insight into the Unique Female Concentrationary Experience

Abstract

Abstract Holocaust and trauma studies have significantly relied on survivors’ autobiographical writing. Countless survivors have felt morally compelled to bear witness, even though raising their voices constantly triggered traumatic memories. Consistent research throughout the decades, however, has revealed that Holocaust trauma is not only limited to survivors, but an ongoing event affecting their children as well. Many second-generation survivors, as their parents, have experienced the urge to write about the Holocaust. This article analyzes the earliest poetry collection of Australian author Lily Brett, who was born to Polish survivors. The Auschwitz Poems provides an outstanding framework from which to reflect not only on the legacy of Holocaust trauma, but also on its direct connections with poetic expression, and, simultaneously, the underlying dimension of gender relationships bonding both generations.