Transgenerational Transmission of Effects of the Holocaust

Abstract

Over the past three decades, since the publication of the first article (Rakoff, Sigal, and Epstein, 1966) suggesting the transmission of effects of the Holocaust traumata to the second generation, several hundred articles and dozens of doctoral dissertations have been written on this topic. Clinical reports suggest special characteristics of children of survivors, and particular problems in the relationships between children and parents in survivor families, supporting the hypothesis of intergenerational transmission of Holocaust trauma. Empirical studies, on the other hand, have rendered a much less consistent view. Many of the early empirical works have been criticized (Solkoff, 1981) for biased samples, lack of control groups, reliance upon anecdotal data, and presumption of psychopathology. Studies conducted during the past 15 years have remedied many of these methodological flaws. Most importantly, the number of controlled studies significantly increased after the 1970s, and the focus shifted onto nonclinical samples drawn from the generational population.