Transmission of Trauma and Resilience in Multigenerational Families of Holocaust Survivors: Two Case Studies

Abstract

This study explored the relevance of the Holocaust in the lives of Australian adults who grew up with at least one parent and grandparent who were Holocaust survivors. Two individual cases are highlighted with data analysed using a Phenomenological Interpretative Approach. Two themes are discussed: the relevance of the Holocaust in participants’ life and the familial communication patterns about the Holocaust. The findings demonstrate how past collective trauma continues to impact the lives of the survivors’ descendants decades after the historical events and how transmission of trauma and resilience from grandparents and parents to their offspring occurred verbally and non-verbally.