Holocaust Child Survivors Research Articles

Visualising Holocaust Child-survivors in Canada: From Post-war Humanitarian Campaigns to National Memory

ABSTRACT In 1947, the Canadian Jewish Congress was authorized to bring 1000 young Holocaust survivors to Canada. The government required all newcomers to be placed in foster families. This led the CJC to set up a campaign to find potential foster parents. Bringing together scholarship on humanitarian photography and on post-World War 2 childhood, this article examines the imagery and accompanying narratives of the campaign and explores how notions of victimhood, resilience, and rehabilitation were represented. It aims to assess how these representations and misrepresentations influenced the survivors’ resettlement but also the long-term memorialization of their arrival in Canada.

Avoiding longing: the case of ‘hidden children’ in the Holocaust

Longing is a neglected subject in psychological research and theory despite the fact that it is an important component of human life. Drawing on clinical examples, this article offers thoughts on the place of longing in the lives of Holocaust child survivors and those of second-generation offspring of survivors. The first part describes the concept of longing and its distinction from nostalgia and desire, while the second part uses some clinical examples to describe patterns of avoidance of longing: prohibition, denial, superficial contacts, avoidance and inability to separate. The article ends with an examination of healthy, adaptive aspects of longing that can be used for a richer, healthier life.

Holocaust Child Survivors' Memoirs as Reflected in Appelfeld's The Story of a Life

In her article Child Survivors' Memoirs as Reflected in Appelfeld's The Story of a Dana Mihailescu identifies characteristics of child survivors' memoirs in Aharon Appelfeld's writing. Mihailescu addresses the following main question: is the structure of child survivors' memoirs similar to that of Holocaust memoirs written by adult survivors or is there a tendency to focus on certain aspects given the young age some had at the time? Mihailescu argues that unlike regular autobiographies by Holocaust adult survivors, child survivors' memoirs are less constructed around factual events of private and public relevance and that they concentrate instead on deeply-entrenched sensations and the imminence of the death of parents and loss children experienced during World War II. Further, Mihailescu argues that it is important to recognize that in the case of a child survivor turned author like Appelfeld, the act of deferred mourning is inscribed in the technique of memoir construction via the continuous interruption of straightforward chronological organization. Dana Mihailescu, Child Survivors' Memoirs as Reflected in Appelfeld's The Story of a page 2 of 7 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 17.3 (2015): Thematic Issue Life Writing and the Trauma of War. Ed. Louise O. Vasvari and I-Chun Wang

Haunting spectres of World War II memories from a transgenerational ethical perspective in Miriam Katin’s We Are on Our Own and Letting It Go

My paper analyses Miriam Katin’s graphic memoirs We Are on Our Own (Drawn & Quarterly, 2006) and Letting It Go (Drawn & Quarterly, 2013), which bring together the war memories of Holocaust child survivors, adult survivors and children of survivors. They do this by paralleling the experience during World War II lived by the author and her mother (as a toddler and an adult surviving the war by hiding in the Hungarian countryside) to the post-World War II experience of the same protagonists in present-day United States and of the author and her son as the epitomes of a child survivor and a child of survivors. I am particularly interested in examining how transgenerational parent–child transmission of war memories in families made up of various generations of survivors gives rise to an ethical engagement with World War II and to the possibility of overcoming stereotyped and prejudiced images of locations where genocide happened.

Reconstruction of self-identity of Holocaust child survivors who participated in “Testimony Theater”.

The current study is the first to examine the experience of Holocaust Child Survivors (HCSs) sharing their survival stories by performing with youths on one stage as part of the “Testimony Theater” project. Using qualitative data analysis, the findings indicate that the Holocaust experience is an essential element in forming the identity of HCSs. Arriving in the land of Israel, Holocaust survivors had a collective identity of “Holocaust Survivors” that left them with feelings of shame and inferiority, which hindered the establishment of their self-identity. However, when HCSs take the role of the teller through the “Testimony Theater” project, a transition from a collective identity to a self-identity occurs. This role enables HCSs to reconstruct their self-identity and find in it a positive, personal, and meaningful role. Consequently, we suggest that reconstruction of self-identity can occur when survivors take on a positive and empowering role, in the presence of others, within the context of an attentive, empathic, and nonjudgmental relationship.

“The mothers have eaten unripe grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge”: the potential inter-generational effects of the Holocaust on chronic morbidity in Holocaust survivors’ offspring

Modern epidemiology has evolved in the last decades from the simplified “cause-effect” paradigm to a multi-factorial framework of causality. The concept of “Fetal Origin of Adult Diseases” (FOAD) is a good example: it suggests that preconception circumstances and fetal exposures as well as infancy and early childhood experiences may eventually change an individual’s susceptibility to adult morbidity through fetal programming and epigenetic changes. The FOAD concept was supported, between others, by well-designed cohort studies carried out on non-Jewish World War II (WWII) survivors, exposed to hunger during the War years. However, data on late physical morbidity of Jewish WWII survivors are still scarce.The current paper presents some cohorts addressing the FOAD hypothesis in relation to the long-term impact of early exposures to hunger and their main results. It stresses the need for the establishing of a similar cohort in Israel, in order to study the long-term effects of the Holocaust on the health of Holocaust child survivors and on that of the “second” and “third” generations. A framework for such a cohort in Israel is also proposed.Establishing a cohort of this character in Israel should be a national priority and policy. First, taking special care of Holocaust survivors is a somewhat neglected national obligation. Second, if the population of Holocaust survivors and their offspring is indeed a high risk group for late chronic morbidity, higher awareness may lead to better primary prevention and to tailored secondary prevention programs. Third, the population at stack is unique and its contribution to the consolidation of the FOAD theory and its translational applications may be of foremost importance, in the global and national sense.

The Relationship Between Female Holocaust Child Survivors' Unresolved Losses and Their Offspring's Emotional Well-Being

The relationship between Holocaust child survivors' (n = 178) intrusive memories and their eldest offspring's (n = 178) well-being was examined. Results showed that survivors' intrusive memories were related to the loss of parents in the Holocaust and their symptoms of distress. The latter was related to offspring's perceived transmission of trauma of the mothers, which was associated with more symptoms of distress among offspring. These findings suggest that due to female survivors' uncompleted mourning processes and their subsequent suffering of intrusive memories, the emotional burden of the Holocaust was transmitted to the eldest offspring and caused them more symptoms of distress.

Child Survivors of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and Trauma‐Related Affect

This article reports findings from an interview study of orphans who were street children in Rwanda after the genocide in 1994. During two study visits in Rwanda in 2003 and 2004, in‐depth videotaped interviews, follow‐up interviews, and observations were carried out. Specifically, this article addresses how 10 teenage boys dealt with their memories and affects. The affect regulation of these Rwandan child survivors is elaborated and explained in a theoretical model referred to as the “affect propeller”. This model emerged in previous studies of life histories of Holocaust child survivors, using grounded theory, and has been further developed based on the findings from these follow‐up studies of Rwandan teenagers. One key finding that is described is the theme of retraumatization and revenge fantasies, which are obstacles in efforts toward resilience, as well as counterforces that facilitate a positive development in the aftermath of the genocide.

Resilienza e bambini separati dalla propria famiglia d'origine. Una ricerca su 21 bambini nascosti sopravvissuti alla Shoah

- This paper reports on a qualitative research about resilience processes in Holocaust child survivors, particularly hidden children. Data refer to 21 life stories collected through 19 semi-structured interviews and 2 published biographies and analyzed assuming a Long Term approach that focuses on all life trajectories to obtain developmental outcomes within a life time perspective. The main aim of the research is to understand the protective factors that enable child survivors to develop and grow and can be used by social practitioners working with vulnerable children and families, in order to foster similar resilient responses in children away from home. Key words: resilience, child survivors, Holocaust, children out of home, protective factors.

Holocaust Child Survivors Reflect on Their past and its Implications for the Present and Future

Holocaust Child Survivors Reflect on Their past and its Implications for the Present and Future

Quality of care after early childhood trauma and well-being in later life: Child Holocaust survivors reaching old age.

The link between deprivation and trauma during earliest childhood and psychosocial functioning and health in later life was investigated in a group of child Holocaust survivors. In a nonconvenience sample 203 survivors, born between 1935 and 1944, completed questionnaires on Holocaust survival experience and several inventories on current health, depression, posttraumatic stress, loneliness, and attachment style. Quality of postwar care arrangements and current physical health independently predicted lack of well-being in old age. Loss of parents during the persecution, year of birth of the survivors (being born before or during the war), and memories of the Holocaust did not significantly affect present well-being. Lack of adequate care after the end of World War II is associated with lower well-being of the youngest Holocaust child survivors, even after an intervening period of 60 years. Our study validates Keilson's (1992) concept of "sequential traumatization," and points to the importance of aftertrauma care in decreasing the impact of early childhood trauma.

Late-Onset Schizophrenia in Child Survivors of the Holocaust

According to the stress diathesis model, the probability of psychosis is increased in high-risk groups, a vulnerable one being the Holocaust child survivors. This study was conducted to inquire into the long-term effects of their Holocaust experience. We concentrated on a possible association between the onset of schizophrenia and the degree of persecution. Ninety-three medical files of Holocaust child survivors were recruited from sociomedical expert reports of the Restitution Office in Germany. The onset of schizophrenia was used as dependent variable in a categorical regression model. Regarding schizophrenia, exclusively late-onset schizophrenia could be diagnosed in our sample. Schizophrenia was significantly associated with the highest category of persecution (Fisher exact test, p < 0.001). In the categorical regression model, the category of persecution was a significant coefficient, only (F = 23.9, p < 0.001). The strong association between late onset of schizophrenia and the degree of persecution suggest an influence of stress exposure.

Failed mourning in the Adult Attachment Interview: The case of Holocaust child survivors

In the present study attachment theory was used as a conceptual framework to investigate the long-term effects of the Holocaust on child survivors. Child survivors who as children lost both mothers and fathers as a result of the Holocaust (N=48), were administered the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) in their late adulthood. They were expected to display enduring disorganization from their horrible experiences with loss of attachment figures, and indeed the results confirmed the lasting effects of the Holocaust on the survivors who displayed a very high rate of unresolved loss (U; 42%). At the same time, however, a number of child survivors (n=4) displayed clear markers of failed mourning that might be seen as another alternative to unsatisfactory completion of the mourning process (integral part of the traditional U-category). Such markers were never discussed in length by the traditional coding system of the AAI. The implications of viewing failed mourning as part of unresolved loss are discussed.

Absence of Attachment Representations (AAR) in the adult years: The emergence of a new AAI classification in catastrophically traumatized Holocaust child survivors

In the present study we present a new and rare type of discourse in the AAI which is characterized by absence of attachment representations during adulthood. Forty-eight women, who as children lost both parents as a result of the Holocaust, were administered the AAI in their late adulthood. Two cases in this sample could not be assigned to any of the traditional AAI classification system (F, Ds, E, CC), mainly because they were unable to associate themselves with any significant attachment figure throughout their life. We raise the possibility that some devastating experiences during childhood might cause an unrecoverable crash in already established patterns of attachment to an extent that adulthood will be characterized by state of mind that bears no emotional tie to even a single attachment figure. We illustrate this state of mind by presenting the life history as well as quotations from the AAI of two women, and we discuss the possibility of a new AAI classification, namely Absence of Attachment Representations – AAR. The possible effects of the AAR classification on parental caregiving behaviors are discussed.

POSTTRAUMATIC GROWTH AMONG HOLOCAUST CHILD SURVIVORS

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology, personal resources, and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in Holocaust child survivors. Ninety-seven nonclinical Holocaust child survivors who were born after 1930 were administered self-report questionnaires with regard to PTG, psychological distress, potency, and perceived social support. Results indicated that arousal, a PTSD category, and PTG coexist. Personal resources were negatively correlated with PTSD symptomatology, and only social support from friends contributed positively to PTG.

The Effects of Similarity Versus Dissimilarity of Spouses' Traumatic Childhood Events on Psychological Well-Being and Marital Quality

This study compared spouses who had experienced similar versus different childhood trauma in terms of post-traumatic symptomatology, psychological symptoms of distress, and marital quality. The sample comprised two groups: Holocaust child survivors who were sexually abused during the Holocaust and are married to Holocaust child survivors ( n = 44) who were also sexually abused, and adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse married to nonsurvivors of sexual abuse ( n = 43). All participants were administered the post-traumatic stress disorder, Symptom Checklist 90-Revised, and Enrich Scale for Marital Quality questionnaires. The results revealed that compared with survivors married to partners with different past traumatic experiences, survivors who shared similar past traumatic experiences with their spouses had higher levels of PTSD, anxiety, depression, somatization, phobic-anxiety, and hostility but also expressed greater levels of marital quality.

Long-term adjustment and the role of attachment among Holocaust child survivors

This study examines the long-term adjustment of child survivors of the Nazi Holocaust and the role of attachment among treated and untreated Holocaust survivors. The findings show that both treated and untreated survivors reported significantly higher levels of post-traumatic residues than the non-Holocaust controls, while the treated survivors reported higher levels than the untreated ones. Treated survivors also differed from the other two groups in their levels of avoidant and anxious-ambivalent characteristics and fear of intimacy and from the control group in the level of the secure attachment dimension. The findings of the study emphasize the lasting impact of the Holocaust on the child survivors and is consistent with the clinical and empirical literature on child survivors of the Holocaust. The findings also demonstrate the wide variability among the Holocaust survivors and the contribution of attachment to the long term adjustment of the survivors.

The Role of Group Experiences in the Healing Process of Massive Childhood Holocaust Trauma

This paper proposes that Holocaust child survivors profoundly benefit from participating in a variety of group modalities. From participant observation and interviews we demonstrate that affiliation in organizations, social events, commemorations, rituals, and particular therapeutic groups each contributes to the well-being of Holocaust child survivors. Mourning is enhanced by joining forces with others from a historical event that left many children orphans, bereft of a home, a community, a country, and an identity. Group participants achieve individuation and ego integration, and gain clarity about the complex psychological consequences of surviving the Holocaust. A fragmented identity is restored through the opportunity of interacting with others whose identity has been ruptured by similar cataclysmic events.

Spouse bereavement processes of Holocaust child survivors : Can one differentiate a black frame from a black background ?

This article highlights the relation between the mourning processes of Holocaust war orphans and their expected bereavement processes in later life when a spouse dies. The relation between the two processes is explored through a clinical case study. In addition, we define the concept of subtle mourning as an adjustment in the bereavement process. We assume that orphans, who survive after genocide, suffer a lifelong sense of bereavement. They create a subtle mourning process which can be disclosed much later in their lives when they must cope with the death of a spouse.

Adrenal Weight and Violent Suicide

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article ArticleNo AccessAdrenal Weight and Violent SuicideJONATHAN G. SOLOMONJONATHAN G. SOLOMONSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:1 Apr 2006https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.145.4.535AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail "Adrenal Weight and Violent Suicide." American Journal of Psychiatry, 145(4), p. 535 Access content To read the fulltext, please use one of the options below to sign in or purchase access. Personal login Institutional Login Sign in via OpenAthens Purchase Save for later Item saved, go to cart PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry $35.00 Add to cart PPV Articles - American Journal of Psychiatry Checkout Please login/register if you wish to pair your device and check access availability. Not a subscriber? Subscribe Now / Learn More PsychiatryOnline subscription options offer access to the DSM-5 library, books, journals, CME, and patient resources. This all-in-one virtual library provides psychiatrists and mental health professionals with key resources for diagnosis, treatment, research, and professional development. Need more help? PsychiatryOnline Customer Service may be reached by emailing [email protected] or by calling 800-368-5777 (in the U.S.) or 703-907-7322 (outside the U.S.). FiguresReferencesCited byDetailsCited ByEuropean Journal of Psychotraumatology, Vol. 10, No. 1Neuropsychopharmacology, Vol. 41, No. 1Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, Vol. 13, No. 1Journal of Behavioral Medicine, Vol. 37, No. 5Journal of Loss and Trauma, Vol. 18, No. 1Journal of Intergenerational Relationships, Vol. 11, No. 2Anticipatory Anxiety of an Imminent Economic CollapseJournal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, Vol. 21, No. 8Psychotherapeut, Vol. 57, No. 2BMC Psychiatry, Vol. 12, No. 1Attachment & Human Development, Vol. 13, No. 6Psychopharmacology, Vol. 212, No. 3Psychiatric Quarterly, Vol. 81, No. 1Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, Vol. 12, No. 2Smith College Studies in Social Work, Vol. 79, No. 3-4European Eating Disorders Review, Vol. 15, No. 1International Review of Psychiatry, Vol. 19, No. 3Psycho-Oncology, Vol. 15, No. 7Journal of Trauma Practice, Vol. 4, No. 1-2Development and Psychopathology, Vol. 17, No. 02Attachment and Traumatic Stress in Female Holocaust Child Survivors and Their DaughtersAbraham Sagi-Schwartz, Ph.D., Marinus H. van IJzendoorn, Ph.D., Klaus E. Grossmann, Ph.D., Tirtsa Joels, Ph.D., Karin Grossmann, Ph.D., Miri Scharf, Ph.D., Nina Koren-Karie, Ph.D., and Sarit Alkalay, M.A.1 June 2003 | American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 160, No. 6Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol. 16, No. 5Political Psychology, Vol. 24, No. 3Journal of Trauma Practice, Vol. 2, No. 1Tijdschrift voor Psychotherapie, Vol. 28, No. 3Traumatology, Vol. 8, No. 3Low Cortisol and Risk for PTSD in Adult Offspring of Holocaust SurvivorsRachel Yehuda, Ph.D., Linda M. Bierer, M.D., James Schmeidler, Ph.D., Daniel H. Aferiat, M.S.W., Ilana Breslau, M.A., and Susan Dolan, B.A.1 August 2000 | American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 157, No. 8Transmission of Response to Trauma? Second-Generation Holocaust Survivors’ Reaction to CancerLea Baider, Ph.D., Tamar Peretz, M.D., Pnina Ever Hadani, M.P.H., Shlomit Perry, M.S.W., Rita Avramov, M.P.H., and Atara Kaplan De-Nour, M.D.1 June 2000 | American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 157, No. 6Risperidone-Induced Tardive DyskinesiaKYUNG SUE HONG, M.D., SEONG SIM CHEONG, M.D., JONG-MIN WOO, M.D., and EYONG KIM, M.D., 1 August 1999 | American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 156, No. 8Air Disaster and Posttraumatic Stress DisorderEDWARD J. GUERIN, DR.MED., 1 August 1999 | American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 156, No. 8Vulnerability to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adult Offspring of Holocaust SurvivorsRachel Yehuda, Ph.D., James Schmeidler, Ph.D., Milton Wainberg, M.D., Karen Binder-Brynes, Ph.D., and Tamar Duvdevani, B.A.1 September 1998 | American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 155, No. 9Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Characteristics of Holocaust Survivors and Their Adult OffspringRachel Yehuda, Ph.D., James Schmeidler, Ph.D., Earl L. GillerJr., M.D., Ph.D., Larry J. Siever, M.D., and Karen Binder-Brynes, Ph.D.1 June 1998 | American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 155, No. 6Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol. 11, No. 4British Journal of Psychotherapy, Vol. 13, No. 3Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol. 9, No. 3Learning and memory in combat veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder1 April 2006 | American Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. 152, No. 1Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol. 6, No. 3Journal of Child and Adolescent Group Therapy, Vol. 3, No. 2Medicine and War, Vol. 7, No. 2Journal of Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 20, No. 21 Volume 145Issue 4 April 1988Pages 535-535 Metrics PDF download History Published online 1 April 2006 Published in print 1 April 1988