Descendants of the Holocaust Inherit Two Competing Stories
When my father died, Elie Wiesel came to my home to make a shiva call. The first question he asked, “Did your father write down his story?” This question continues to haunt me every day …
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Saviors at Nazi Ground Zero
Steven Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List” introduced the world to the improbable enigma and moral dilemma of a German Nazi Party member who rescued Jews. The combined commercial forces of Spielberg and the Hollywood image-making machine turned …
Hidden by the Holocaust as young children…
Hidden by the Holocaust as young children, they escaped the Nazis by disappearing into attics and basements. Now, these last survivors are coming forward to reclaim a childhood lost. “These individuals had to grow up …
Who is considered a Holocaust survivor?
My parents were both Polish Jews and survived the Holocaust through twists of fate that saved them from the horrors of the Nazi death camps. My father escaped from a ghetto in Belarus to the …
Group Belonging and Mourning as Factors in Resilience in the Second Generation of Holocaust Survivors
Historically, the marker event for the identifiability of children of survivors as a group was the seminal article in the New York Times by journalist Helen Epstein, herself a child of Holocaust survivors, on June …
As a Holocaust scholar and child of survivors, I’m horrified that a bigot may lead Yad Vashem
The opposition is mounting to the prospect of Effi Eitam, a former far-right Israeli politician and general, becoming chair of Israel’s national Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem. Among those urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to change …
For Survivor Descendants, the Past is Prologue
When I see the long lines at the supermarket, I am reminded of my mother telling me about standing in line all night to get a loaf of bread for her parents and four siblings …
Adult Offspring of Holocaust Survivors as Moral Voices in the American-Jewish Community
I am an adult child of Holocaust survivors born in a half bombed out hospital in Kassel, Germany. For me, the whole notion of the Holocaust evokes never ending questions about human beings who annihilate …
Holocaust Survivor Families: The Dynamics of Adaptation
“As a child of survivors and as a psychologist who has worked with survivors and their families for 40 years, I am fascinated in particular by the varied dynamics of adaptation that these families manifest” …
Holocaust Child Survivors, Sixty-Five Years After Liberation: From Mourning to Creativity
Most of the world does not contemplate children as survivors of the Holocaust; surely it is understandable why this is the case. After all, the image that most have is that of Jews spilling out …