The Holocaust Across Generations: Trauma and its Inheritance Among Descendants of Survivors

190 Pages·2016·1 MB·English

by  Janet Jacobs

The Holocaust across Generations

The Holocaust across Generations
Trauma and Its Inheritance among
Descendants of Survivors
Janet Jacobs
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York
www.nyupress.org
© 2016 by New York University
All rights reserved
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thor nor New York University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Jacobs, Janet Liebman, author.
Title: The Holocaust across generations : trauma and its inheritance among descendants of
survivors / Janet Jacobs.
Description: New York ; London : New York University Press, [2016] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016023896 | ISBN 978-1-4798-3356-6 (cl : alk. paper) |
ISBN 978-1-4798-3929-2 (pb : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)—Psychological aspects. | Holocaust
survivors—Psychology. | Children of Holocaust survivors—Mental health. | Holocaust,
Jewish (1939-1945)—Social aspects. | Intergenerational communication—Case studies.
Classification: LCC RC451.4.H62 J33 2016 | DDC 616.85/210089924—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016023896
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For survivors, for those who come after, and for SBL

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1. Family Narratives and the Social Construction of
Descendant Identity 13
2. Ritual and the Emotional Transmission of
Holocaust Trauma 41
3. Redefining the Sacred: Spirituality and the Crisis of
Masculinity among Children and Grandchildren
of Survivors 65
4. The Social Relations of Inherited Trauma: The Meaning of
Attachment and Connection in the Lives of Descendants 83
5. Reengaging the Past: Identity, Mourning, and Empathy
at Sites of Terror 105
6. Descendants as Holocaust Carriers: Bringing the Past into
Public Consciousness 125
Conclusion: The Changing Landscape of Holocaust
Remembrance and Future Directions in the Study
of Traumatic Inheritance 149
Notes 159
Bibliography 161
Index 173
About the Author 179
vii

Acknowledgments
I am deeply grateful to the descendants of Holocaust survivors who
so openly and generously shared their life stories with me. From the
outset, this project asked a great deal of the participants— children and
grandchildren of survivors who in the course of the research relived the
pain of their families’ past while revealing their own complicated and
multilayered experiences within survivor culture. Throughout the proj-
ect, the insights and thoughtfulness that the descendants brought to
the research setting provided an invaluable intellectual and emotional
resource for my own developing interpretations and understanding of
traumatic transference. Without their willingness to explore the inter-
generational transmission of trauma, this book would not have been
possible.
I also thank all those who offered encouragement at various and cru-
cial points along the way. Among those to whom I am especially grateful
are Shawn Landres, Mary Jo Neitz, Paul Shankman, and Rhys Williams.
I am also grateful to Charles Hyman, Betty Jane Jacobs, Linda Loewen-
stein, and Jonathan Oldham for their help and particular contributions
to the project. I remember with deep gratitude Donald Capps, whose
mentorship, generosity, and kindness remain a source of inspiration.
I thank Stephanie Bonnes, Leith Lombas, and Zachary Owens for
their research assistance. I am deeply appreciative of the wise counsel
and patience of my editor, Jennifer Hammer, whose advice and guidance
were indispensable to the completion of the book.
Last, I am indebted to my family for their unfailing support. Thank
you especially to my partner, Gary, and to Jamie, Michael, Spencer, and
Eric. I am profoundly grateful for Felix, Brecken, Ryan, and River, who
remind me always that the past does not have to repeat itself.
ix