Michael Schneider

Abstract:

The traumatic nature of the Holocaust has ensured that not only were the survivors, but their descendants as well have been and are subjected to trauma and an altered lifestyle. This includes feeling certain burdens are laid upon them, feeling their identity is altered or that they are more resilient as a result of being descended from a Holocaust survivor. These effects can be seen across generations and are primarily passed down through intergenerational trauma. This can encompass cycles of silence and secrets as well as cycles of intense emotion and sharing of past memories as well as more direct routes of trauma transmission such as being raised without family members who were murdered in the Holocaust or seeing a number tattooed on a parents arm while growing up.