Memory and Resilience

Abstract

This study reviews the memories of 40 Holocaust survivors who reflected on their lives more than 60 years after liberation. The participants were randomly selected from the larger group of Holocaust survivors in the “Forgiveness, Resiliency, and Survivorship Among Holocaust Survivors” study funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Data collected from open-end questions about their memories were analyzed. The findings revealed that their critical memories involve loss, violence, and survival. The legacies of these survivors reflect the importance of reconstructing family, transmitting values, contributing to the community, and educating the next generation. Survivors' ability to rebuild their lives after the Holocaust demonstrate that memory promoted resilience by enabling them to remember the past, to share their meaningful stories with others, to remember why and how they survived, and to find meaning in the aftermath of such injustice. Their remembrances provide historical specificity to survivors' experiences and their ability to develop resilience. Despite negative and traumatic experiences, people can resolve the tension between integrity and despair.

KEYWORDS:

• Memory
• Holocaust
• resilience
• Judaism

Notes

This research was funded by Grant 10282 from the John Templeton Foundation: Roberta R. Greene (principal investigator); Marilyn Armour, Harriet L. Cohen, Constance Corley, and Carmen Morano (co-investigators); Shira Hantman (statistical consultant); and Sandra A. Graham (project manager). The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.