Challenges for aging Holocaust survivors and their children: The impact of early trauma on aging

ABSTRACT

Is the impact of early trauma continually present or does the negative psychological impact disappear when survivors are younger and then reappear as they age? In Transcending Trauma Project interviews survivors noted the impact of the Holocaust was always present but some stated that it increased as they aged. A small number of children of survivors interviewed observed a dependence upon defense mechanisms to cope with aging which differed from the survivors’ identification of using active and family coping strategies during the war and postwar years. Though children who experienced positive parent-child relationships mentioned the negative coping strategies, they also spoke positively of the impact of their parents in their own lives and expressed empathy for their parents. In the families where tensions existed between the survivors and their children, the children did not express empathy for their aging parents. Several studies supported the importance of family relationships in the aging process. This secondary analysis study further explored the impact of the Holocaust in aging survivors and the views of some children of survivors on aging.

KEYWORDS:

• Aging
• counseling
• developmental
• family dynamics
• Holocaust survivor families

Funding

This work received support from the Transcending Trauma Project, Council for Relationships, Philadelphia, PA, and the Feinstein Center for American Jewish History, Temple University.

Notes

^1. The TTP study defines Holocaust survivors as Jewish individuals who lived in Europe and were in danger after 1933 with the rise of Hitler because they resided in countries controlled by Nazi Germany. Even those individuals who emigrated from Europe prior to the start of World War II were considered survivors by this definition. This definition is widely accepted in academic circles, especially in European countries.

^2. The Kindertransport, German for “children’s transport,” was an organized rescue effort that sent nearly 10,000 predominantly endangered Jewish children from various European countries to the United Kingdom during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World War.

^3. The coping styles from most frequently used to least frequently used were: Active/adaptive coping; family connection; positive beliefs of self; beliefs; social connection/relational skills; focused endurance; defense mechanisms; prewar experiences/influences; external attributes; and temperament and personality characteristics.

Additional information

Funding

This work received support from the Transcending Trauma Project, Council for Relationships, Philadelphia, PA, and the Feinstein Center for American Jewish History, Temple University.