On The Im/Possibility of Mourning the Holocaust

Abstract

This meditation on the nature of transgenerational transmission of Holocaust trauma and the possibility/impossibility of mourning the Holocaust was triggered, like the residue of a waking dream, by the author’s chance encounter with a private, intimate moment. This paper examines four evoked experiential listening positions that the author places in relation to her own responses as a child of Holocaust survivors. As with dreams, her meditation aims at healing; reveals personal infantile and neurotic defenses, conflicts, and memories; and bears on current social and cultural ways to relate to trauma.

Keywords:

• Holocaust
• trauma
• Chanukah
• transgenerational transmission
• Jewish rituals
• procedural memory
• survivors
• Jewish history
• grief
• mourning

Notes

1 From JRoots website (https://www.jroots.org/about): “JRoots was established to facilitate today’s generation of Jews with compelling Jewish journeys…. JRoots organises inspiring, meaningful, and educational journeys to destinations including Poland, Eastern Europe, Israel, and Morocco in addition to tailor-made itineraries with communities organisations, individuals, and families.”