The impact of the holocaust on the second generation: Norwegian Jewish holocaust survivors and their children

Abstract

The entire population of Norwegian-born Jews who survived the German concentration camps and their children was examined, and compared to Norwegian-born Jews who escaped to Sweden, and their children. An attempt is made to look for the symptoms described as a "second generation syndrome" by several authors. The present findings do not support the presence of serious psychopathology among the children of Norwegian-born Jewish survivors as a group, but indicate a certain degree of psychological vulnerability among these children. As adults, they are more often engaged in health/social care professions and organizations and also show signs of greater assimilation to their non-Jewish surroundings than the comparison group.

The psychiatric after-effects of the Holocaust on the second generation

“…Another recent publication, based on research conducted in Norway, reinforces Schwartz et al's findings (Major, 1996). Unavoidably limited by an extremely small number of parent survivors (N l 7), this study included all those Norwegian Jews who returned alive from Nazi Germany and had children.…”

“…Admittedly, conclusions based on both the Schwartz et al (1994) and Major (1996) studies have considerable limitations. The former did not report on the possible diagnoses of childhood disorders among the second generation of survivors, as the psychiatric instrument used in their study was not designed to reliably elicit them.…”

“…It is apparent today that by the time the second generation reaches young adulthood, it does not seem to differ in its mental health condition from suitable controls. Doubts, however, linger regarding the effect on younger ages ; Schwartz et al's (1994) and Major's (1996) studies suggest that psychopathological wounds may have been present during earlier developmental stages.…”

Incidence of Mental Disorders in Second-Generation Immigrants in Sweden: A Four-Year Cohort Study

“…In contrast, serious psychopathology was not found in the entire population of Norwegian-born children of survivors of the Holocaust when compared to Norwegian-born Jewish children who had escaped to Sweden. Even though a certain degree of psychological vulnerability was present among these children, after these children had reached adulthood they were more often engaged in health/social care professions and organisations and showed greater assimilation to their non-Jewish surroundings than the comparison group (Major 1996).…”

Holocaust Survivors' Delay in Child Rearing and the Psychological Health of Their Children

“…While the potential for intergenerational transmission of trauma has been recognized, it had not been widely discussed until it was observed in children of survivors of the Nazi Holocaust (Felsen, 1998;Goldwasser, 1986;Kellerman, 2001aKellerman, , 2001bSigal, 1973, cited in Last & Klein, 1984Major, 1990;Mazor & Tal, 1996;Schwartz, Dohrenwend, & Levav, 1994). However, not all children of Holocaust survivors evidenced psychological symptoms.…”