The unconscious never forgets : a qualitative exploratory study of Jewish grandchildren of survivors of the Nazi Holocaust / by Joshua Micah Simmons.

This study examines the common lived experiences of Jewish grandchildren of Holocaust survivors. While hundreds of studies have been conducted concerning the experiences of Holocaust survivors and their children, far less is known about the "third generation."Subjects were recruited through a mass e-mail which was circulated within Jewish communities throughout the United States vis-à-vis the researcher's social and professional contacts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and data was analyzed through open and axial coding. Twenty two common lived experiences emerged.The individuals who participated in this study clearly indicated that they were, to varying degrees, impacted by the Holocaust. Despite the fact that many of the participants were not overtly symptomatic or even likely to fall under the heading of "intergenerational trauma," they were capable of thinking about the Holocaust, making meaning of their experiences, and understanding the unique ways in which the Holocaust affected their behaviors, relationships, and worldviews.Moreover, while each individual's lived experience was indeed unique, there were certain common themes which emerged from the study. They included the perceived impact of the Holocaust on some of the participants' sense of selves, fantasies and dreams, emphases on remembering, relationships to their respective child of survivor parents and Holocaust survivor grandparents, relationships to Germany, German people and German things, and finally, familial home environments.