Memories of silence: Trauma transmission in Holocaust-survivor families

The phenomenon of trauma transmission between female Holocaust survivors and their offspring is here examined and analysed. How is the psychological world of the infant born to Holocaust survivors "traumatised"? It can occur even during breast-feeding, when a mother's memory disrupts the process. The publication of personal testimonies can lead to understanding the phenomenon. We need such testimonies because they help to rebut Holocaust deniers, because they supplement eyewitness accounts, and because they sustain the life cycle of collective memory.