TREATING HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS

There has been a substantial body of literature on the political, economic and emotional legacy of the holocaust on the victims who survived and their families. It has been tragic and debilitating. Some have emerged through deprivation and heroism to rebuild lives of value and valor. Others have continued to suffer and grieve their multiple losses and to pass the dreadful, haunting memories on to their children and grandchildren. In this article, a case history is presented to illustrate the intergenerational bonding expressed through depression and self imposed emotional imprisonment. The effects of the painful legacy of never having known one's family of origin are also considered. By comparison, little has been written about the dynamics of survivors of the perpetrators. What of their heritage? Their modus operandi? Their regrets and fears? These compelling and disturbing questions must also be addressed-even though to do so evokes much criticism. An effort is made to explore the perpetrator legacy herein through the retelling of an unanticipated therapeutic encounter that recently took place when the author was in Germany (1989). Some existential-ethical questions are raised regarding how long the "sins of the fathers" shall be attributed to the next generations which apparently have been "born guilty" (Sichrovsky, 1988). © 1990 Human Sciences Press.