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This article explores the psycho-social space between autobiographical and collective memory concerning massive social traumas. It is conceptualized that there is a third type of memory image, termed “my-their.” Individuals appear to “remember” autobiographical memories of elder family members, even though they could not, either because they were born after the trauma happened or because the autobiographers were extremely young at the time of the experience. These emotional “memories” furthermore connect to collective memories of social traumas of ethnic/national groups. Examples from memories of the Holocaust and al Naqba are examined. Furthermore, the roles that “my-their” memory images can play in peace building and reconciliation are discussed.

A largely neglected area of study in the field of trauma and its effects is the way a collective trauma of a majority group influences a minority group that lives in the same region. Such an investigation is especially relevant within the context of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict concerning the Holocaust—the defining trauma of Jewish Israelis. This pilot study focused on the thoughts, feelings, and interpretations concerning the Holocaust of 56 young adults, Palestinian citizens in Israel. The semi-structured questionnaires and interviews demonstrate that the young adults express an inherent conflict when dealing with the Holocaust—one that emanates from the tension that exists between universalistic and particularistic interpretations of the Holocaust within the Palestinian narrative. At the universalistic end of the continuum, the Holocaust is acknowledged as a crime against humanity; whereas, at the particularistic end of the continuum, the Holocaust is interpreted through political lenses of the Isr...

This study assessed how Jewish Israeli young adults perceive the impacts of the Holocaust on themselves, their family and Israel society. The written responses of 180 respondents, 90 of which were grandchildren of Holocaust survivors (GHSs) and 90 which are not grandchildren of survivors (NGHSs), connected the Holocaust with issues of security, education and culture, and the impact, or lack of it, on family and self. These responses also suggest that NGHS relate to the Holocaust only through sociocultural mechanisms and that GHSs are influenced by the same sociocultural mechanisms, yet are also divided by the perceived impact of intergenerational processes on their personal and family lives. The overall results of the study suggest that regardless of family connection to the Holocaust, in Israel there are sociocultural mechanisms at work that impact the perception of the Holocaust on the third generation of Holocaust survivors as a cultural trauma.

There is a belief that victims of extreme violence should be sensitive to the suffering of others although most of the psychosocial literature points to the opposite. We examine this belief by looking at work that we have carried out on the psychosocial effects of the Holocaust and on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. We assert that being a victim of collective violence often inhibits empathy toward others and creates continued animosity. We focus on intergenerational aspects connected to victimization and their negative impact on the expression of empathy among descendants of victims in order to explain why the sense of victimhood and justification of repeated violence is often expressed by individuals born years after the original violence took place.

In spite of the fact that the A-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki occurred nearly 60 years ago, there has been very little psychosocial research on the long-term effects of these unprecedented nuclear attacks on its victims. In this qualitative study, we use psychosocial literature from the Holocaust in order to help understand the effects of this man-made tragedy. We analyzed semi-structured interviews taken with 8 survivors of the bombs--5 from Nagasaki and 3 from Hiroshima. Our research questions were: When the survivors talk about their experiences, what do they focus on and with what are they preoccupied? What can we learn about the long-term effects of the experiences from both psychological and physical aspects? And, where does the A-bomb experience "fit" into the survivors' lives? Our analyses showed that there were 9 main themes that emerged from the interviews that could be grouped into two main categories--themes connected to the experience itself and themes connected to life afterward. We discuss the implications of these themes on the personal, social, and cultural levels and offer suggestions concerning ideas for dealing with the trauma.

This article describes a method of data collection and analysis that was developed for the tracing of processes of identity construction and perception of others among young Jewish adults – citizens of Israel. In order to learn how young adults perceive different ‘others’ and construct their sense of collective identity, a semi-structured interview was developed that was comprised of five moral dilemmas concerning internal as well as external others that contribute to the construction of Jewish-Israeli identity. This article traces the process of instrument development and presents the types of analyses that were used in interpretation of the dilemmas. We then demonstrate the analyses by presenting examples from four interviews with Jewish-Israelis. Based on the results of our study, ideas for future research and utilization of the research method are offered.

Undertaking research on individuals who have experienced social traumas, such as being a victim or perpetrator of genocides and wars, presents difficult decisions for qualitative researchers. Deciding how to deal with these issues becomes more problematic when the researcher is a member of the society in conflict. To do this work, and to work collaboratively with researchers from the other side, sensitive ways to collect data have to be chosen. Interpretations of the materials can be no less difficult: Analyses often lead to information and understandings that may be difficult for the researcher to deal with from ethical, moral, and personal standpoints, especially when he or she is a member of the society and culture under study. In this keynote address, the author explores methodological and ethical issues connected to these topics. She brings examples from her work on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and focuses on use of the life story methodology.

This exploratory study looks at how families of Holocaust survivors work through the traumatic past by considering the coping patterns adapted by family members. Life-story interviews (Rosenthal, 1993) with 57 individuals from 20 families, in which there were two to three generations, were used in order to learn about the significance they attach to the Holocaust past. The interviews were analyzed using Rosenthal's methods and Danieli's (1988) typology of post-war adaptation (victim families, fighter families, those who made it, and numb families). Results showed that in order to differentiate between the coping styles exhibited by the families, two new categories had to be added to Danieli's typology. These were entitled "life goes on" and "split families." It was concluded that survivor families exhibit heterogeneity in the ways in which they cope with the Holocaust past.

This article examines psychosocial aspects of family/parent-child relationships during the Holocaust by focusing on the emotional memories of such relationships. Global and thematic analyses were undertaken on 93 life story interviews and testimonies with Holocaust survivors. Results showed that survivors who lived through most of the war with parents/family and those who had lived approximately an equal time with loved ones and without them were able to recall and narrate more emotional memories, both positive and negative, than people who had experienced the traumatic period mostly on their own. However, going through the war with family did not guarantee the narration of emotional memories; close to half of these victims could not recall/narrate such memories. In general, when the survivor recalled relative emotional security, she or he felt safe, even when physical danger was imminent. However, this feeling did not always continue when the physical situation worsened or when the survivor was separated...

This study looks at how three generations in Israeli families of Holocaust survivors work through the past. Fifty-seven people (23 survivors, 22 from the second generation, and 12 from the third) from 20 families told their life stories. The interviews were analyzed for central themes and values. For all generations, family relationships and the emotional difficulty of dealing with the Holocaust were important. The survivors emphasized family cohesiveness and unity, but distrusted nonfamily members. Their children emphasized conflictual family relationships; for them, working through was connected to interpersonal family relationships. The grandchildren stressed both close family ties and conflict, but also emphasized the importance of teaching younger generations about the Holocaust. It was concluded that the working through process poses different problems for each generation.

This article explores the uses of personal narratives of massive social trauma in conflict, most specifically as they relate to the Palestinian-Israeli context. It is asserted that there are types of narratives, fixated on persecution, hatred, and fear, that can obstruct peace, and different types that encourage peace and reconciliation. The article discusses the impacts of sharing personal narratives on the victims and others in society, the connections between personal and master narratives, and ways in which dialogue that incorporates personal narratives can encourage peace. A theoretical categorization of 4 types of personal narratives of massive social trauma is proposed: narratives of vengeance, victimhood, confusion, and embracing the other. Examples from Israelis and Palestinians that reflect this conceptualization are discussed. It is concluded that a more nuanced understanding of types of personal narratives is needed when engaged in peace-building endeavors in an ongoing conflict.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand and compare two immigrant families whose children perceived their families to be well-functioning, and two families whose children perceived them to be poor-functioning. The method of analysis used for studying the values of the families is based on SYMLOG. Four families, who immigrated to Israel during the early seventies from the former USSR, and whose adolescents were born in Israel, were interviewed. The results show that in the two “well-functioning” families, there is a high degree of consensus on their values — those that they accept, as well as, those that they reject. The two “poor-functioning” families did not exhibit identical value patterns — neither in the values that they favor, nor in those that they reject. In terms of content, in the well-functioning families, there was a strong expression of two values: friendliness and the desirability of self-sacrifice in order to reach family goals. In contrast, in the poor-functioning families, the value of conservatism was salient. Finally, all four families expressed strong opposition to the values of strong individualism and nonconformity. Suggestions for family intervention are offered.