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Holocaust trauma affects survivors' grandkids
More than 60 years after the Holocaust, the trauma of Nazi
persecution is still affecting survivors' grandchildren, a recent
study by a researcher from the University of Haifa suggests.
The study on the long-term effects of extreme war-related trauma on
the second and the third generation of Holocaust survivors involved
88 middle-class families. According to the study, young men and
women born in Israel 40 years after WWII suffer greater emotional
difficulties than the general population.
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Famous Doctor
Dr. Miri Scharf found in her research - which was recently
published in the scientific U.S. periodical Development and
Psychopathology - that these emotional difficulties often manifest t
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Young IDF Soldiers
Dr Miri Scharf says the 17 and 18 yr olds who enter the Israel
Defense Forces find it difficult to wear a uniform.
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The Doctor's Parents
Scharf, herself the daughter of Holocaust survivors, says she was
attracted to the subject following her own experience. "My father
had to live on the run, and moved time and again between 17
different hideouts," she told Haaretz. "My mother also roamed in
different areas, trying to survive. ."
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Fighting To Push The Door Open
Several of my family members perished in the Holocaust. Being
consumed by fire, but yet pushing the door open.
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Suspicious Of Everyone Including Their Poppas
According to Scharf, she became aware of the effects of living
with third-generation emotional baggage from the Holocaust when she
was working with students whose grandparents were survivors. "Some
of them spoke of having a hard time trusting, of their fear of
getting their poppas," she says. "This comes from a terrible air of
suspiciousness at home."
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Female Survivors Demon's Resurface
Mothers' Holocaust background was associated with higher levels
of psychological distress. Having to pull their bloomers down, and
feel the sting of the whip, have left many scarred.
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Keeping A Close Eye For Trauma
The results of the study, says Scharf, show that it is
recommended for clinicians to develop awareness of the possible
traces of trauma in the second and the third generation to better
treat that section of the population.
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