Psychology All books
Nathalie Zajde
The Children of the Survivors (New Edition) The Transmission of Trauma to Jewish Children
"I have terrible nightmares and I would like to know if other children of survivors have the same dreams as me. I think it is crazy to have never lived through the war, yet have these extremely precise dreams." In Jewish families, why do the children of those who escaped Nazi extermination often have the same dreams as their parents, even though their parents have never spoke about the traumas which they lived through ? Reinforced by cleverly recounted stories, this book describes precisely what is called the survivors syndrome, an illness which manifests itself through nightmares, feelings of intense terror and desertion, a particular and incurable annoyance, recurring memories, and unfounded fears. It demonstrates that, thanks to the techniques of ethno- psychiatry, it is possible for these children of survivors to take back their place among the living. Clinical psychologist, and master of conference at the University Paris VIII, Nathalie Zajde is also a researcher at the Georges Devereux Centre.