Child-Survivors of the Holocaust: Age-specific Traumatization and the Consequences for Therapy

Keilson was the first who differentiated between various age groups, regarding the relationship between stressful Holocaust situations and their ultimate effect on later life.

In this paper I will compare the developmental needs of different age groups and the devastating reality child-survivors had to go through. In the therapeutic situation with child-survivors who are now in their sixties and seventies, different defense styles become apparent. The therapist will be confronted with an adult who herds an abandoned child within, who has fragmented or no memories of the past and who is not used to being in touch or revealing his hidden painful feelings of longing and grief.