Transmission: From Experience to Awareness: Jewish Children Hidden in France and Their Children

The purpose of this research was to attempt to understand how the experience of having been a Jewish child hidden in France during the Occupation was transmitted to offspring. This analysis is based on research carried out among former hidden Jewish children, and the therapeutic follow-up provided in the setting of our clinical activities. The psychopathology of the first generation plays a role in the transmission process. The transmission of their history is also a source of ambivalence. This study shows how important it is to consider the complexity of personal histories and the distortions attendant on the transmission of these histories.