Intergenerational approach of the Shoah memory: A differentiated transmission in the bosom of the family

In more of 80% of the cases seen in my thesis research, we see a strong wish not to transmit stories about the Shoah: transmitting this equals transmitting death. I speak about "un axe de l'entente transgenerationnelle". Sometimes, transmission is late. The "children" are front of aged parents (more than 80) when a dialogue begins. Our research focuses on the complex dynamics of the intergenerational relationships, within the framework of the transmission of the memory of the Shoah and particularly in one very special family. The conclusions cannot be generalized, but make us think about the complexity of transmission of Shoah. The transmission of the Shoah in between two successive generations is not only influenced by the history and the emotions described, but it also involves specificities in the modes of transmission within the family. What are we saying to each of our children? How is the message being received? The transmission clearly depends on the level of the trauma in personal stories, though not exclusively so. Parent's discourse varies, sometimes considerably, from one child to another. What is passed on from parents' story to children can differ from one sibling to another. In this article, we choose to analysis a complex family situation, which highlights the differences in the intergenerational transmissions between a mother and her two sons. In this article, the mother in question is about 99, and her two children are 70 and 68. She began to speak when she was 85. Two films are issued from her story. Objectives.-The aim of this research is to study two modes of transmission of the experience of the Shoah, from the generation who lived it to the next and to try to understand the complexity of this transmission within a family. We more particularly centered on the analysis of the modes of exchanges between both dyads "mother elder son" and "mother younger son". Method.-This research is supported on some complementary data collections: the study shows that the transmission between the mother and her children is very differentiated with each son. Cross-referencing the data shows very specifically interactions in the two dyads and real differences in the way of relating between the mother and each child. They attest about the complexity of the intergenerational transmission about the Shoah within a family. Results.-(1) The mother orientates her discourse: the oldest specially receives negative words without nuances. For the youngest transmission it is more complex because more nuanced, and sometimes positive. (2) The oldest makes himself as a recipient of his mother words, as well as the second takes more distances with his mother's chosen words. Conclusions.-Transmission is not monolithic. The mother orientates her discourse. She chose to transmit to the oldest (in this story) the dark and mortifying side from her experience of the Shoah. This child became the recipient of her anxiety and her nightmares. On the contrary, she speaks with a lot of humor and nuances of her adventures in the Resistance to the second child, and he knows in his analysis of her discourse, how to take distances. (C) 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.