THE 2ND HOLOCAUST - WHEN LIFE THREATENS

According to the author's observations, the >>second holocaust<< is a phenomenon encountered both in the first and the second generation. Th is dramatic concept seeks to convey the fact that the devastations of the actual holocaust are re-enacted and unconsciously repeated by the survivors and their children in terms not only of the content of the t rauma but also of its style. Referring to a number of potted case hist ories, the authors describe how inevitable and absolute the shadow of destruction is felt to be by the victims and how the contrive to survi ve under this shadow. From a therapeutic viewpoint it appears helpful to encounter the onset and the effects of this >>second holocaust<< by activating the life side of the life-death dichotomy as a counter aga inst the compulsive urge for repitition. Life, through felt itself to be permanently at risk, must be made to function as the motor for the negation of death.