SERVING HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS AND SURVIVOR FAMILIES

This article reviews and discusses the characteristics and needs of ag ing survivors of the Holocaust. Journalistic and historic accounts hav e documented the gruesome details of the Holocaust and, to a lesser ex tent, the consequences of these harrowing experiences. Professional an d scientific efforts in the immediate postwar years have aimed to spec ify and understand the mental health consequences of the Holocaust in survivors. Efforts have also been directed to aid their adjustment to the postwar years. The article addresses attitudinal and assumptional issues first. These include assumptions and generalizations prevalent in the literature concerning the effects of the Holocaust on survivors . Second, conceptual issues are explored in order to facilitate a bett er understanding of the nature and needs of victims of the Holocaust. These include a review of mental health consequences of extreme stress , the role and importance of coping style and coping resources, and th e interaction of stress, aging and resources in later years of life. N ext, this article offers directions for professional efforts aimed at aiding the adjustment to aging of Holocaust survivors and members of t heir families.