Feminism, Therapeutic Culture, and the Holocaust in the United States: The Second-Generation Phenomenon

In the late 1970s, children of Holocaust survivors utilized feminist and therapeutic ideas to develop a collective identity as the “second generation.” Emphasizing self-disclosure and storytelling designed to break the silence around the Holocaust, this cohort devised an identity linked to their parents but possessing separate needs and interests. The second-generation movement has been criticized for being overly introspective. This article, which draws on ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, takes a more sympathetic approach. By forming a collective identity and speaking openly about their experiences, children of survivors engaged in a therapeutic politics that contributed to the growing public consciousness of the Holocaust in the United States.