My Father, Myself

Abstract

This essay presents material from the second analysis of an offspring of two Holocaust survivors, each of whom lost a child during the war. The first analysis (Kogan ) focused primarily on the patient's relationship with her mother. This second analysis revolves around the elaboration of the complex and painful father-daughter relationship, centering on the events surrounding the death of the patient's father. The discussion includes an exploration of the father's deferred action on account of his Holocaust trauma, which he passed on to the next generation; the break in the idealized paternal representation; and the daughter's identification with her father's disavowed aggressive aspects. It also examines some of the unique transference and countertransference problems that arose, mainly because patient and analyst belonged to the same traumatized large group.

Book Review: Psychoanalysis and Holocaust Testimony

“…It took me a while to calm myself: What difference did it make if it was the same synagogue or another synagogue, I asked myself. From my thirty-four years of experience in working with second- and third-generation Holocaust survivors, I knew that my belonging to the same traumatized large group influenced to some degree my countertransference feelings in therapy with these patients (Kogan 2003a; 2016). But I was still struck by the fact that, as a result of reading this interview, the reverberation of my father’s loss arose with such force.…”