After the Second World War, some survivors faced isolation, loneliness, and mistrust of society. Their stories were not of interest to the broader public, and their accounts were too horrifying for most people to listen to or even believe. Their past remained in their present, existing as a shadow inside them and kept away from the light. Living between a desperate desire to forget and, at the same time, the need to tell and memorialize, some survivors remained silent for a significant part of their lives. Only in recent decades, as survivors are rapidly leaving us and with them the last chance to take part in their stories, have some of them begun to speak about their harrowing experiences openly… In the last chapter of this series, you will encounter Laura Kaye and her son Paul Kaye, who discuss the challenging task of re-discovering their family history.

Music by Di Gasn Trio.

Cover by @annet_bad

The interview of Eva Behar is from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education. For more information: http://sfi.usc.edu/

Sometimes, in post-war homes of Holocaust survivors, anger and profound grief were dominant. The images and stories about the Holocaust were heavily present in the daily lives of such families and resulted in various behavioral patterns among its members, such as overprotection, irritability, and even rejection. Among the succeeding generations, this often led to having to deal with insecurities about their own competence and feelings of being alienated from their peers. Listen to the voices of Molly Hofacre and her daughter Jess Hooks telling about their relationships with the outside world and the challenges that accompany their lives.

Music by Di Gasn Trio.

Cover by @annet_bad

THe interview of Betty Yager is from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education. For more information: http://sfi.usc.edu/

How did Holocaust survivors go on with their lives after the end of the war? Was it even possible? There is certainly not one accurate answer to these difficult questions. However, it would seem that for some, leaving the traumatic experience in the past and focusing on the present was the way forward, working hard and establishing a new life with families and careers, often far away from the villages or cities they once called home. But is it possible to entirely leave the past behind, a past with loved ones and friends that are no longer with us? What happens when the children and grandchildren of a survivor enter the picture? This chapter uncovers reflections of Ron Grunstein and his son Joel Grunstein, who share intimate moments of how they address the topic of the Holocaust and bridge the complicated family past with the new present.

Music by Di Gasn Trio.

Cover by @annet_bad

The interview of John Grunstein is from the archive of the USC Shoah Foundation – The Institute for Visual History and Education. For more information: http://sfi.usc.edu/