Trauma Bonds

A deeply personal investigation into the impact of generational trauma on the descendants of survivors and perpetrators.

When Joshua Nelken-Zitser sought treatment for panic attacks and an eating disorder, his therapist suggested a cause he’d never considered: generational trauma. The descendant of four Holocaust survivors, Joshua grew up hearing stories from his grandparents’ experiences. But, with his therapist’s comments in mind, he began to question not just how inherited trauma has impacted him, but how it has impacted the relations of perpetrators and entire nations.
Drawing on original interviews with descendants of Holocaust survivors, and of Nazis – from those who refused to confront their ancestors’ past to those who have gone to extreme lengths to address it – as well as psychotherapists and scientists studying how trauma is inherited, Joshua Nelken-Zitser explores the myriad repercussions of personal and national trauma.
Unique and thought-provoking, Trauma Bonds powerfully shows how reconciliation and communication can heal generational wounds.