The generation after

We had a meeting at the Holocaust Centre today to set up a group of children of Holocaust survivors, or rather of anyone whose life was affected by the Holocaust. The meeting was open to anyone, and it was gratifying to see so many people turn up. It was a planning meeting, with no agenda. The aim was to discuss whether there should be such a group, and if so, what purpose of the group should be, what activities the group would have and how often it should meet. All of us in the room had different stories, came from different backgrounds, but there were some common threads that stood out.  All said that their parents did not, would not talk about their Holocaust experiences. Most said that their parents kept quiet about being Jewish, they didn't want their children to be different. Some were quite resentful when their children wanted to find out more of their Jewish roots. And all shared the experience of being children who came from homes that somehow were different, with unexplained Jewish artifacts, and silences, the absences of grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins. Those of us who founded the Holocaust Centre have all turned 80 within the last twelve months. To ensure the future of what we set up we have to look at the relevance of the Holocaust and our programs in years to come. Talking about the impact of the memory of the Holocaust on generations younger than ours and its impact on life in New Zealand will set the future direction of the Holocaust Centre.