Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses Summer 8-11-2017 Holocaust, Memory, Second-Generation, and Conflict Resolution Leslie O'Donoghue Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Jewish Studies Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation O'Donoghue, Leslie, "Holocaust, Memory, Second-Generation, and Conflict Resolution" (2017). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 3785. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.5669 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. Holocaust, Memory, Second-Generation, and Conflict Resolution by Leslie O'Donoghue A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Conflict Resolution Thesis Committee: Barbara Tint, Chair Amanda Smith Byron Robert Jarvis Gould Portland State University 2017 © 2017 Leslie O'Donoghue i Abstract Ten Jewish second-generation men and women from metro Portland, Oregon were interviewed regarding growing up in the aftermath of the Holocaust. The American-born participants ranged in age from fifty-one to sixty-four years of age at the time of the interviews. Though the parents were deceased at the time of this study the working definition of a Holocaust survivor parent included those individuals who had been refugees or interned in a ghetto, labor camp, concentration camp, or extermination camp as a direct result of the Nazi Regime in Europe from 1933 to 1945. A descriptive phenomenological approach was utilized. Eight open-ended questions yielded ten unique perspectives. Most second-generation do not habitually inform others of their second-generation status. This is significant to conflict resolution as the effects of the Holocaust are trans-generational. The second-generation embody resilience and their combined emphasis was for all people to become as educated as possible. Keywords: Holocaust, Memory, Second-Generation, Resilience, Conflict Resolution ii Dedication This thesis pays tribute to the incredible resilience of persecuted people. iii Acknowledgements First of all, I must extend my gratitude to my family for their extraordinary support. My son, Curran O'Donoghue, is ever the light of my life, a magician, and the master of complex sentence structure. Roberta O'Donoghue, my mother, and Phil Butcher, my step-father, plus, my aunt Carolyn Charter, have done everything possible to uphold my success in researching and writing this thesis. I would like to acknowledge the illuminating and sustaining guidance of my mentor Dr. Rachel Halfrida Cunliffe of Portland State University, without whom this endeavor may have never taken place. In addition, influential people have been two second-generation individuals, my thesis chair, Dr. Barbara Tint, and Dr. Amanda Byron, daughter of a Holocaust refugee. Plus, I appreciate the third person on my committee Dr. Robert Gould, director of the Conflict Resolution department from 1993-2015. Finally, but by no means lastly, there is an incredible acknowledgement of gratitude to extend to the second-generation survivors who privileged me with the opportunity to listen to part of their life stories. My appreciation broadens throughout the Jewish community to all of the people who have assisted me in making connections with second-generation people, as well as, having offered profound insights. Specifically, I would like to thank Diane Koosed and Lauren Fortgang of Neveh Shalom and the Never Again Coalition for their unwavering enthusiasm, plus, Peter Wigmore of the Oregon Holocaust Resource Center for his generous spirit. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. i Dedication ........................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... iii List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. vi Chapter 1 - Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Primer on the Holocaust............................................................................................................... 2 The Compelling Nature of the Problem in Conflict Resolution .................................................. 3 Significance of Inquiry ................................................................................................................ 7 Chapter 2 - Memory ....................................................................................................................... 10 Memory and Conflict Resolution ............................................................................................... 15 Memory and the Holocaust ........................................................................................................ 20 Memory and the Second-Generation ......................................................................................... 22 Summary of the Literature ......................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 3 - Methodological Process .............................................................................................. 29 Data Collection Processes .......................................................................................................... 32 Introducing the Participants ....................................................................................................... 35 Chapter 4 - Findings....................................................................................................................... 39 His Girlfriend's Phone Number .................................................................................................. 39 "Hi, I'm Karen, I'm Second-Generation" ................................................................................... 42 What We Lost: Family and Mementos ...................................................................................... 46 On Being Second-Generation .................................................................................................... 54 Sometimes It's Difficult, but I've Always Felt Honored ............................................................ 61 Media and Memories ................................................................................................................. 70 Speaking of God and The Jewish Tour ...................................................................................... 75 Education is Life Itself ............................................................................................................... 82 What Should Other People Know About Being Second-Generation? ....................................... 88 Chapter 5 - Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 95 v Implications for Conflict Resolution ......................................................................................... 99 References .................................................................................................................................... 103 Appendix A - Interview Questions .............................................................................................. 114 Appendix B - IRB Approved Consent Form - Video .................................................................. 115 Appendix C - IRB Approved Consent Form - Written ................................................................ 116 vi List of Tables Table 1 - Demographics of the Participants...................................................................................36 1 Holocaust, Memory, Second-Generation, and Conflict Resolution "Without memory there is no future." -Dr. Sal Mangione "Memory can be the weak flame of the struggle to remember, or the stable, enduring habits acquired over the long duration of relationships. Its loss is greatly feared, yet often we seek the therapeutic power of forgetting, It has sustained hidebound traditionalism in politics, but it has also been a weapon of liberation and a recognition of those who have been silenced or otherwise wronged. It has been used to justify great crimes, and yet it is central to the pursuit of justice." -W. James Booth, Communities of Memory: On Witness, Identity and Justice (2006, p. ix) Chapter 1 - Introduction This paper is a phenomenological inquiry into the lives of ten second- generation participants to reveal Jewish Holocaust survivor's children's memories of growing up with Holocaust survivor parents. These children, now adults, are the second-generation. The working definition of a Holocaust survivor parent included individuals who had been refugees or interned in a ghetto, labor camp, concentration camp, or death camp, as a direct result of the Nazi Regime in Europe from 1933 to 1945. The second-generation are living