Presentations by Eva Metzger Brown, Holocaust Child Survivor.

Speaking Engagements

April 25, 2009 - Trauma transmission and pathways toward healing for the Second Generation of Holocaust Families: Breaking silences and finding one's own Holocaust story

Sponsored by PAKH, University of Cologne, Germany

     In the morning, Dr. Brown will focus on issues for the Second Generation of the Holocaust that she observed in a long - term Second Generation Jewish group with whom she worked in the United States. These include issues of specific Second Generation losses: concrete losses of "things;" and emotional losses related to changes they experienced in their parents due to parental war trauma. It is conceptualized that these emotional losses - called the "double loss" - contribute to children focusing more on their parents' needs ("caretaking the other") than their own needs. This limits Second Generation' ability to separate emotionally from their parents, mourn their own losses, and address their own Second Generation vulnerabilities ("caretaking of the Self). This dynamic often leads to a silence between the Second Generation and their parents and leads to more limited self-exploration and self expression for the Second Generation. Often, the parent generation was silent too. The courage and resiliency in the Second Generation and the need for the presence of a "witness" to whom to tell one's story will also be highlighted.
    In the afternoon, part of a DVD will be shown of a Panel of a Second Generation Group with whom Dr. Brown worked. This will be followed by a brief presentation on the nature of the stories told and the value of group work. The discussion that follows may include a focus on "here and now" interactions both within and outside of the group setting; some comments will also be made on observations of the Third Generation.
    It needs to be kept in mind that Dr. Brown's understandings grow out of and are limited to her work with Jewish Second Generation of the Holocaust groups and individuals in the United States. It is hoped that the discussion will include the applicability of some of her ideas to experiences of those in the audience here in Germany.

June 2, 2009 – The importance of finding the words to tell your own story of trauma

Sponsored by the Dr. William R. Peck Middle School, Holyoke, Massachusetts, 01040

     Dr. Brown was invited by Ms. Kristina Daboul to speak about her Holocaust experiences with Ms. Daboul’s writing classes. Ms. Daboul had chosen the theme of the Holocaust as the topic for the semester.
     Dr. Brown’s goal was to share with these young people the circumstances that led to the Holocaust and to use the example of her own experiences as a Child Survivor of the Holocaust to highlight the impact and losses of war on children. Dr. Brown shared how she broke through her Holocaust silence only as an adult, but then began to explore her own history in order to find the words for her own story.
     The importance and the pressure to learn English, as a Second Language was something Dr. Brown and her audience, many of whom are Spanish-speaking, shared and could understand. Most children experience some trauma growing up, whether it is due to immigration experiences, changes in language, separation from parents, parental discord, abuse…and it is viewed as essential that all children be encouraged to find the words for their own story.