The impact of the holocaust on the second generation: Norwegian Jewish holocaust survivors and their children

The entire population of Norwegian‐born Jews who survived the German concentration camps and their children was examined, and compared to Norwegian‐bom Jews who escaped to Sweden, and their children. An attempt is made to look for the symptoms described as a “second generation syndrome” by several authors. The present findings do not support the presence of serious psychopathology among the children of Norwegian‐bom Jewish survivors as a group, but indicate a certain degree of psychological vulnerability among these children. As adults, they are more often engaged in health/social care professions and organizations and also show signs of greater assimilation to their non‐Jewish surroundings than the comparison group.