Post-war generation
Features of this group
The ‘Post-War Generation’ denotes people, one or two of whose parents was/were traumatized during the Second World War. Although these people have not been exposed to organised violence themselves, they may have psychological complaints that are related to their parents’ traumatization.
That traumatization may have affected the way in which these parents raised their children. The people in this group often do not develop psychological complaints until they reach middle age, sometimes when they have children of their own. In their relations with the traumatized parents we often discern extreme feelings of loyalty: the parents have experienced and been through such a great deal that the children start to spare or strongly support them or put them on a pedestal. Or, they may have strong feelings of being responsible, or be so intensely attached to the parents that it becomes difficult for them to develop their own identity.
