Postmemory, Psychoanalysis and Holocaust Ghosts: The Salonica Cohen Family and Trauma Across Generations

Through a collection of letters sent by members of a Jewish family between 1925-42, this fascinating book explores phenomenological and psychoanalytical aspects of the Holocaust and its associated trauma, and the impact on future generations of the same family.

The book charts a postmemorial study of the Cohen family of Salonica which branched out to Paris and Tel-Aviv during the 1920s and 30s. The exploration of the contents of four boxes containing hundreds of letters, pictures and other documents portray a microhistory of one family which was once a part of a thriving community. Showing how the shadows of trauma can be passed through the generations, the book uncovers the tragedies that befell the Cohen family, and how the discovery of these materials has affected existing family members.

In an intriguing work of postmemory research and analysis, the book will appeal to both scholars of the holocaust and psychoanalysts interested in the unconscious impact of history.