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Neumann describes in a moving way ‘the wonderful phenomenon’ of how hundreds of thousands of people who had lived through the worst imaginable sufferings during the Holocaust became, soon after their immigration into the young State of Israel, highly active and productive citizens.
Their experience conditioned them in an extraordianry way to fight for the survival of the young constantly threatened State, as they knew what can happen to Jewish people when they are not able and prepared to defend themselves.
If they sought psychiatric help - and, interestingly, many never did so - it was not for symptoms arising directly out of their holocaust experience, but for general problems in their family life, their work situation and their severe lack of joy for living.
Neumann investigates the structure of the families: after their liberation people frequently threw themselves rapidly into new marriages without having mourned their lost loved ones; their capacity for trust was destroyed. They were afraid of loving, for this felt like a betrayal of their murdered partners and led to feelings of guilt and depression. In their marriages both partners lived in shared isolation, devoid of feelings, and all hope was centred on their new children.