Ep. 42: Psychological Dimensions: The Long Shadow of the Perpetrators (Alexandra Senfft – Author)

Guest: Alexandra Senfft – Author; vice-chair of the Study Group on Intergenerational Consequences of the Holocaust PAKH  Hosts: Efe & Philip  Bio: Alexandra Senfft is a German writer and free-lance journalist, a Middle East expert, and political author. She studied Middle Eastern Studies and worked as a non-partisan Middle East adviser for the Green Party in the Bundestag/German parliament, later serving as UNRWA observer in the West Bank and UNRWA spokesperson in Gaza until 1991. Senfft has worked extensively in Israel as a journalist and expert, served on the board of the German-Israeli Working Group for Peace in the Middle East, and collaborated with Israeli psychologist Dan Bar-On in the Storytelling in Conflict program, bringing descendants of Holocaust victims and perpetrators into dialogue, later extended to Israelis and Palestinians. Her books include Schweigen tut weh (2007, Silence Hurts), Zwischen Antisemitismus und Islamophobie (2008, Between Antisemitism and Islamophobi), Der lange Schatten der Täter (2016, The Long Shadow of the Perpetrators), and Onkel Pauls Geigenbogen. Die Familiengeschicht eines preußischen Sinto (2019, Great Uncle Paul’s Violin Bow). She is vice-chair of the Study Group on Intergenerational Consequences of the Holocaust PAKH and a board member of the Lagergemeinschaft Dachau (camp community of Dachau) and founder and board member of Parents Circle Friends Germany,. In this episode: Efe and Philip speak with Alexandra Senfft about the long shadow of the Nazi era and intergenerational consequences in Germany. Senfft reflects on being the first grandchild of a Nazi perpetrator to publicly confront her family history, exposing the silence and denial shaping many perpetrator families. The conversation explores familial silence, perceptions of responsibility, and societal implications of unaddressed trauma and guilt. Senfft discusses her work in the framework of Holocaust intergenerational studies, her UNRWA experience in Westbank and Gaza, lessons from Dan Bar-On’s dialogue-based conflict resolution, and how dialogue between Germans, Israelis and Palestinians can help address complex inherited emotions and attitudes.  This episode was recorded July 2, 2025. Links: Alexandra Senfft: https://alexandra-senfft.de/ Disclaimer:Guest opinions are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the podcast team.Technical legal terms are explained in Episode 36 with Prof. Claus Kreß; contested histories are addressed by Prof. Gudrun Krämer in Episode 21.