[Do the old fears return? : An investigation into the experience of the corona crisis among survivors of the Hamburg Firestorm (1943)]. / Kommen die alten Ängste wieder? : Eine Untersuchung zum Erleben der Corona-Krise bei Überlebenden des Hamburger Feuersturms (1943).

BACKGROUND: The generation of war children of the Second World War is currently in old age experiencing the lock-down caused by the coronavirus crisis. OBJECTIVE: How are the restrictions of the lock-down experienced against the background of the war experience? METHODS: A total of 120 witnesses of the Hamburg Firestorm (1943) were asked about their experiences of the corona pandemic by means of a questionnaire in May 2020 and December 2020. Findings from telephone conversations with several witnesses, who regularly participate in a discussion group, have also been taken into consideration for this study. RESULTS: Of the interviewees contacted in May 2020 and December 2020, 98 (82%) and 77 (64%), respectively, sent back the questionnaire, 58 (45) female and 40 (32) male, the mean age was 86.5 years (87.1 years). According to the questionnaire most of them feel relatively stable and confident about their general situation in the pandemic and are mostly concerned with the contact restrictions rather than with their own health. The majority fear negative economic consequences for Germany. About 13% fully agree that the current crisis reminds them of their experiences in the Hamburg Firestorm. As telephone conversations have shown the memories and experiences of the war and the post-war period in general, seem to act as the leading frame of reference for dealing with the current crisis. CONCLUSION: The findings point to typical psychological processing patterns in a war-burdened generation, when they now relate their experiences in the war to the experiences in the corona crisis.

["And she turns around and sees it fully " Psychological consequences in children of survivors of the "Hamburg Firestorm" (1943) in a systematic evaluation]. / "Und sie dreht sich um und sieht das voll " Psychische Folgen bei Kindern von Überlebenden des "Hamburger Feuersturms" (1943) in einer systematischen Evaluation.

"And she turns around and sees it fully …" Psychological consequences in children of survivors of the "Hamburg Firestorm" (1943) in a systematic evaluation Objectives: Is there a transmission of traumatic war experiences through the generations? In an interdisciplinary research project at Hamburg University psychoanalysts and historians investigated the long-term psychological effects of World War II bombing attacks in the "Hamburg Firestorm" (Operation Gomorrha) in 1943. In the frame of this work the paper asks for the psychological consequences in the following generation Methods: Evaluation of 45 completely transcribed life-historical interviews (28 female and 17 male of an average age of 50.2 years) with descendants of contemporary witnesses (at the time of the firestorm between 3 and 27 years old) by systematic diagnostic assessment. Results: There are no certain consequences for everyone. Most of the consequences occurred, when the mother was the contemporary witness and the child the daughter. Conclusion: Different assessments on the intergenerational consequences of experiences of violence in World War II can be explained by the heterogeneity of the findings.

["The flames engulfed us from all sides and the air roared" - A systematic diagnostic evaluation of the survivors of the "Hamburg Firestorm" of 1943]. / "Hier und überall lechzten die Flammen und es brüllte die Luft« - eine systematisierte diagnostische Eindrucksbildung an Überlebenden des ¼Hamburger Feuersturms" (1943).

QUESTION: In an interdisciplinary research project at Hamburg University, psychoanalysts and historians investigated the long-term psychological effects of World War II bombing attacks during the "Hamburger Feuersturm" (Operation Gomorrha) in 1943. The paper looks at the experiences from that time and the different modalities of how they were processed and compares them with the mental repercussions today. METHOD: Evaluation of completely transcribed interviews with 31 female and 29 male contemporary witnesses (at the time of the firestorm between 3 and 27 years old) using "systematic diagnostic assessment."A matrix of the rated diagnostic characteristics was subjected to factor analysis and scales of severity were established in order to calculate correlation coefficients and to determine the degree of interdependence of the diagnostic characteristics. RESULTS: The primary experience of those interviewed was being bombed out of their homes, often with a complete loss of all personal belongings. In particular, the sight of dead bodies has remained in their thoughts to this day. The persistent psychological consequences include anxiety, nightmares, and an aversion to certain noises and smells that continue to be associated with the firestorm. The initial experiences after the war proved to be crucial to their subsequent well-being. Discussions of their dreadful experience remained mostly rare, but when they did occur, they were beneficial to their overcoming the associated trauma. CONCLUSIONS: We successfully quantified the essential qualitative information. Long-term psychological outcome appears to depend not only on the severity and circumstances of the - often traumatic - experiences during the war. The individual experiences in the years after the war held an important sway over subsequent well-being to the present day.

["Suddenly I was all alone": traumatic experiences of a 12 year old girl during the "Operation Gomorrha" and its transmission over three generations]. / "Und plötzlich war ich ganz allein" Traumatisierende Erfahrungen einer Jugendlichen während des "Hamburger Feuersturms" und ihre transgenerationale Weitergabe uber drei Generationen.

Air strikes on Hamburg in 1943 ("Operation Gomorrha") were a historical turning point and had a deep impact on both cityscape and history of Hamburg. Little is known about intraindividual and transgenerational consequences as well as its interaction with societal and historical processes. Aiming at closing this gap interviews with witnesses, their children and grandchildren, as well as the whole family, were conducted in the context of an interdisciplinary research project. Based on the example of an interview with a at the time of the "Operation Gomorrha" eleven years old witness, her daughter, and grandson the biographical localisation of war experiences and transgenerational transmission will be explained and discussed.