ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the mechanized and prolonged extreme cruelty associated with the term "Holocaust". It consider how far S. Freud's account of the system superego and later analytic contributions can throw light on what is arguably the most horrific event of the twentieth century. The chapter describe some case material to illustrate the long-term effects of the Holocaust on superego functioning in a second-generation survivor. It draws attention to a few more of Freud's observations on the system superego as they are relevant to discussion of the Holocaust and its aftermath. Freud described the superego tendency to turn inwards and attack the self, and thus provide an outlet for a person's aggressive tendencies. The rest of the report is highly instructive and pertinent to theme, since it demonstrates the vicissitudes, the ebb and flow of the superego system when striving to survive in an horrific environment of minimal life and sudden death.
