Zacytuj

Fig.1

Photo of a village in the central Slovenian region, where family B lives and which has been brutally encroached upon by the violence of war and communist regime (source: https://sl.wikipedia.org).
Photo of a village in the central Slovenian region, where family B lives and which has been brutally encroached upon by the violence of war and communist regime (source: https://sl.wikipedia.org).

Fig. 2

Genogram of the family in which the interviewees in the research (generations 1–3) are marked. In Generation 1, the symbols for those killed in post-war massacres are crossed.
Genogram of the family in which the interviewees in the research (generations 1–3) are marked. In Generation 1, the symbols for those killed in post-war massacres are crossed.

Fig. 3

Significance of traumatic experience for our family or its life mission (cloud) & areas where meaning is created (ellipse/circle).
Significance of traumatic experience for our family or its life mission (cloud) & areas where meaning is created (ellipse/circle).

j.jnmlp-2021-0003.tab.003

Grandmother Mother/daughter Daughter/granddaughter
“Now I can say for myself that I have got rid of these horrors, but I read about these things many times, because I am actually interested... I have already read so many of these books.”“I got the courage to speak at public memorial service.”“When we had a political gathering in the village, we, my husband and I, both worked a lot for the evernt.” “What I took from my parents: to endure even in a public situation,..., to dare to expose oneself, to express one's opinion and to accept the consequences of that opinion.”“At that time, this period of democratization had already begun, and I focused all my thoughts on it...”“...This party politics absorbed me and I saw my way of life. And it also confirmed to me the direction of my efforts.” About her grandmother: “When they got married, they put a lot into bringing the village back to life, so that there would be life, culture...”About her mother: “Also because my mother is a historian, I knew a lot of things, e.g., about “Huda jama”, the place of a mass grave...«“...I am very active in the village, with the choir, with the student society, with the cultural society, in the church,... with us it was quite a way of life.”“The values that very much characterize our lives are religion and home and homeland, more broadly. That stands out a lot.”

j.jnmlp-2021-0003.tab.004

Grandmother Mother/daughter Daughter/granddaughter
“I mean, you usually happily swaddle a baby. But I cried because I couldn’t even manage that. I lived with such a torment at times that it was unbearable.” “For example, when I gave birth, I had problems regulating my hormones. I would cry for no reason¼ I used to be convinced that I was strong.., but after that I just started crying, for nothing.” “On the one hand, my mother gave us a lot of things that she couldn’t have in her life on her own, and on the other hand, she never pampered us.”“I inherited from my mother the fact that you are always ready to become better, that you are always ready to learn and still struggle to get to know yourself.”

j.jnmlp-2021-0003.tab.005

Grandmother Mother/daughter Daughter/granddaughter
“I’m happy today to know all that I know; I still pray for all those who are at war in the world.”“I read and read all these things to see what it was like and to become more ‘courageous’ now.” “I had a slightly broader view than the purely childish one.”“When I listened to all these stories, it made it absolutely easier for me. I felt free.” “On the one hand, I still have a little bit of researcher in me, such a child's curiosity in the sense that I’m just interested.”“I experienced this quite naturally. We talked about it a lot here. That was a big part of my life. We discussed this a lot at Sunday lunches and other events, it was quite natural.”“And now that I look at it a little bit from a distance, I think that's fine, because when I come into a different social group, I know that I don’t always have to adapt, but that I can be who I am.”

Inclusion criteria for our study

Gender Female
Age of 1 generation Born before 1941
Age of 3 generation At least 15 years
Nationality and language Slovene
1 generation identified as a victim of war and/post-war communist regime Yes
Willingness to share the story and consent Yes
Written consent Yes

j.jnmlp-2021-0003.tab.002

Grandmother Mary Mother/daughter Jane Daughter/granddaughter Sara
“(In 1948) I was 21 years old, but by then I was already scared; when OZNA2 came up to this house and killed several people...”“I still have this fear of war. Wherever there are wars, I disapprove of them... War seems awful to me.... if some kind of war should break out, I am afraid for the children... That they should ever experience this,¼.. I do not trust the system.” “Mom still, if there are any rockets (fire-works), would back off, she doesn’t like that.”“It was the first time and I was so scared because the police came right in to talk to me. I was home alone at the time..., I was afraid that I might be prevented from graduating.” “Let's say when I’m looking for a new company I always have to try to work out what these people are like, I dare not speak freely in front of everyone for fear that I would not be accepted.”“So I am more afraid when someone attacks religion and defends communism....”