This study focuses on the communication patterns (that is, talking of individual experiences and knowledge of other's experiences) of Holocaust related issues in the families of survivors and investigates the consequences of these patterns as reflected in the descendants' knowledge about the Holocaust and their attitudes toward its survivors. A comparision was made between 15 families whose parents were imprisioned in a concentration camp, and 15 families whose parents were involved in active resistance during World War 2. Both parents and first-born children were interviewed by means of a structured interview. The results indicate that communication on Holocaust related issues is more acceptable in families of ex-partisans. Children of ex-partisans have more knowledge about the Holocaust and express more positive attitudes toward the survivors. The implications of these findings for the understanding of the psychological consequences of massive psychic traumas are discussed. (Author/MP)