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The dehumanisation at work in the genocidal project and the legacy of such a traumatic event lead to a disaster of transmission and filiation. The result is an impasse in identification and differentiation processes over several generations. In this contribution, the authors question the nature of the obstacles hindering the process of mourning, separation and investment in life after a social catastrophe. To this purpose, there is a need to provide an account of the work of subjectivation necessary to the appropriation of one’s own history and that of one’s family to be able to initiate a process of separation/differentiation. Through a case study, the relevance of a “mediatised” clinical encounter is advanced for the understanding and the perlaboration of the traumatic experience of a surviving family living together. The contribution of photography is discussed as a first attempt to represent the emotions and bring to bear the intermediary processes guaranteeing their symbolisation.