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In the analysis of the descendants of the survivors of massive traumatisms, there occurs, according to Ilse Grubrich Simitis, a moment when the classic process of elabora-tion/interpretation, can be completed and supplemented by a journey to the places where the trauma occurred. This return brings about a sort of recall capable of distinguishing between fantasized constructions and events which actually occurred. Comparing several different kinds of travellers – Gary, Carrère, Perec – this text shows that the effects, like the dangers, of the return, are radically different for the survivors themselves and for their descendants.