A young Pole after experiences of the war. The might of transgenerational transmission of trauma
Paweł Nowak1, Izabela Łucka2

Despite the 70 years that passed since the settlement of the warfare, collective and individual trauma of the World War II still has a vivid impact on Polish society. Research on psychological effects of incarceration in concentration camps was initiated by Antoni Kępiński i Stanisław Kłodziński. Department of Psychiatry in Cracow, under the leadership of Maria Orwid, continued the research taking care of the offspring of the concentration camp survivors (so-called “second generation”). Psychological trauma sustained by parents or grandparents is still covered by silence. Younger generation often don’t know the war history of their ancestry. Israeli research of transgenerational transmission of trauma (TTT) reported significantly more frequent anxiety, depressive and psychosomatic symptoms among the offspring of Holocaust survivors (OHS). Analysis of trauma-afflicted families describe disturbed mechanisms of their functioning. Particularly parentification and troubles with individuation/separation, what leads to traumatization of next generations. Collective trauma of Polish nation is also very significant. It’s a place of interests of sociologists and social psychologists. Authors present their reflections on presence of features of transgenerational trauma in young Poles (so-called “third generation”).