Traumaland: How Poland's Second World War past shapes its collective mentality and politics today
LESZEK KOŁAKOWSKI LECTURE This lecture is also available online. Please register using link below.
This talk will examine how Poland’s experiences during the Second World War have shaped its contemporary collective mentality and political landscape, with a particular focus on the prevalence of conspiracy beliefs and low social trust. It will explore the direct impact of wartime trauma on Polish worldviews, as well as the lingering effects of trauma reminders on subsequent generations. Furthermore, the talk will address distortions in historical narratives and the challenges of properly acknowledging Holocaust history, which have arisen from Poland’s unprocessed and unacknowledged traumatic past.
Date: 4 February 2025, 17:00
Venue: St Antony's College - North Site
Venue Details: European Studies Centre Seminar Room
Speaker: Michał Bilewicz (University of Warsaw)
Organising department: European Studies Centre
Organiser: Julie Adams (St Antony's College, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: julie.adams@sant.ox.ac.uk
Host: Timothy Garton Ash (St Antony's College)
Part of: LESZEK KOŁAKOWSKI LECTURE
Booking required?: Not required
Booking url: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_YEy_HtEvT5CAsXLcVQv_2Q
Audience: Public
Editor: Julie Adams