2025 | Michał Bilewicz, „Traumaland. Polacy w cieniu przeszłości" - Instytut Pileckiego

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2025 | Michał Bilewicz, „Traumaland. Polacy w cieniu przeszłości"

Michał Bilewicz’s “Traumaland. Polacy w cieniu przeszłości” (Wydawnictwo MANDO/Wydawnictwo WAM) won the Witold Pilecki International Book Award in the “academic history book” category.

“Traumaland. Polacy w cieniu przeszłości” was recognized as the best monograph on the experience of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe of confronting totalitarianism in the 20th century, with a particular emphasis on Poland.

The readers of “Traumaland” take up a challenge to immerse themselves in the pandemonium of the Poles’ attitude towards their own past, said Prof. Pierre-Frédéric Weber, a member of the Awards Committee, in his commendation speech. The author balances detachment with empathy. He often uncovers, analyzes and reopens Polish wounds with painful earnestness, but only to clean them – from myths, propaganda and intellectual shortcuts. For it is only then that the wounds can heal, added Pierre-Frédéric Weber. It would probably be an exaggeration to say that “Traumaland” offers a collective psychoanalysis of the Polish soul. Nevertheless, the book contains much of the knowledge needed to address the traumas of the 20th century in a conscious and mature manner.

In his book, Michał Bilewicz explains how difficult history and collective trauma affect the thinking of contemporary Poles, and points to behavior patterns that we have “inherited” from our ancestors.

Dr hab. Michał Bilewicz, Professor at the University of Warsaw, heads the Center for Research on Prejudice at the univer­sity’s Faculty of Psychology. His research interests include psychological mecha­nisms of reconciliation, collective mem­ory, trauma, and prejudice.

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