Surmiak-Domańska: war trauma resurfaced after 40 years as families chose denial

Katarzyna Surmiak-Domańska, author of "Świat przed nami nie istniał. Jak wojna została w naszych domach" ("The World Before Us Did Not Exist: How the War Stayed in Our Homes"), discusses how Polish families denied wartime trauma. She recounts the story of uncle Wacek, who lost his speech after witnessing his sister being tortured and her children killed — his family attributed it to an unhappy love affair. Surmiak-Domańska argues that war trauma often surfaced only after four decades of silence.

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