Poland reports one of the highest rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the world. Around 19% of Poles – almost one in five – have symptoms of PTSD, making Poland “the most traumatised country in the world,” according to some recent research. This striking figure is nearly five times higher than the global average of approximately 3.9%.
A recent editorial in The Lancet addresses this challenge, summarising various research papers published by both Polish and international research teams. The findings reveal how trauma becomes an invisible inheritance, passed down through generations like genetic code, shaping the mental and physical health of entire families.
Trauma and its generational effects
The roots of this issue stretch back generations to the unprecedented devastation of World War II. Poland lost approximately 17% of its population during World War II – the highest proportional loss of any nation involved in the conflict. But unlike other countries that could begin healing after liberation, Poland faced a cruel twist of fate that would shape generations to come: the transition from German to Soviet occupation, forcing survivors to suppress their trauma for fear of state terror and repression.
As Polish scientists, led by Prof. dr hab. Marcin Rzeszutek (University of Warsaw Faculty of Psychology), proved in their Nature’s Scientific Reports article, published in 2023, children and grandchildren of Polish Holocaust survivors are at higher risk of PTSD, depression, and anxiety, as well as having increased prevalence of health problems such as cancer, heart disease, and chronic pain.
The science of inherited pain
After extreme trauma, people can develop one of three adaptation styles: victim (emotional instability and fear), numb (maintaining a conspiracy of silence and low tolerance to stimuli), and fighter (drive to achieve and prohibit weakness). The 2023 Nature study demonstrated that these post-trauma adaptational styles are positively linked to current PTSD symptoms across generations. The study also found that PTSD levels mediate the relationship between these adaptational styles and how people experience their own bodies – a concept researchers call “embodiment.”
For example, following trauma, individuals may experience dissociation (feeling detached from one’s body or “outside” themselves), hypervigilance (persistent muscle tension as if the body is ready to flee), numbing (loss of ability to feel pleasurable physical sensations), and somatisation (physical symptoms without clear medical cause, such as headaches or gastrointestinal problems).
The Lancet editorial also mentions another, more recent study, published in “Parenting” in 2025 by an international research team, including dr hab. Anna Cierpka, dr Karolina Małek and Ewelina Łapińska from The University of Warsaw. Polish families were interviewed about their World War II stories, and it revealed four types of war stories – survival stories, hero stories, tragedy and loss stories, and missing stories. Findings have also shown the presence and effect of silencing in intergenerational family storytelling.
As The Lancet editor emphasised: silencing “can lead to trauma denial or a lack of social recognition and validation, reducing emotional openness and cohesion within the family, and ultimately perpetuating intergenerational trauma.”
A healthcare system under strain
The Lancet editorial emphasises that Poland’s mental health infrastructure struggles to meet the massive need. With only nine psychiatrists per 100,000 people – well below international standards – and persistent stigma surrounding mental health treatment, 60% of those who report needing psychological support do not receive it.
Despite these challenges, Poland has begun taking systemic steps to address its trauma legacy. The integration of mental health services into primary care through Mental Health Centres – supported by the World Health Organization’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme – has improved continuity of care and enhanced support for vulnerable populations, including Ukrainian refugees fleeing current conflicts.
Poland’s story demonstrates that intergenerational trauma is not just a distant concern or academic concept – it is a public health crisis rooted in real biological and social mechanisms. This is particularly significant in a world where so many armed conflicts are unfolding. Global armed conflicts have reached levels not seen since World War II, with the World Economic Forum ranking state-based conflict as the highest global risk in 2025 – exposing 1 in 8 people to conflict in 2024 alone and an estimated 2 billion people to war trauma, figures expected to rise amid ongoing wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and between Israel and Iran.
More:
- The Lancet Regional Health – Europe. (2025). Intergenerational trauma in Poland. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, 54, 101379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2025.101379
- Horstman, H. K., Bohanek, J. G., Elkhalid, A., Cierpka, A., Małek, K., & Łapińska, E. (2024). Polish Family War Stories: Perpetuating and Healing Intergenerational Trauma. Parenting, 25(2), 197–214. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2024.2439913
- Rzeszutek, M., Dragan, M., Lis-Turlejska, M. et al. Long-lasting effects of World War II trauma on PTSD symptoms and embodiment levels in a national sample of Poles. Sci Rep 13, 17222 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-44300-6
- an der Kolk, B.A., et al. (1996). Dissociation, somatization, and affect dysregulation: the complexity of adaptation of trauma. American Journal of Psychiatry, 153(7 suppl):83-93 Psychiatry OnlineTraumatherapie – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8659645/
