Opuscula Sociologica

The theory of cultural trauma, popularised in Poland by Piotr Sztompka, is suitable for the analysis of social processes which took place in the so-called Recovered Territories after the Second World War. Before the Second World War, most of Masuria belonged to the East Prussia in the Third Reich and was inhabited by Masurians and Germans. After the collapse of Nazi Germany, Masuria became a part of Poland. Most of the Masurians and Germans have escaped or been killed at the end of the war. Masuria was settled mainly by Poles. Cultural trauma is a cultural process mediated through various forms of representation, linking the reformation of collective identity and the reworking of collective memory (Ron Eyerman). In this case, the cultural trauma was associated with the processes of social disintegration and integration. The forced and voluntary migration led to the disintegration of the existing territorial social structures and the creation of new communities. The postwar processes of disintegration and integration are presented on the example of the town Ełk and Ełk county in Masuria. For this purpose, literature, archival materials and biographical interviews conducted in the Ełk county were employed. One of the main conclusions of the study suggests that there is a correlation between cultural trauma and the weak local identity in Masuria.