Shared representations of national history play a significant role in the construction of social memory and the development of a common cultural worldview. Representations of 20th-century history studied within a small Polish community in the UK with respect to their content, meaning and effect on identity produced themes of injustice, abandonment, betrayal by the West, trauma and victimization, which continue to evoke strong emotions. The simplified, subjective and selective nature of historical representations was evident in the way in which a legitimate and coherent narrative on key aspects of the past was accompanied by omissions, contradictions and a lack of clarity on other aspects of the same period. The past continues to weigh on the present for a new generation of Poles, which demonstrates that historical legacy remains a significant factor in the social psychological analysis of mind, identity, social action and international relations.
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