Po obozie. Męskość i trauma na przykładzie Prawdziwego końca wielkiej wojny Jerzego Zawieyskiego i Jerzego Kawalerowicza

Abstract

This article analyzes Jerzy Zawieyski’s short story Prawdziwy koniec wielkiej wojny [The Real End of the Great War] and its film adaptation of the same title, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz. Using the lens of masculinity studies, the discussion offers a new interpretation of both works. A key context for this reading is postwar research on the so-called concentration camp syndrome (KZ-Syndrome), conducted under the supervision of Antoni Kępiński. The protagonist’s camp experience and its symptomatic aftermath form a central motif in both the prose and the film, prompting reflection on the relationship between war trauma and the cultural construction of masculinity.