I left Czechoslovakia, my native country, during the Cold war era when leaving a socialist country was considered to be a criminal offense. America became my second home, 1 lived and worked in New York City for twenty-seven years, training as a psychoanalyst at the W.A. White Institute during the seventies when psychoanalysis was flourishing in the United States.

Freedom was a central value fought for during the "Velvet Revolution" in Czechoslovakia in November of 1989 during which the corrupt Communist government collapsed like a house of cards. The totalitarian regime ended, the Iron Curtain was dismantled and the country opened up to the world,

These changes made it possible for me to return to my country to teach at my alma mater -the Charles University of Prague. It is especially meaningful for me that I can teach a course in psychoanalysis - a field which was suppressed in the past. Now, psychoanalysis is valued and respected in the Czech Republic as it was in the United States in the sixties and seventies (and sadly is no longer.) The new found freedom brought Czech's respect for individual rights and self-actualization.

The focus of my paper is the psychology of transformation in the Czech Republic. I would like to draw attention to the problems that Czechs are encountering in this transformation period that 1 believe have their origin in the psychological and social features of the recent past. 1 will therefore begin my paper with an analysis of the Czech totalitarian regime, its dynamics and its psychological influence. In the last section I will discuss the attitudes and traits of Czech people which reflect the totalitarian experience, and which now create obstacles to change.

Totalitarian past

In recent history Czechs suffered a tragic loss of their freedom and democracy after the Munich agreement with Hitler in 1938. Significantly, this also involved a betrayal by their traditional western allies who abandoned them in the policies of appeasement. These events and the subsequent Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia traumatized the nation and prepared the ground for later Russian and Communist influence. Communists, backed by the Soviet Union, seized power and Czechoslovakia became a totalitarian state in 1948.

In my opinion, the Czech experience of loss of national integrity, the sense of betrayal by their traditional allies, and subsequent aggressive occupation by the Nazi Army, caused a profound trauma that could not be worked through. The Communist takeover after the war could be viewed as a regressive process leading to a more primitive political and social

organization in a deeply traumatized nation. Keys to this process were victory of the Soviet Union in the war, their dominant political influence in the region, non-interference of the Western nations and a considerable, genuine initial enthusiasm for the Communist party.

After 1948 the Communists gradually instituted tighter and tighter ideological control over its citizens. Many democratic leaders were jailed or executed. The arts ceased to be creative and free expression was curtailed. Objective history and science were systematically distorted and severe restrictions were placed on individual differences, initiative, and freedom. Censorship was instituted in all areas, and books representing other points of view were removed from stores and libraries. (Marlin Group, 1990, New York.)

Psychologically, the totalitarian regime was based on a process of submission of an individual to the group lead by an idealized leader. Childlike dependency on the omnipotent leaders was constantly reinforced by the ideology and by the system which restricted and destroyed human rights. Communist ideology drew on irrational feelings, conscious and unconscious fears and fantasies of group members)and fostered dogmatic thinking, messianic ideas and splitting between the "good" members of the group and the "bad" members outside the group. The system reinforced projection of aggression outside the group, isolation from other nations and a paranoid view of the western world as threatening us with destruction.

In my opinion, the more destructive the ideology, the more it draws on irrational feelings and the unconscious archaic fears and fantasies shared by the group. Political ideology can become a symbolic family, as if protective and strong, where limits of our being, conflicts and inevitable death do not have to be faced. I think that during times of crisis, under conditions of trauma and rapid change in society, ideology becomes more attractive because of the triggering of unconscious fears. (Marlin, 1994.)

Czech society and family were traditionally patriarchal and authoritarian. In the totalitarian system, however the authority became more irrational, violent and unpredictable. Psychologically, the role of the totalitarian state can be compared to the role of a parent in a dysfunctional family with authoritarian features. Citizens were not allowed to individuate

or separate themselves from the "Big Ideological Family". Attempts to separate or leave the group were treated as an attack or a betrayal. People who became party members were rewarded with special privileges while opposition was punished.

In this system, people had to develop a double life. Often they had to present false views and attitudes in order to survive or to keep their jobs and positions. A key feature of Communist ideology was its attempt to govern the inner lives of its citizens. This was resisted, however, by various unofficial artistic, religious and scientific groups Were free creativity and spirituality were kept alive. The democratic and intellectual tradition continued to live in Czechoslovakia's underground culture, which had particularly strong influence with the young generation. In the late seventies a human rights movement developed, Charter 77, which connected people from different backgrounds in their struggle for civil rights.

Attitudes and traits reflecting totalitarian experience.

The totalitarian state represented a closed system. The desire to leave the group (similarly to a dysfunctional family) was looked upon as a betrayal, and the person who chose his or her own way was treated as a criminal and a traitor.

In this system getting out of line or demonstrating a different view was dangerous. Many people chose to hide in a group; they pretended to play by the rules and acted according to an ideological script. Typically, hidden opposition was expressed only as avoidance, or as a private negative stance. Critical views could be shared only within the family or with a few trusted friends. This avoidant stance is still rather common among Czechs. They often say something new cannot be done, or they try to avoid getting involved in a project. Often, they do not want to take responsibility in situations where initiative or risk taking behavior is required. As a result of past experiences, Czechs learned that in most ways they could not affect the course of their lives; therefore passivity and avoidance are usually ego-syntonic and in some way denied or rationalized. People learned that being inexpressive and passive was the safest way to be, and they turned their anger and aggression mostly inward, which in turn reinforced their passive-aggressive attitudes. Martina Kli?perova, a Czech, social psychologist, also found that low self-efficacy, avoidance of initiative and responsibility, and learned helplessness were part of the post-communist syndrome in the Czech Republic as well as in other Eastern European countries (Kli?perova, Feierabend and Hofstätter, 1997.)

Another way in which the past lives on is in the fear of official authorities and submissive behavior toward them. Czechs seldom question teachers, doctors, nurses or bureaucrats who are often authoritarian, strict and punitive. In Czech society assertive behavior is often frowned upon, being seen as inappropriate or rude, especially for children and women.

In Czech families children are often treated in an authoritarian way, and physical punishment and shaming are often used as a way of discipline. In a similar fashion, Czech teachers also require obedience from their pupils and students, using shaming in front of the class as a method of discipline. I have found that even my students in graduate classes of psychology are afraid to speak up and express their opinions. Since independent thinking was punished by criticism or humiliation , they learned to remain silent or to agree with the teacher. Czech people are generally hesitant to speak in groups because in the past, group meetings were officially organized and controlled.

Czechs often resort to humor in official situations when Americans would take things seriously. Historically, humor, especially black humor, has been for Czechs an effective defense and way of resistance in many hopeless situations. Nazis called Czechs "laughing beasts."

In the past, Czechs were used to keeping information to themselves, because it could be dangerous to know it or to use it. On the other hand, information could bring a special advantage and, therefore, had to be guarded and protected. No dialogue existed in the public sphere except for a short period during the reform movement in 1968. However, a dialogue went on in dissident groups and in the underground literature where many important Czech writers expressed their views. This situation helped to preserve the Czech culture, but also created a split between public and private domains.

In summary, to function in the totalitarian system, a person had to sacrifice vital areas of autonomy which resulted in learned helplessness and suppression of initiative, responsibility and assertiveness. Aggression was either turned inward or projected on to other people and groups. A split had to be maintained between the public and private persona. This often resulted in moral relativism, alienation, corruption and irresponsibility. In those attitudes the past still lives on, creating many blocks to change in both private and social spheres. Shame and guilt prevent confrontation with the traumatic past.