This research project was undertaken in close association with a project entitled Psychological consequences of World War II. A comparative European Research Project, which was hosted by the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation and funded by the Dutch Ministry for Health, Well-being and Sport. The results appeared as "From Camp to Claim: The KZ syndrome and PTSD in Scandinavia: 1945 – 2010." In Annet Mooij and Jolande Withuis (eds), The Politics of War Trauma. A comparative European Approach. Amsterdam: Aksant, 2010.
This chapter investigates the history of the KZ syndrome, a term for psychiatric illness among former concentration camp (KZ) inmates. The term was introduce by Poul Thygesen in 1945, and was popularized globally by Leo Eitinger. The discovery of the KZ syndrome, and its acceptance as a distinct pathology, paved the way to relatively generous care for former inmates in Denmark and Norway, but in the longer run proved divisive and problematic. Although the medical establishment in both countries now uses the DSMIV-sanctioned, less restrictive term PTSD, the KZ syndrome is still alive and kicking.