["Post-traumatic stress disorder"--historical aspects of a "modern" psychiatric illness in the German language areas].

Although posttraumatic stress disorder has only recently been admitted into the international classification systems, psychological reactions to traumatic incidents have been frequently described for well over a hundred years. This article provides an overview of mental reactions to a trauma in different historical situations. It discusses the "railway spine injuries" of the 19th century, victims of accidents in which third party liability could be established, and the psychological consequences of the catastrophes that characterised the 20th century: World War I, the rule of National Socialism, World War II, the expulsion and persecution of political opponents in the former GDR. The analysis suggests that the different psychological reactions do not describe an identical disorder. It seems that reactions to injuries are mainly influenced by the historical and social background.