This article analyzes the transgenerational psychodynamics of institutional child abuse, focusing on the mechanism of projective identification by the "cold mother." Based on a comparative study of international cases—including Austrian cases like Franz Josef Stangl and Robert Volek, as well as the Australian "Forgotten Australians" (e.g., Sandi Gamble)—this documentation argues that institutionalization is often the physical materialization of a psychic rejection within the family. Key Findings: Universality: The mechanism is timeless and not restricted to post-war poverty; it continues today behind bourgeois facades. Psychic Suffering: The inner destruction caused by maternal non-resonance is as severe today as it was in the 1950s. Future Prevention: The article argues that the history of institutional abuse is not resolved but repeats itself. Effective protection requires shifting focus from improving institutions to relationship diagnostics and stopping projective identification within the family. This publication is part of a series aiming to empower survivors and prevent future suffering by illuminating the unconscious roots of institutional violence.
Peter Siegfried Krug (Sat,) studied this question.