I can't say for "all" older folk in Eastern Europe, but my wife's parents were born before the war and experienced if firsthand as children. My wife's grandfather was sent to Buchenwald. He survived several years but that is a different story.

After the war my wife's Czech families just lived their lives, and actually lived better under Socialism than after the velvet revolution when everything was privatized and pensions, jobs and security disappeared for average workers.

They all were living under the Soviets for nearly 50 years and after talking to them for over 20 years, at least that one family would beg to differ.