Psychoanalysis Under Nazi Occupation: The Origins, Impact and Influence of the Berlin Institute (The Lines of the Symbolic in Psychoanalysis Series)

Laura Sokolowsky’s survey of psychoanalysis under Weimar and Nazism explores how the paradigm of a ‘psychoanalysis for all’ became untenable as the Nazis rose to power. Mainly discussing the evolution of the Berlin Institute during the period between Freud’s creation of free psychoanalytic centres after the founding of the Weimar Republic and the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, the book explores the ideal of making psychoanalysis available to the population of a shattered country after World War I, and charts how the Institute later came under Nazi control following the segregation and dismissal of Jewish colleagues in the late 1930s. The book shows how Freudian standards resisted the medicalisation of psychoanalysis for purposes of adaptation and normalisation, but also follows Freud’s distinction between sacrifice (where you know what you have given up) and concession (an abandonment of position through compromise) to demonstrate how German psychoanalysts put themselves at the service of the fascist master, in the hope of obtaining official recognition and material rewards. Discussing the relations of psychoanalysis with politics and ethics, as well as the origin of the Lacanian movement as a response to the institutionalisation of psychoanalysis during the Nazi occupation, this book is fascinating reading for scholars and practitioners of psychoanalysis working today. Laura Sokolowsky’s survey of psychoanalysis under Weimar and Nazism explores how the paradigm of a ‘psychoanalysis for all’ became untenable as the Nazis rose to power. Cover 1 Endorsements 2 Half Title 4 Series Page 5 Title Page 6 Copyright Page 7 Table of Contents 8 List of tables 11 Acknowledgements 12 Series preface 13 List of acronyms used 15 Introduction 16 Freud’s warning regarding therapy 16 On the treatment of neuroses in free clinics 18 The incidence of war neuroses 21 The turning point of Budapest 24 PART I: Berlin at the centre of the psychoanalytic movement 28 1. The golden age of the Berlin Institute 30 Weimar: a democratic interval for psychoanalysis 30 Made in Berlin 33 The Weimar Republic and the psychoanalysts 36 Berlin, crossroads of expectations 39 The group of pioneers 41 A knot between therapeutics, training and teaching 54 2. Asserting the authority of psychoanalysis 63 Enlarging the field of psychoanalytic action 63 Preserving true psychoanalysis 68 The use of free treatment 71 The desire to be an authority 76 A strong proponent of analysis 80 Friend Eitingon 91 3. The original 1930 report 103 Handling public opinion 103 Ernst Simmel and the psychoanalytical hospital 107 The Fenichel report 110 The old dragon and the criminal 115 Make the patient understand that he is defending himself 121 PART II: The Institute and the rise of Nazism 134 4. Institute, training and society 136 A Freudian objection to the prevention of neuroses 136 The social extension in question 140 Uses of the initial consultation 147 The case of Josephine Dellisch 148 New guidelines for training 154 The novitiate of the analyst 158 5. Psychoanalysis versus psychotherapy 163 The systematisation of the curriculum 163 The practical training at the polyclinic 169 Sigmund Freud’s anxiety 171 The guardianship of psychoanalysis 181 Jones’s mission to Berlin 188 6. The end of an experiment 196 The refusal of the political 196 The argument for independence 202 ‘All kinds of things about Berlin that you should know and that frighten me’ 209 A simple replacement of people? 215 The tribulations of a nonentity 228 Berlin is lost 233 7. Conclusion 245 Standards and training of the psychoanalyst 245 The regulation of didactic analysis 249 Lacan’s refusal of standards 251 Bibliography 254 Index 261 Introduction; 1 The golden age of the Berlin Institute; 2 Asserting the authority of psychoanalysis; 3 The original 1930 report; "4 Institute,training and society"; 5 Psychoanalysis versus psychotherapy; 6 The end of an experiment; 7 Conclusion Introduction,1 The golden age of the Berlin Institute,2 Asserting the authority of psychoanalysis,3 The original 1930 report,4 Institute, training and society,5 Psychoanalysis versus psychotherapy,6 The end of an experiment,7 Conclusion "Laura Sokolowsky's survey of psychoanalysis under Weimar and Nazism explores how the paradigm of a 'psychoanalysis for all' became untenable as the Nazis rose to power. Discussing the relations of psychoanalysis with politics and ethics, as well as the origin of the Lacanian movement as a response to the institutionalisation of psychoanalysis during the Nazi occupation, this book is fascinating reading for scholars and practitioners of psychoanalysis working today"-- Provided by publisher