“Organized Escape: Psychoanalysts In Exile” Chronicles Their Journey From Vienna To Stockbridge
In 1950, a group of prominent psychoanalysts, most of them former refugees from Europe, gathered for a conference at the Austen Riggs Center, the psychoanalytic institute in Stockbridge. That such a renowned group came to Stockbridge itself was impressive, made more so because it was organized and facilitated by Anna Freud, Sigmund Freud’s daughter and the leading psychoanalyst of that time. But the real story is what transpired years before, when the psychoanalytic community in Vienna made a pact to leave their home in the leadup to World War II. On the 85th anniversary of the Anschluss — the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany — their experience is presented in “Organized Escape: Psychoanalysts in Exile,” on exhibit at the Austen Riggs Corner House Exhibition Center in Stockbridge.
The exhibition comes to the Corner House as a collaboration between the Erikson Institute of the Austen Riggs Center and the Sigmund Freud Museum in Vienna. Thomas Kohut, history professor at Williams College, who is president of the Freud Foundation US, was involved in facilitating the collaboration.
Following the Anschluss, Freud’s home was searched and his passport was taken. The Viennese Psychoanalytic Society (most of whose members were Jewish), decided they needed to flee Europe. It was a process that took years.
“They knew what was going on,” says Alison Lotto, manager of the Erikson Institute Library, Archives, and Operations. “Together, 68 of them made the decision to leave.”
With an astonishing amount of archive materials — letters, photos, and maps, along with excellent commentary —the exhibition follows their journey as they attempt to escape Europe. Copies of ship manifests track their voyages — where they came from and where they planned to settle. There are detailed lists and plans laid out by Anna Freud. With the support of their psychoanalytic colleagues in London, Paris, and New York, they all managed to escape. Visas were organized, sponsorships were provided, and funds were collected. The majority of the analysts were taken in by the United States.
The exhibition opens with a map that illustrates the migration routes of the refugees and where they ended up. One of the most fascinating documents is the 20-page list that the British psychoanalyst Ernest Jones maintained, in consultation with Anna Freud, that profiles every one of the fleeing psychoanalysts. A meticulous accounting in European cursive documents where each individual wanted to go (many chose Boston or New York), where they eventually settled, and where they were while in limbo awaiting passage or an invitation to work at a hospital. Another document, created for the émigré psychoanalysts explains the legalities of practicing psychoanalysis in the United States, how to secure a license for the practice of medicine before practicing psychoanalysis, and considerations in selecting a home in the United States. In the “Bulletin of Information to Be Supplied Only to Psychoanalysts Who Desire to Emigrate to the U.S.A.,” one article states:
Unlike an art exhibition, this one asks the visitor to come close and study the documents, save for one item. A pillow, fashioned out of drapery fabric from Anna Freud’s office, sits encased in glass, a tribute to a major force in the history of psychoanalysis and a nod to the ubiquitous couch, the iconic symbol of Freudian therapy.
“American psychoanalysis in the 20th century was considerably enriched and shaped by the émigré psychoanalysts from Central Europe, and this exhibit tells the story of the concerted effort by psychoanalytic organizations around the world to aid in the lifesaving escape of Jewish psychoanalysts from Vienna as the Nazis invaded Austria,” says Jane G. Tillman, PhD, director of the Erickson Institute. The “First Stockbridge Congress on Child Analysis” at Austen Riggs in 1950 was the first time they’d all reunited after their individual migrations. It was a joyous reunion.
“Somehow, this site — Austen Riggs and Stockbridge — felt like a healing place for these people,” says Lotto, the archivist who worked with Julie Hammill of Hammill Design to create a flowing, cohesive presentation. “Community, too, is such a vital part of this story. Here was a group of people who said, ‘this is what we’re going to do,’ and did it.” In doing so, they impacted American psychoanalysis and left an enduring legacy.
“Organized Escape: Psychoanalysts in Exile”
Corner House Community Exhibition Space
48 Main Street, Stockbridge, MA
Open Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. through October 16, 2023
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