Robert Prince

Psychoanalysis traumatized: the legacy of the Holocaust.

Psychoanalysis is a survivor of the Holocaust. It was founded and flourished in central European centers that would be destroyed by the Nazis. A core group of refugees who lived through persecution and exile were instrumental in rebuilding their movement on alien shores. They had no opportunity to mourn the loss of their culture or their leader, Freud, whose death was overshadowed by the cataclysmic upheaval around them. Though its trauma has been dissociated, it is represented in psychoanalytic ideas and enacted in institutions within the context of delayed or incomplete mourning. For example, authoritarianism in psychoanalytic institutions will be explored as a reliving of the trauma of both fascism and exile, and not merely typical group psychology. Further evidence of the impact of dissociated trauma includes the astonishing scotoma for actual events in treatment of Holocaust survivors; the extreme privileging of infantile fantasy over reality, and attention to childhood neurosis at the expense of adult catastrophic events.

The Self in Pain: The Paradox of Memory. The Paradox of Testimony

Using the 7-year psychotherapy of a Holocaust survivor, this paper explores the sometimes contradictory aspects of approaches to trauma. Conceptualizing a “self in pain” as an alternative to contemporary conceptualizations of the traumatized person as having a damaged, dissociated or collapsed self leads to a corresponding alternative clinical approach. The paradoxes of traumatic memory and testimony necessitate an adaptational emphasis and the emergence of a “doubled” in contrast to a dissociated self. The decision to respect this “doubled” self involves a privileging of “reality” over “psychic reality” which then, paradoxically enables this patient to develop a phantasy life.

First they came... a response to Danielian's "A century of silence".

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a communist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out — because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak out for me. Pastor Martin Niemollor (Marcuse, Harold. Sep. 12, 2000)

The Holocaust after 70 years: Holocaust survivors in the United States

Over 70 years, there have been different narratives of the Holocaust survivors coming to the United States. Survivors’ stories begin with an event of major historical significance. Difficulties in conceptualizing historical trauma, along with common distortions and myths about Holocaust survivors and their children are examined. This article proposes that it is impossible to discuss the consequences of extreme suffering without consideration of historical meaning and social context with which they are entwined. The evolution of the social representation of the Holocaust and the contradictions in clinical attributions to survivors and their children with consideration of the future is described. Attributions to survivors and their children with consideration of the future is described.

Sympathy for the Devil: Evil, Social Process, and Intelligibility

Abstract Adolph Eichmanns deceptions and crimes are emblematic of an attempted disguise of evil and the consequences of the absence of empathy (i.e., Arendts “thoughtlessness”), for understanding the world and constructing “reality.” Both relativistic and absolutist approaches to evil are rejected in recognition that the themes that define evil are not only ambiguous and contradictory, but also entangled with each other. Eichmanns crimes are viewed in different contexts which, when contrasted, clarify evil as reciprocally located in individual and social processes. “Evil” emerges as a conceptual framework for making the world intelligible and a source of meaning. It involves both a construction of and assault on reality. Evil acts become comprehensible only within the web of beliefs in which they occur. The imbrication of ideology and deception as cause and effects of evil become evident as the “banality of evil” is contrasted with “radical evil.”

Balancing Belonging and Self-Realization in Psychoanalysis: The Example of Sándor Ferenczi

Using the Ferenczi–Freud relationship, which culminated in Ferenczis decision to read his Confusion of Tongues (1933) paper to Freud as a clinical example, the conflict between the need to belong expressed through sharing ideas and the need for individuation by being faithful to one’s own beliefs is explored. The need for the group to enforce conformity of thought, the vehemence of the response to deviant ideas, the need for and costs of membership, as well as the sacrifices the individual is willing to endure for both belonging and individuation, are taken as evidence of the centrality of psychological issues involved, including love, power, submission, and separation raised by the poles of the conflict that may exceed the ultimate validity of the particular idea, its role in psychic structure at least as important as the idea itself. The various sources of vehemence, as well as the fate of deviant ideas, are discussed. The problem of dissidence in psychoanalysis is compared to the problem of dissidence in other belief systems, notably science and religion.

Bodyguard of Lies: The Vicissitudes of Deception Among Mad Men and Women

The television series Mad Men is critically acclaimed despite grievous flaws as a drama. Its immense popularity is important psychological data and needs to be explored from the vantage of the dynamics of deception, including motivation, appeal and consequences for relationships and the self. The shows creator is inspired by John Cheever, the depth of whose complex characterizations is contrasted to the lures of the show. The parallel between the manipulations of authenticity inherent in advertising, the relationships between those who are involved in it and the relationship the show establishes with its audience is studied through two contiguous brief scenes that portray multiple reverberating deceits. These characters in these scenes are understood as creating both longing and disappointment at multiple levels. The psychic costs for both the deceivers, those deceived, as well as witnesses to the deception are fundamental.