I invite you to reread Freud's escape: Nazi Vienna->London 1938. Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss DID ban the Nazi Party in June 1933, but he was assassinated by local Nazis a year later. Even then desperately hoped that Dollfuss’ successor would continue policies of independence and basic decency. Why? Freud’s revolutionary visions into the uncharted subconscious mind SHOULD have prepared him for the dark forces moving ahead.
Anna and dad Sigmund Freud, Vienna, 1920
Freud Museum, London
Sigmund didn't believe that Austria would come under German rule! Yet in 1938 German soldiers were massing on Austria's border, annexing Austria into the 3rd Reich. Many Jews urgently fled to safety, but Freud was 81 and very ill with cancer; and U.K migration quotas remained inflexible.
Why had Freud not left Vienna quickly? Because he’d spent his apolitical life claiming that Nazi sturm and drang was mere noise, the outward manifestation of messy inner lives. Note Hitler appeared on the balcony of Vienna’s imperial Hofburg Palace to declare the Anschluss in March 1938 i.e absorption of Austria into the 3rd Reich. Vienna was filled with excited Nazi supporters, thugs looted Jewish shops, damaged synagogues and attacked Jews. And ruined Freud’s International Psychoanalytic publishing house.
While Freud believed insight would return to his beloved cultured Vienna, everyone in Freud’s circle tried to get him to leave. Note these followers risked their OWN political capital, personal income and physical safety to save him. Anna Freud (1894-1982) had ministered to all her father’s needs while managing her own pioneering child psycho-analyst practice. She dealt with the new Nazi overlords who were extorting money from notable Jews seeking to emigrate. But she would never have left her dad. Physician-neurologist Ernest Jones (1879-1958) tirelessly promoted Freud’s ideas in Europe. When he heard the threat to Freud, Jones flew to Vienna to bend British immigration rules. US’s ambassador to France William Bullitt Jr (1891-1967) had been Freud’s patient in the 1920s. Their friendship developed later, through collaborating on a Pres Woodrow Wilson biography; the U.S even demanded Freud’s safe release. Dr Max Schur was treating Freud’s jaw cancer. Schur’s loyalty was clear when he delayed his own family’s exit!
Marie Bonaparte (1882-1962), grandniece of Napoleon & wife of Prince George of Greece-Denmark, had been Freud’s patient before she too became a psychoanalyst. She rushed to Vienna, paying the Nazis for Freud’s huge flight tax.
The refugees boarded the Orient Express in June 1938, 3 months after Hitler annexed Austria, and they noted that tension intensified as the train rolled through Germany via Munich and Dachau. At 3AM the train reached the border where the German border guards glanced at his documents, then into France with Bonaparte, then continuing to London.
Following Freud’s own vision, the Museum Director’s aim was to create chances for everyone to learn about and from psychoanalysis. They urged the cultural commentators to be wide-ranging in their choices, about the past of course and also about the contemporary relevance of their chosen object. Other objects on display include a battered leather suitcase belonging to the Freuds’ live-in maid Paula Fichtel and the hand-written recipe book belonging to Freud’s wife Martha for Viennese apple strudel etc. And see Anna’s sewing machine and her patterns for cardigans, plus her embroidery and lacework. She saw weaving and embroidery invaluable crafts, alongside the serious work of psychoanalysis.
The exhibition is presenting lectures and tours in the anniversary year, and they are also building the Freuds’ beloved garden into a mental health refuge.
The refugees boarded the Orient Express in June 1938, 3 months after Hitler annexed Austria, and they noted that tension intensified as the train rolled through Germany via Munich and Dachau. At 3AM the train reached the border where the German border guards glanced at his documents, then into France with Bonaparte, then continuing to London.
Freud's four sisters in Vienna 1941
Holocaust Historical Society
Of Freud’s children, Anna and Martin had been taken by the Gestapo, but lived. Freud’s 4 sisters Rosa, Marie, Pauline & Adolfine stayed and were exterminated.
Freud's home in Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead
Later the Freud Museum
Note the Blue Heritage Plaques
The remaining Freuds moving to London, in Maresfield Gardens Hampstead in July. They brought their belongings, AND an amazing intellectual world. Freud spent the last year of his life with the objects that shaped his views about mental health. His London study has been preserved just as he left it, including thousands of books. And he avidly collected 2,500 Egyptian, Greek & Roman figures, & Asian artefacts that showed his interest in ancient life.
In London Freud was too ill to work and died with a year. Anna, a pioneering child psychologist, continued to live there until her death in 1982. According to her wishes, it opened as a permanent Museum in July 1986, with the entire contents of her father’s study and library left intact. So let’s visit Freud’s home-museum in London this year.
In London Freud was too ill to work and died with a year. Anna, a pioneering child psychologist, continued to live there until her death in 1982. According to her wishes, it opened as a permanent Museum in July 1986, with the entire contents of her father’s study and library left intact. So let’s visit Freud’s home-museum in London this year.
Freud's psychoanalytic couch surrounded by his books and art objects
Freud Museum
Freud’s couch from Vienna came in 1938 because it had been the centre of his psycho-analysis practice, blurring the line between work and home. Thus the couch had been essential in recreating end-of-century atmosphere Vienna, remaining in Freud’s study in the London Museum today. And explore the amazing books and collectibles next to the couch.
The exhibition, Protected: 40 Objects 40 Years, displays the life & work of the great Freud family marking the Museum’s 40th anniversary. Novelist Esther Freud and others from the world of culture & psychoanalysis have chosen objects from Museum archives to celebrate the event. These objects tell the story of the Museum, the history of psychoanalysis and of exiled family life. Esther Freud chose a young letter from her dad-artist Lucian Freud (Sigmund’s grandson), who wrote to his parents (Ernst Freud & Lucie Brasch) whilst he was away at English boarding school. Some of the artefacts were hidden from sight in the museum’s attic and are being shown for the first time in a collection curated by Briony Davis. One of the pieces on display is a metal porcupine, a momento of Freud’s trip to the USA in 1909, picked as a reflection on confusions of intimacy. See animal figures in relief, chosen by Neuberger, who was fascinated to find such an item in Freud’s personal collection.
The exhibition, Protected: 40 Objects 40 Years, displays the life & work of the great Freud family marking the Museum’s 40th anniversary. Novelist Esther Freud and others from the world of culture & psychoanalysis have chosen objects from Museum archives to celebrate the event. These objects tell the story of the Museum, the history of psychoanalysis and of exiled family life. Esther Freud chose a young letter from her dad-artist Lucian Freud (Sigmund’s grandson), who wrote to his parents (Ernst Freud & Lucie Brasch) whilst he was away at English boarding school. Some of the artefacts were hidden from sight in the museum’s attic and are being shown for the first time in a collection curated by Briony Davis. One of the pieces on display is a metal porcupine, a momento of Freud’s trip to the USA in 1909, picked as a reflection on confusions of intimacy. See animal figures in relief, chosen by Neuberger, who was fascinated to find such an item in Freud’s personal collection.
One wall of Freud's library
Freud Museum, London
See a C13th copper Chanukah lamp, featuring a Hebrew inscription about light from Proverbs. The psychoanalyst was famously ambivalent about his Jewish heritage so this lamp was probably never lit by him; rather it was and appreciated as a cultural and historical artefact, not religious.
Chanukah lamp with 3 animal medals and Hebrew letters in relief
13th century, Northern France or Germany
The Freud Museum London
The exhibition is presenting lectures and tours in the anniversary year, and they are also building the Freuds’ beloved garden into a mental health refuge.
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50 comments:
It is strange how we can see and recognise what is around us and yet not always react in the most favourable way.
Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays married in 1886, raised six children in Vienna and moved together to London in 1938 to escape Nazi rule, They were married for 53 years until Sigmund died in 1939, then Martha remained in their London home until she died in Hampstead in 1951. Their marriage was largely a harmonious affair.
Photographs of Martha and Sigmund started with their wedding, then in Vienna and London. They are easily seen on display in the Freud Museum Hampstead.
Sigmund Freud's theories are still studied in university programs for psychology and psychiatry. His contributions to the field of psychology, particularly psychoanalysis, are still discussed in academic settings. That being said, there is a lot to criticize about Freud and there is little about modern mental health treatment that is in line with Freud. So, still studied, but more as a way to understand the stepping stones that have gotten us where we are today.
This is such a fascinating look into a significant chapter of history. The story of Freud’s escape from Vienna is not only about one famous figure, but also about the courage and loyalty of the people around him who risked so much to help him and his family. I found the details about the objects preserved in his London home especially interesting because they show the personal side of a man often remembered only through his work. The idea that everyday belongings can carry memories of a whole era is truly powerful. The Freud Museum must be an incredible place to visit, filled with stories that go far beyond the walls of the house.
jabblog
I think that is inevitable in a changing world and greater exposure to quality research. That was always true in maths, astronomy, pharmceuticals, teaching preppies to read, women's rights, nutrition, vaccines etc etc.
Imagine the response the Freud received when he began his clinical work with mental and nervous disorders in 1886.
Freud Museum London
They had a mainly excellent marriage for a very long time. So I was hoping for more inclusion of Martha in the Museum display. The photos are excellent and very important, but what could a married woman with six children show, if she didn't work outside the house.
Daniel M
that is very true. Freud turned the world of psycholgy upside down. Even if psychoanalysis doesn't dominate university students four years of undergraduate studies these days, he was critical! (And Josef Breuer etc).
Melody
The house itself, the objects and furniture and books inside, and the garden outside are VERY interesting.. and real. Freud and his family are not just famous people from the past who are unknown facially, hair colour and height. Rather we are interested in real life details eg his face, reading preferences, medical successes, family life etc.
Just one example: I have _never_ seen an image of Abel Tasman, famous explorer.
The house in Hampstead remained in the Freud family for many years. Anna, an important figure herself in psychoanalysis, lived there until her own death in 1982. It was her wish that the house become a museum, in 1986.
This long history as a lived-in home has led to quite an interesting museum experience today. The Freuds were able to bring their personal possessions out of Austria, including the likes of Biedermeier furniture which had been in their Vienna apartment. Anna Freud, however, had rather different tastes. Austrian peasant furniture! Today, both coexist in 20 Maresfield Gardens.
The undeniable star of the show is Freud’s consulting room and study, preserved by Anna after her father’s death. Today this allows us to see the objects Freud surrounded himself with. It’s very evocative.
But there are certain practical necessities to running a museum which means that you either have your office space elsewhere, or you carve some out of the house. The Freud Museum has done the latter. So parts of the house are not publicly accessible, including Anna Freud’s consulting room or the kitchen. There’s still enough there to give a sense of an evolving home over the decades.
This is very interesting. Thank you. It's fascinating how people who don't follow political events can keep on denying what is so obvious in front of them. I guess also, he was so involved with the inner life of individuals that he could not really see the bigger picture of what was going on in society and the world. He and his family did escape though.
To je náhoda! Zrovna dnes jsem četla o Sigmundu Freudovi, on byl totiž rodákem od nás! Narodil se ve městě Příbor na Moravě, dnes to je Česká republika. Dříve to bylo Rakousko-Uhersko. V Příboře má také muzeum a je tam, mimo jiné, také jeho pověstná pohovka. Dokonce před budovou je ta jeho pohovka jako socha. On se narodil v německy mluvící židovské rodině pocházející z Haliče. U nás je tedy S. F. velmi známý a tak mě váš článek zaujal, ještě si znovu prohlédnu fotografie. Vím o jeho vnučce Sofii.
Díky za článek, přeji hezký den.
Bom dia querida querida Helen. Obrigado pela visita e comentário. Confesso, que não conhecia, esse museu e nem a história de. Obrigado pela visita e comentário, uma excelente manhã de quarta-feira, para você e seus parentes na Austrália e um grande abraço do seu amigo carioca.
What a fascinating journey from the quiet memories of Riverwood to Freud’s dramatic escape from Vienna
The Freud Museum looks like an interesting place to visit. And it was an interesting story about him leaving Austria. What a terrible time and place Vienna must have been. I read the book The Woman in Gold several years ago and the authors described life in the city in detail. You must have read that book before. But if not, I recommend it.
I wonder now what Freud would make of today's world leaders, one in particular.
Salterton
You noted that the Freud Museum is most definitely worth a visit. And, like many house museums, you found that seeing where someone has lived creates a connection with them that brings them to life.
Your excellent photos showed that well.
Freud’s journey from Vienna to London is a powerful reminder of how quickly political changes can transform everyday life. His story is not only about psychoanalysis but also about courage, loyalty, and the people who risked their own safety to help others escape danger. The efforts of his family, friends, and supporters show how important human connections can become during difficult times. History like this encourages us to reflect, learn, and stay aware of the world around us.
Eirene
I thought a lot about why Sigmund didn't leave Vienna as quickly as possible, endangering his own life of course, but also the people who risked their own families waiting for Sigmund to leave. But now I am elderly myself, I think that I too would be very reluctant to leave my home, job, family and culture to run away to an isolated and meaningless life. (At least he already spoke English).
Four of Freud's five sisters were murdered in concentration camps in 1942 and his maternal grandmother was deported to Auschwitz and murdered. His brothers fled to Switzerland, UK and France and thankfully survived.
Hello Hels, A curated tour of 40 objects has an special impact when seeing the entire collection and library at once is too overwhelming. I would not have lit that ancient menorah either--it looks like a fire-trap. I am sure that if and when the Freuds celebrated Chanukah they used candles. Finally, that library wall was impressive, but it broke one of my cardinal rules never to hang pictures or frames over bookshelves in such a way to impeded access to the books. That is a big pet peeve of mine! I would love to see this display, or to spend even more time looking over the house and absorbing its contents.
--Jim
Hanka
I had no idea that Sigmund Freud was born in the town of Příbor in Moravia, now in the eastern part of the Czech Republic. My spouse was only a child when he left Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, but I would loved to have visited Příbor when my mother-in-law took us to Prague, Liberec, Karlovy Vary etc. I had no idea there was a Freud Museum there.. which looks excellent from the outside. So thank you.
Luiz
I am sure psychology students in Brasil would have studied Freud and his likeminded psychotherapists eg Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Otto Rank. Even if the emphasis in psychology has shifted over the generations, he must have been very famous in non-German speaking universities.
roentare
this is the first time I have not understood a comment *blush*. What was Riverwood?
Erika
Yes indeed. I read The Woman In Gold and saw the film, then reviewed them in a post called "The Woman in Gold: battle for Klimt's art"
https://melbourneblogger.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-woman-in-gold-battle-for-klimts-art.html
Although they don't discuss the Freuds specifically, The Lady in Gold illuminated a disastrous cultural moment and its subsequent implosion through Adele Bloch-Bauer, a member of Vienna’s uber-cultural community of Jews.
River
the same as he would say about any 6 year old stamping his food in a temper tantrum:
a very young human driven by basic urges, aggression, a need for immediate gratification and totally uncontrolled by a mature superego. I don't think Freud would discuss IQs.
I had to study Freud at teacher's college in Psychology lessons. I found it fascinating but at that time some of his theories were being challenged. I loved studying psychology and i got the top marks in the final exam. (forgive the bragging.)
Claudeb
the number of people who risked their own families' lives waiting for Sigmund to leave Vienna was extraordinary. I fully understood their loyalty, but I had no idea how courageous they were - I wouldn't have risked my children and grandchildren, even if Queen Elizabeth II had begged me to.
Family were also terrific. Freud’s children bought the house, and rebuilt the study and therapy room. Architect Ernst Freud set up the study as a re-creation of dad's Vienna study eg collectables were put into the same cabinets and rugs placed on the same furniture.
Parnassus
Visitors can inspect Freud’s study, his library, the hall and dining room, but a number of decent spaces are used as offices and not open to the public. For example Anna Freud's consulting room and the kitchen cannot be inspected. This may well explain why all the things on display have to be squashed into a smaller number of rooms than you would have preferred.
diane
I don't mind at all :) I also did my BA and Masters in psychology and worked for the first 20 years of my career in different psychological positions eg child maltreatment, contraception and abortion counselling.
I too remember that Freud and his colleagues were being questioned - never deleted but less popular than modern psychological theories.
It's excellent that the museum exists, and interesting too. In another life, I think you would have made a rather good museum curator.
Some good items to see at the Exhibition, Hels. Interesting to read.
Andrew
There is something very special and accessible about museums like this. Some people will never read an academic journal in their life, but will really enjoy seeing the Freud home, clothes, books, furniture, collectables, photos and gardens. A home is something everyone can enjoy.
Margaret
The house was opened as a museum in 1986, only a few years after Anna Freud died. It was always a fascinating place to visit, but even better this year if you happen to be travelling :)
Oleg
you are quite right - each selected object in the museum tells a unique story, offering visitors a deeper understanding of the life, work and legacy of Sigmund Freud, as well as the history of psychoanalysis. But I have deleted your comment because you advertised casinos... which are nasty places.
idadana,
Thank you for reading the post. But please don't ever advertise casinos in my blog.. they seem to be very dangerous to families.
Tarass
A birthplace or family home can certainly influence an adult's life achievement, yes. And so we are very fortunate that Freud's homes in Czech Republic, Vienna and London all survived and were later opened as museums.
I have deleted your comment only because you advertised casinos.. which I find dangerous.
Freud is interesting person. But I wonder if Sigmund Freud was on the couch, what would today therapist would come up with.
peppylady,
it is unlikely that the couch was ever intended for Freud's own use.
Given to the founder of psychoanalysis by one of his patients, Madame Benvenisti in 1890, Freud's couch and oriental rugs were used in his psychoanalytic sessions in Vienna. The patients lay on their backs and blurted out unconscious memories which Freud then dealt with.
I wonder if Freud would ever have allowed another therapist to examine him - I doubt it.
Tarass
do you have any photos or historical texts from the Family House of Sigmund Freud in Příbor?
Boa noite minha querida amiga Helen. Obrigado pela visita e comentário. Passando para desejar, um excelente mês de agosto, uma excelente noite de sábado, bom final de semana e um grande abraço carioca para você e todos os seus parentes na Austrália.
Luiz
A granddaughter's birthday this weekend. Time for a cake, candles and short speeches!
Anonymous
Thank you for reading the post. But please don't _ever_ advertise casinos in my blog. The news this week has been focusing on casinos keeping gambling addicts involved.. by giving them free heroine and prostitutes.
The story of Sigmund Freud’s escape from Vienna is a powerful reminder that even the most brilliant minds can sometimes underestimate the forces of history. Freud spent much of his life exploring the hidden fears and impulses of the human mind, yet the political darkness growing around him was something he struggled to fully accept until it became impossible to ignore.
What makes this chapter especially moving is the dedication of the people around him. Anna Freud, Ernest Jones, Marie Bonaparte, Max Schur and others took enormous risks to help him reach safety. Their determination shows how friendship, loyalty and courage can make a difference during the most difficult moments.
The 40 Objects 40 Years display at the Freud Museum offers a fascinating way to connect with these personal stories and understand the human side behind historical events. It is a reminder that every object can carry memories of struggle, survival and hope. More interesting stories and discoveries can also be found here: thor fortune.
History is not only about dates and events — it is about people, their choices and the courage they show when the world around them changes.
Oleksandr
Thank you for reading the post. Freud's life really did show the courage to face difficult professional issues and diabolical historical events. But please do not EVER advertise a casino in my blog - they are dangerous to families, gambling addicts and young people in gross debt.
Claudeb
thanks for a second, thoughtful comment. And I do agree with you that the Freud Museum offers a fascinating way to connect with personal stories and to understand the human side behind historical events.
But I wonder if most people would ever bother to visit the museum and ever bother to really understand the human side behind historical events.
I learned so much in this post. I didn't realise that Freud had come to London, nor that so many members of his family perished in the Holocaust. I think I vaguely knew that there was a Freud museum in London but I've never been.
We studied Freud during my psychology studies of course, but I've always been a more fervent follower of Erik Erikson (student of Anna Freud and neo-Freudian)
Mandy
I was totally impressed with the first psycho-analysts; they were clever and totally innovative. But as time went on, I was not a died in the wool follower of Freud, although I thought he was professionally and personally very brave.
It reminds me of Dr Anthony Fauci who may be spending the rest of his life in gaol - even if he made a medical mistake during this longgg and brilliant career.
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