Professor Sigmund Freud, the latest prominent exile from Nazified Austria, took up residence tonight with his family in a stately house in the St. John’s Wood section of London, where he hopes for peace and quiet to complete his psychological analysis of the Bible.
The 82-year-old Jewish founder of psychoanalysis arrived at Victoria Station this morning from Paris, where he had rested a few hours yesterday after leaving Vienna on Saturday. He was accompanied by his wife, Martha, his daughter, Dr. Anna Freud, a psychoanalyst, who came with him from Vienna, and his son, Ernest Freud, an architect, who met them in Paris.
Greeted at the station by Dr. Ernest Jones, president of the International Psychoanalytic Association, the Freud family went to their home, where they were received by Frau Hollitschek, the Professor’s elder daughter, who arrived here a fortnight ago with her Austrian husband.
It is understood that Professor Freud stood the journey from Vienna well, but was tired and would rest for several days. His son, Martin, issued the following statement to the press on his behalf:
“We are negotiating at present to see if we can get some of my father’s belongings out of Austria. If only we could get his books, it would be a lot. My father has no plans, and only requires peace and quiet. My sister, Anna, will practice in London as a psychoanalyst, provided she can get the necessary permission. My brother, Ernest, has been an architect for five years, and we hope he will shortly become a british subject. I myself am a lawyer, and i have been looking after my father’s publishing business in Vienna; I hope I may be allowed to stay in this country.” he added that his father would stay in England because he loved the country and the people.
The Daily Herald reported that wealthy friends of Professor Freud were forced to pay a ransom for his release before Austria’s Nazi Government agreed to free him.
The London Star, in an editorial entitled, “Welcome Guest,” stated: “London welcomes Freud. He does us an honor by coming to live among us. He is preeminent in the world of the mind, as is einstein in the world of physics. We owe to him the modern view of mankind and its possibilities.”
When Dr. Freud arrived in Paris yesterday, William C. Bullitt, American Ambassador to France, was one of the first to board the train to greet him. Dr. Freud expressed surprise that the American Ambassador was meeting him on his flight from the city which had been his home since childhood. “But, sir,” Ambassador Bullitt replied, “aside from our friendship, it is only the respect due a person of your distinction.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
