The Plaque on Freud s Birth House in Pribor, Czech Republic Daniel Benveniste (June 2013) On Sigmund Freud s 75th birthday, May 6 th 1931, he received a flood of congratulatory letters, including one from Albert Einstein. Princess Marie Bonaparte celebrated the day by giving Freud an ancient Grecian urn as a contribution to his antiquities collection. (Jones, 1957, pp. 158-159; Schur, 1972, p. 429). Two months later, on July 14, an artist, Frantisek Juran, sculpted a relief plaque of Freud s profile to be placed on the house where Freud was born in Pribor (Freiberg), Czechoslovakia (Molnar, 1992, pp. 100, 111). Pribor was in Moravia when Freud was born but after the First World War it became a part of Czechoslovakia and now it is in the Czech Republic. On Sunday, October 25, 1931, the Memorial Tablet at the Birth House of Professor Dr. Sigmund Freud was unveiled in Pribor, Czechoslovakia. Though Freud was unable to attend, it was an event of great importance to him and in his place he sent his daughter, Anna Freud, his son, Martin Freud, and his brother, Alexander Freud. There were seven speeches including Freud's acceptance speech, read by Anna Freud. The other speakers included Paul Federn, Max Eitingon, F. Slabihoudek, Frantisek Juran, Fr. Benes, and the Czech analyst Emanuel Windholz who had played an important role in the organization of this event (Kutter, 1992, pp. 37-39). In Freud s acceptance speech Windholz wrote, I wish to thank the Mayor of Pribor-Freiberg, the organizers of the celebration and all those taking part in it, for the honor they are doing me by distinguishing the house of my birth with this memorial plaque created by the hand of an artist. And this, moreover, during my lifetime and while the contemporary world is not yet agreed on the value of my achievement. (Freud, 1976, p. 254) Emanuel Windholz also edited and published a little book with a collection of papers on psychoanalysis, written by Czech authors, in honor of Freud's 75th birthday. Emanuel Windholz (1903-1986) was one of the founders of the Prague psychoanalytic study group and later one of the founders of the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Society. This little book, written in Czech, includes an introduction by Windholz and two additional chapters that he wrote. One is entitled The Psychoanalytic Treatment and the other, The Structure of Personality and the Application of Psychoanalysis. The book is titled Sbornik psychoanalytichych praci. The following is the first part of an article scanned from this little book. The article, written in Czech by Reditel Frantisek Benes, describes the unveiling ceremony for the plaque at Freud s birth house on October 25, 1931. Though I have omitted most of the article I have included the historic photographs of the event. There is also a handwritten English inscription by Emanuel Windy Windholz to Haskell Norman. Dr. Haskell Norman (1915-1996) was among the earliest candidates to be trained at the San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute. He was an analysand and colleague of Windholz and he was also a bibliophile with an international reputation. References: Benes, R. F. (1931). Slavnostni odhaleni pametni desky prof. Dru Sigmundu Freudovi v jeho rodnem meste. In Sbornik psychoanalytickych praci: Vydal komitet pro zasazeni pametni desky Prof. Dru Sigmundo Freudovi na jeho rodmen domku v Pribore, k jeho 75. Narozeninam. Edited by Dr. E. Windholz. Freud, E.; Freud, L. Grubrich-Simitis, I. (1976). Sigmund Freud: His life in pictures and words. New York: W.W. Norton. Jones, E. (1957). The life and work of Sigmund Freud: Vol. 3. New York: Basic Books. Kutter, P. (Ed.) (1992). Psychoanalysis international: A guide to psychoanalysis throughout the world: Vol. 1 Europe. Germany: Frommann-Holzboog. Molnar, M. (1992). The diary of Sigmund Freud: 1929-1939: A record of the final decade. London: Freud Museum Publications Limited. Schur, M. (1972). Freud: Living and dying. New York: International Universities Press. 1
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Dr. Michael Sebek, a psychoanalyst in the Czech Republic, has informed me that the Nazis removed the plaque during the Second World War and that it has disappeared. 11
Today, in 2013, Freud s birth house is a museum dedicated to Freud and his birth and early childhood in Pribor. While it no longer has the memorial plaque on the front, it does have a bronze analytic couch established as a monument in front of the home. http://verejna-sprava.kr-moravskoslezsky.cz/vprochazky/lokality/en-rodny-dum-z-freudapribor-dum-fn2.html#zm http://www.freudmuseum.cz/userfiles/file/freud-aj.pdf http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?90833-my-trip-to-czechlands Contact the author at <daniel.benveniste@gmail.com> http://www.benvenistephd.com/home-page.html Daniel Benveniste, PhD, is a clinical psychologist with a private practice in Bellevue, Washington. 12