A Forgotten Freudian: The Passion of Karl Stern

281 Pages·2016·1.925 MB·English

by  Daniel Burston

A FORGOTTEN FREUDIAN
The History of Psychoanalysis Series
Professor Brett Kahr and Professor Peter L. Rudnytsky (Series Editors)
Other titles in the Series
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edited by Peter L. Rudnytsky and Gillian Preston
Rescuing Psychoanalysis from Freud and Other Essays in Re-Vision
by Peter L. Rudnytsky
Ferenczi and His World: Rekindling the Spirit of the Budapest School
edited by Judit Szekacs-Weisz and Tom Keve
Freud in Zion: Psychoanalysis and the Making of Modern Jewish Identity
by Eran J. Rolnik
Ferenczi for Our Time: Theory and Practice
edited by Judit Szekacs-Weisz and Tom Keve
The Clinic and the Context: Historical Essays
by Elisabeth Young-Bruehl
Sandor Ferenczi–Ernest Jones: Letters 1911–1933
edited by Ferenc Eros, Judit Szekacs-Weisz, and Ken Robinson
The Milan Seminar: Clinical Applications of Attachment Theory
by John Bowlby, edited by Marco Bacciagaluppi
Ferenczi and Beyond: Exile of the Budapest School and Solidarity in the
Psychoanalytic Movement during the Nazi Years
by Judit Mészáros
Looking Through Freud’s Photos
by Michael Molnar
Psychoanalytic Filiations: Mapping the Psychoanalytic Movement
by Ernst Falzeder
The Abandonment Neurosis
by Germaine Guex (translated by Peter Douglas)
The Life and Times of Franz Alexander: From Budapest to California
by Ilonka Venier Alexander
Freud and the Dora Case: A Promise Betrayed
by Cesare Romano
The Freudian Orient: Early Psychoanalysis, Anti-Semitic Challenge, and the
Vicissitudes of Orientalist Discourse
by Frank F. Scherer
Karl Abraham: Life and Work, a Biography
by Anna Bentinck van Schoonheten
A FORGOTTEN FREUDIAN
The Passion of Karl Stern
Daniel Burston
First published in 2016 by
Karnac Books Ltd
118 Finchley Road
London NW3 5HT
Copyright © 2016 by Daniel Burston
The right of Daniel Burston to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted in accordance with §§ 77 and 78 of the Copyright Design and Patents
Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of the publisher.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A C.I.P. for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN-13: 978-1-78220-346-9
Typeset by V Publishing Solutions Pvt Ltd., Chennai, India
Printed in Great Britain
www.karnacbooks.com
Dedicated to Gregory Baum, for a lifetime of service to all humanity

CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix
ABOUT THE AUTHOR xi
SERIES EDITOR’S FOREWORD xiii
PREFACE xix
A NOTE ON ABBREVIATIONS xxiii
CHAPTER ONE
Early years: 1906–1932 1
CHAPTER TWO
Psychiatry, psychoanalysis, and politics: 1932–1935 31
CHAPTER THREE
London to Montreal: 1935–1949 49
vii
viii CONTENTS
CHAPTER FOUR
The Pillar of Fire: 1950–1955 81
CHAPTER FIVE
Through dooms of love: 1955–1967 105
CHAPTER SIX
A legacy lost: 1968–1975 143
CHAPTER SEVEN
Freud, faith, and phenomenology 161
CHAPTER EIGHT
A Hebrew Catholic 181
CHAPTER NINE
Judaism and Catholicism in Stern and Lacan 221
AFTERWORD 231
REFERENCES 235
INDEX 247
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book would never have been written without the kindness,
co-operation and steadfast support of Katherine (Stern) Skorzewska,
Professor Gregory Baum, and the late Dr. Noel Walsh. The insights,
information, and encouragement they gave me have been invaluable.
I am also deeply indebted to Karl Stern’s daughter-in-law Lilian (Stern)
Kapp, her daughter Eva Marie Stern, and Lilian’s sons Philip and
Stephen Stern. The many hours I spent in conversation and correspond-
ence with them inform every chapter of this book.
Also, my heartfelt thanks to Katherine’s husband Olaf Skorzewski,
and to their daughter Dr. Anna Skorzewska and her partner, Dr. Andreas
Motsch, and to a long list of generous and insightful Montrealers, includ-
ing Professor Sherry Simon, Professor Robert Schwartzwald, Professor
Andrée Levesque, Dr. Maurice Dongier, Dr. Israel Libman, Dr. Brendan
and Mary Campbell, and last but not least, Deborah Ostrovsky. Warm
thanks to Professor Emeritus Donald Carveth, of York University’s soci-
ology department, and to my fellow Yinzers (Pittsburghers) Dr. Carlos
Placci and Professor Paula Kane, Marrous Professor of Catholic Stud-
ies at the University of Pittsburgh, and to my colleagues Marie Baird,
Aimee Light, and Laura Edwards, who read and commented on vari-
ous chapters. Their scholarship and support have been invaluable.
ix