Housed in the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division and presented on the Library of Congress website are eleven Sigmund Freud "home movies" (ten titles) made between 1928 and 1939, the last decade or so of Freud's life. By 1928, Freud had already undergone several operations for cancer of the jaw and palate. Many of the films reveal the acute discomfort of the prosthesis he wore. Yet despite his failing health, the films also reveal Freud as man who still delighted in his family, grandchildren, dogs, visitors, and the beautiful natural surroundings of his summer retreats. Featured are quiet domestic scenes, large family celebrations, the arrival of guests, and the enjoyment of gardens. More ominously, the films also show a swastika-draped Vienna during May Day celebrations in May 1938 and Freud's arrival in Paris after fleeing Nazi-controlled Austria in June.
According to Anna Freud, who narrated clips from the home movies in the late 1970s, most of the films were made by American composer Mark Brunswick who was married to American psychoanalyst Ruth Mack Brunswick and by Princess Marie Bonaparte, a French psychoanalyst and Freud's analysand. The earliest films are in black and white. Some of the films made by Marie Bonaparte between 1937 and 1939 are in color. All together these films represent more than an hour of viewing.
The Freud home movies fall into three categories based on location.
The first category consists of films made during sojourns away from the Freud home in Vienna. The earliest is a film made in 1928 at Ernst Simmel's Sanatorium Schloss Tegel where Freud stayed while a new prosthesis was being made for him in Berlin. Other films were made during the Freud family's summer retreats. In 1929 and 1930 these took place respectively amid the breathtaking scenery of Schneewinkel in the Bavarian Alps and Lake Grundlsee in Austria. From 1931 to 1937 the family remained tethered to Vienna in the summers, renting villas in the suburbs which were chosen for the quality of their outdoor spaces and their proximity to medical care as Freud's health declined.
The second category consists of films made in the Freuds' home at Berggasse 19 in Vienna. Shot in the winter of 1937 by Marie Bonaparte, the films show the rooms where psychoanalysis evolved: the waiting room where Bonaparte and others would await appointments, Freud's consulting room, and his study that housed his desk and much of his antiquities collection. Also shown are Anna Freud's rooms and the home's kitchen, dining room, and courtyard. The interior scenes are unfortunately poorly lit. Another of the Vienna films, shot in color, includes the street scenes of May Day celebrations in 1938 after the Anschluss. A child waves a swastika while swastika banners hang on buildings near the Freud home.
The final group of films records Freud's departure from Vienna and resettlement in London. These films, made by Marie Bonaparte, begin on the rooftop terrace of her home in Paris where Freud rested briefly before continuing onto London in June 1938. Other films show the Freud family in their new home at 20 Maresfield Gardens, capturing the quotidian moments of their transplanted lives. One of the last films of Freud is in his London garden where family and friends gathered to celebrate what would be his last birthday in May 1939.
Also available online, in addition to the Freud home movies, is a film made and narrated by Sándor Lorand, a Hungarian psychoanalyst who immigrated to the United States in 1925. The film chronicles the Eleventh Congress of the International Psychoanalytical Association held in Oxford, England, in July 1929. Lorand introduces dozens of prominent psychoanalysts as they gathered for the congress.
List of Films
- [Sigmund Freud visits Simmel in Tegel--home movies]
- [Sigmund Freud--home movies]
- [Sigmund Freud and Anna and grandchildren in Grundlsee, 1930--home movies]
- [Sigmund Freud at Grundlsee, Austria and Pötzleinsdorf, Vienna, Austria--home movies]
- [Pötzleinsdorf, July 1932, Professor, with Prof. Löwy-- Sigmund Freud--home movies] / filmed by Mark Brunswick
- [Sigmund Freud, original film--home movies. No. 2]
- [La Bergasse, Vienna, hiver 1937--Sigmund Freud--home movies] / filmed by Marie Bonaparte
- [Le Professeur Freud de Vienne à Londres par Paris--Sigmund Freud--home movies] / filmed by Marie Bonaparte
- [Home movies from Freud Archives, 1938-1939--Sigmund Freud--home movies] / filmed by Marie Bonaparte
- [Home movies from Freud Archives, 1939--Sigmund Freud--home movies] / filmed by Marie Bonaparte
- The Eleventh Congress of the International Psycho-Analytical Association, Oxford, England, July, 1929 / photographed by Dr. Sándor Lorand
FAQs
Martha Freud died in 1951. She was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium and her ashes placed in the Freud Corner, into the same ancient Greek funeral urn that holds her husband's ashes.
What are Sigmund Freud books about? ›
As one of Freud's most famous books, "Introduction to Psychoanalysis" (or Vorlesungen zur Einführung in die Psychoanalyse), Freud outlines his theory of psychoanalysis including the unconscious mind, the idea of neuroses, and dreams.
What is Sigmund Freud's main theory? ›
Freud's psychoanalytic theory, with its emphasis on the unconscious mind, has fundamentally altered our perception of human behavior. He proposed that our actions are not always governed by our conscious thoughts but are often driven by unconscious desires and experiences.
What happened to Sigmund Freud's children? ›
Freud's sons Oliver, a civil engineer, and Ernst Ludwig, an architect, lived and worked in Berlin until Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933 after which they fled with their families to France and London respectively. Oliver Freud and his wife later emigrated to the United States.
What was Freud's illness? ›
Freud died of oral cancer in 1939, at the age of eighty-three. The last fifteen years of his life were a series of nicotine withdrawal symptoms, heart palpitations, painful, dangerous surgeries, and the replacement of most of his jaw with painful, inefficient substitutes. He smoked until the end.
How many children did Freud and his wife have? ›
Sigmund Freud and his wife, the former Martha Bernays, had six children: Mathilde, Martin (the Loewensteins' grandfather), Oliver, Ernst, Sophie (who died at age 27) and Anna.
What is Freud talking about? ›
In simple terms, Freud's theory suggests that human behavior is influenced by unconscious memories, thoughts, and urges. This theory also proposes that the psyche comprises three aspects: the id, ego, and superego. The id is entirely unconscious, while the ego operates in the conscious mind.
What is the best Freud book to start with? ›
Try 'The Interpretation of Dreams' (1900) or 'The Psychopathology Of Everyday Life' (1901), then 'Three Essays On the Theory Of Sexuality' (1905). 'The Interpretation of Dreams', 1899. Freud's early works take you on his own journey of discovery.
What is Sigmund Freud most known for? ›
Freud is famous for inventing and developing the technique of psychoanalysis; for articulating the psychoanalytic theory of motivation, mental illness, and the structure of the subconscious; and for influencing scientific and popular conceptions of human nature by positing that both normal and abnormal thought and ...
Is Freud still relevant today? ›
However, some of his theories have been seen as harmful or difficult to back up with scientific evidence. Despite this, Freud influence can still be found in modern psychological organizations like the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, which was originally founded by followers of his work and theories.
A primary emphasis of Freudian theory is that the unconscious mind controls behavior to a greater degree than people suspect, confirming that the goal of psychoanalysis is to make the unconscious conscious.
What did Sigmund Freud believe about dreams? ›
Freud believed that dreams were the key to unlocking the unconscious; specifically, by analyzing dreams. Sigmund Freud suggested that dream analysis is key to unlocking the unconscious mind. Interestingly, the origination of Freud's dream theory stemmed from an actual dream of his own back in 1895.
What was Anna Freud's illness? ›
Many summers, Freud's parents sent her away to health camps in order to help her overcome health problems, which may have included depression and chronic eating disorders. Freud was not close to her mother, preferring her nurse instead. She was, however, close to her famous father.
Who is Freud's wife? ›
Freud wore this ring for 53 years, engraved with his wife Martha's name and the date of their marriage, 13th September 1886. Martha Bernays was a 20-year-old friend of Freud's sisters when he first met her at his home in April 1882. Within a short time he was passionately in love and his feelings were reciprocated.
How did Freud escape? ›
Within days, Freud's apartment and publishing house had been raided. A week later, Anna was arrested and questioned by the Gestapo. Now, after weeks of uncertainty, Freud, Martha and Anna boarded a train to take them across Europe to Paris, and from there to London and a new life.
How many times did Freud marry? ›
On September 14, 1886, after four years of waiting, thirty-year old Sigmund Freud married the only woman he would ever love.
What happened to kiss in Freud? ›
Kiss turns into a killer
Kiss ends up going on a murdering-spree as he refuses to cover up what has happened in the city. In an act of rebellion, he is last seen murdering his superior as well as the assassin who was sent for him. His final scene shows Kiss growling like an animal and entering the canals.
Who is Matthew Freud married to now? ›
Is Bella Freud related to Sigmund Freud? ›
She is the daughter of Bernardine Coverley and artist Lucian Freud, and the great-granddaughter of the inventor of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud.
