Hermione Hug-Hellmuth

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Hermine Hug-Hellmuth (without year, without source)

Hermine Hug-Hellmuth (born August 31, 1871 in Vienna , Austria-Hungary as Hermine Hug Edle von Hugenstein; † September 9, 1924 there ) was an Austrian pioneer in child psychoanalysis . As the head of the educational counseling center in Vienna, she used gambling in the diagnostic and therapeutic process as early as the late 1910s and early 1920s; she was promoted by Sigmund Freud and was one of the first women among his students. Her murder by her foster son Rudolf caused a sensation at the time, as the murderer gave psychoanalysis as the motive for his actions.

life and work

Hermione's father Hugo Hug Ritter von Hugenstein was a lieutenant colonel in the War Ministry († 1898), the mother Ludowica, b. Leiner, teacher and musician, died in 1883. The Hugenstein family lost their fortune in the founding crash of 1873 .

From 1897 Hug-Hellmuth studied philosophy at the University of Vienna . After switching to physics, she completed this course in 1908 with a doctorate with the title Investigations into the physical and chemical properties of radioactive precipitates on the anode and cathode . After the death of her half-sister Antonie in 1915, Hermine Hug-Hellmuth took on her son Rudolf. Since it was not possible for women to take over the guardianship of a child at the time, Isidor Sadger , her former analyst, was appointed as guardian. Three other guardians had previously been appointed, including the psychoanalyst Victor Tausk, who died in 1919 . The relationship between aunt and nephew was marked by strong ambivalence . After the nephew had lived with her for four years, she expelled him from the house because he had stolen her money.

Diary scandal

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.
The diary was published again in 1987 by Suhrkamp-Verlag. In Alice Miller's foreword , she considers the diary to be authentic. - Carl Ha ( discussion ) 19:45, 10 Sep. 2016 (CEST)

In 1919, the diary of an adolescent girl published anonymously by Hug-Hellmuth. Widely discussed in public and recognized by Sigmund Freud as a “little gem”, however, its authenticity was questioned by Charlotte Bühler , among others . It has been proven that the diary was based on the notes of Hug-Hellmuth himself; however, she herself never admitted her authorship. The book, published by the Internationale Psychoanalytischen Verlag, was very successful with a total print run of 10,000 copies. In 1927 it was withdrawn from the book trade.

Circumstances of death

Shortly after completing her work New Paths to Understanding Young People , Hermine Hug-Hellmuth was strangled by her nephew and foster son Rudolf when he broke into her apartment in search of money. He was sentenced to twelve years in prison. During the trial, the murderer testified that on the one hand it was about money claims and on the other hand about Hug-Hellmuth's occupation with psychoanalysis. The aunt analyzed him in his childhood and youth. After his release, he tried to obtain compensation from the Vienna Psychoanalytic Association as a victim of psychoanalysis .

The murder caused great horror in the psychoanalytic scene. Since Hug-Hellmuth was not a doctor and was therefore considered a lay analyst, the opponents of lay analysis used murder as an argument for their position. Hermine Hug-Hellmuth and her work were forgotten.

The pioneering work of Hermine Hug-Hellmuth in the field of child analysis was based in many cases on her examinations on her nephew, whom she analyzed "prophylactically" even though she was a close relative of the child. Even Melanie Klein , who later gained as one of the founding figures of the child analysis a reputation, analyzed their own children. Such a mixture of parenthood and therapist is now viewed as an unacceptable practice.

Fonts

  • From the child's soul life. A psychoanalytic study. Leipzig / Vienna 1913.
  • as editor: diary of an adolescent girl. International Psychoanalytischer Verlag, Leipzig / Vienna 1919.
  • New ways of understanding youth. Psychoanalytic lectures for parents, teachers, educators, school doctors, kindergarten teachers and carers. Ms. Deuticke, Leipzig / Vienna 1924.

literature

  • Angela Graf-Nold: The Hermine Hug-Hellmuth Case. A History of Early Childhood Psychoanalysis. Munich / Vienna 1988, ISBN 3-621-26507-4 .
  • Hug-Hellmuth, Hermine von. In: Elisabeth Roudinesco ; Michel Plon: Dictionary of Psychoanalysis: Names, Countries, Works, Terms . Translation. Vienna: Springer 2004, ISBN 3-211-83748-5 , pp. 424-427.
  • Ulriker Hoffmann-Richter: Hug-Hellmuth, Hermine. In: Brigitta Keintzel, Ilse Korotin (ed.): Scientists in and from Austria. Life - work - work. Böhlau, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar 2002, ISBN 3-205-99467-1 , pp. 322-324.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "--As FIGHTING will be home with his father and sister": Lou Andreas Salomé - Anna Freud: Correspondence 1919-1937. Volume 2.
  2. ↑ Helmut E. Lück : History of psychology, currents, schools, developments. (= Outline of Psychology. Volume 1). 6th edition. W. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2013, p. 115.
  3. ^ Christian Scharfetter: Eugen Bleuler: Polyphrenia and schizophrenia. Zurich 2006, ISBN 3-7281-3037-0 .
personal data
SURNAME Hug-Hellmuth, Hermione
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian psychoanalyst
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1871
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH September 9, 1924
Place of death Vienna