ABSTRACT
The year 1942 marked a grim and momentous juncture in the history of the Second World War. It was a year that witnessed the turning point of the war against fascism in Europe. It was also the year in which the Nazis launched the Final Solution against the Jews of Europe. The same characteristics of 1942 may be said to apply to the history of psychotherapy in the Third Reich. John Rittmeister's arrest, trial, and execution naturally aroused the anxiety of his colleagues at the Matthias Heinrich Goring Institute. Fear of the Gestapo was part of everyday consciousness in the Third Reich even before the strain of war on the Nazis intensified the search for traitors, malingerers, and scapegoats. This chapter argues that many of the members of the institute apparently saw things in much the same light as Goring, particularly in view of the threat to themselves, their institute, and their work.
