Peter Noemaier [BIAAS-122112]

On March 13, 1938, the Vienna Psychoanalytic Association decided that all members should leave the country as soon as possible. On the same day, an “Emergency Committee on Relief and Immigration” was set up by the American Psychoanalytic Association to provide the best possible support for European psychoanalysts leaving for the USA. More than half of Vienna’s psychoanalysts found shelter in the US. The crucial role that Americans played in saving these people’s lives and thus setting a cornerstone for the development of psychoanalysis in the USA and its impact up to now, is a small yet important part in the relations between Austrian and American Society, helping to understand the influence and close ties between these countries.