Arthur Kronfeld (January 9, 1886 – October 16, 1941) was a German
psychiatrist of
Jewish origin, and eventually a professor at the
University of Berlin. His sister
Maria Dronke found fame as an actor in New Zealand. Later in life, Kronfeld took up an important position in Moscow. On 10 October 1936, an exchange between Kronfeld and fellow exiled German-Jewish psychiatrist,
James Lewin, was recorded in the proceedings of a meeting of the Moscow Society of Neuropathology and Psychiatry.[1]
In 1941, he wrote the pamphlet "Degenerates in Power", in which he made psychiatric diagnoses for Hitler and his associates, and also participated in anti-fascist programs on Moscow radio. It is believed Kronfeld and his wife committed suicide at the approach of
German troops.[2] However, there is some controversy on exactly how they died.[3]
Works
Books
(Titles translated)
1906 Sexuality and aesthetic feeling in their genetic connection. A study. Singer,
Strasbourg and
Leipzig
1912 About the psychological theories of
Freud and related opinions - Systematics and critical discussion. Engelman,
Leipzig (Russ. Transl.:
Moscow 1913)
1920 The nature of psychiatric realization. Contributions to General Psychiatry. Springer,
Berlin
1924 Hypnosis and Suggestion. Ullstein,
Berlin (row: Ways to the knowledge Nr.11; Transl.:
Leningrad 1925,
Moscow 1927;
Prague 1931;
Tallinn 1991)
1924 Psychotherapy - Characterology, Psychoanalysis, Hypnose, Psychagogik. Springer,
Berlin (2. impr. and enl. Edition 1925)
1927 Psychology in Psychiatry - An introduction to the psychological realization ways within the psychiatry and their position for clinical-pathological research. Springer,
Berlin (Habilitation thesis; engl. 1936);
1932 with S. Wronsky (and collaboration of Rolf Reiner): Social therapy and Psychotherapy in the methods of the welfare service. Heymann,
Berlin
1941 Degenerates in power,
Moscow and
Krasnojarsk; with the title: The bloody gang of the degenerated also
Swerdlowsk 1942. - Reprint
Moscow 1993. Дегенераты у власти, под редакцией Лучано Мекаччи и Александра Эткинда, ЭКСМО, Москва, 2023. ISBN 978-5-04-188773-5 (A. Kronfeld, Degenerates in power, edited by L. Mecacci and A. Etkind, EKSMO, Moscow, 2023).
Editorship
1922-1927 Kleine Schriften zur Seelenforschung (Small writings for soul research). Puettmann, Stuttgart (briefly carried on with the title Writings for soul research by
Carl Schneider in 1928)
1934-36/37 with
Wilhelm Stekel: Psychotherapeutische Praxis (Psychotherapeutic practice - quarterly for practical medical Psychotherapy) Weidmann, Vienna
Notes
^H. Steinberg , O. Somburg and G.R.B. Boocock "The German - Jewish psychiatrist James Lewin - A twice forgotten victim". Der Nervenarzt 2010