Freuds' War

The thrilling story of the Freud family's escape from the Nazis in Austria and their exile in Britain. Despite his worldwide reputation as the father of modern psychology, Sigmund Freud's security in his native Vienna changed overnight when Hitler's forces annexed Austria on 12 March 1938. His books had already been burned across Germany, and now he and his family were at immediate risk. The Nazis carried out regular raids on Jewish families' homes, and the Freuds were no exception. They suffered a period of house arrest and two months of uncertainty before finally securing papers for emigration to England and making a dramatic, last-minute escape. Following their escape from Austria, both Sigmund's son Martin and his grandson Walter enlisted in the British Forces, going on to fight for Britain behind enemy lines in Austria. Using previously unpublished family archives and photographs, including correspondence and Sigmund Freud's diary, Helen Fry opens a window into the Freuds' family life both in pre-War Vienna, and during the Second World War in Britain, with their homeland under the influence of the Nazis.