THE THIRD REICH OF DREAMS

by Beradt Charlotte ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 1968

From 1933 to 1939, when she was forced to leave Germany, the author kept a. record of ""family anecdote""--a documentation of dreams concerning the Third Reich in which the ""family"" was the party, ""grippe"" arrest, and Hitler, Goering and Goebbels were dubbed Uncles Hans, Gustave and Gerhard. She presents this dream documentation here ""to show the direct effect of totalitarian rule On its subjects through their psychological reactions and typical behavior patterns."" Archetypical was the dream of Herr S., three days after Hitler came to power, that he was being crushed though no one had laid a hand on him. Others centered about the invasion of privacy (the abolition of walls), the inroads on identity (one cannot say ""Lord"" or ""I""), fear (dreaming in Russian ""so that I'll not even understand myself""), acquiescence to submission (""There's not a thing one can do"" and moves toward ""Heil, Hitler""), resistance (""You've just got to want to""), mirroring situations and circumstance as well as the inner person. The dreams of Jews were particularly clairvoyant. Bruno Bettelheim, in an epilogue, comments on the anxiety, helplessness and near absence of any wish to fight back of the dreams, which ""warn us about how strong are the tendencies of the unconscious, when we are torn by anxieties, to believe in the omnipotent external power."" Valuable source material in retrospect, for reflection.

Pub Date: May 1, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Quadrangle

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1968

Categories: NONFICTION