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In memory of Ivan L. Rudnytsky,
October 27, 1919-April 25, 1984.
The history of psychoanalysis must inevitably be told from a Freudocentric perspective. Whether or not one agrees with Freud, it cannot be disputed that psychoanalysis is in all essentials his creation, and thus even the story of those among his followers who eventually founded independent schools is inseparable from their relation to Freud. At the same time, however, each of the formidable men and women who came into contact with Freud has his or her own unique and compelling narrative, which must be accepted on its own terms and in turn reshapes our understanding of the history of psychoanalysis as a whole.
In no case is this truer than that of Otto Rank , the centennial of whose birth we honor with this issue of American Imago. As Rank was, with Hanns Sachs, one of the founders in 1912 of the original Imago, and pre-eminent among all the members of Freud's early circle in the non-medical applications of psychoanalysis, it is altogether fitting that a tribute to Rank be paid in these pages. Whether seen from Rank's standpoint or Freud's, the three-part history of their coming together, period of collaboration, and eventual parting of the ways is an exceptionally poignant one, not only because of the intellectual distinction of both men but also because of the intimacy of their personal association.
For much of the evidence concerning Rank's life, I am indebted to the biography by Jessie Taft , a book that should be read by anyone interested in the psychoanalytic movement.1 Otto Rank, born Otto Rosenfeld, was the