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The letter by Sigmund Freud which is reported here requires a short explanation of the history of its writing. Without such orientation the meaning and the beauty of Freud's words may not be fully appreciated.
Heinrich Braun, about whom Freud writes in this letter, was born on the 23rd of November, 1854, which makes him one and a half years older than Freud. He came from a family of independent, liberal-thinking engineers, all of them pioneers in the development of European railroad systems.
Heinrich was financially independent and studied economy and political science. He edited several scientific and political journals and became an outstanding expert and leader in the theory of social economy and its political application. In the year 1903 he became a member of the German parliament.
The other name mentioned by Freud in his letter refers to Victor Adler, a physician, psychiatrist and political leader in Vienna. Victor Adler and Heinrich Braun had the same political philosophy.
Heinrich Braun died on the 8th of February, 1927, in Berlin. His widow—the writer, Julie Braun-Vogelstein—had already published several books about some important members of the Braun family. After the death of Heinrich, she started to collect material as preparation for a book about her late husband. As a part of the research, she wrote a letter to Sigmund Freud asking him what he remembered about his former friend. Sigmund Freud, by then