Dr. Werner Schwidder

WERNER SCHWIDDER died on September 2, 1970 while attending the International Forum of Psychoanalysis in Madrid.

I knew Werner Schwidder over a period of ten years and found him to be a man of strong personal appeal and genuine human and professional integrity. While the number of contacts I had with him was limited, we established a strong personal rapport. I was his guest at Tiefenbrunnen on several occasions and also saw a great deal of him during meetings of the Forum.

The idea of an International Forum had originated with Dr. Schwidder, and I had the good fortune to work with him on this project from the beginning. He had contacted the William Alanson White Society expressing the hope that a new kind of international scientific cooperation could be started after World War II, one that would go beyond the framework of the International Psychoanalytic Society. There were great difficulties in getting the venture under way. Personalities, psycho-politics and training backgrounds became issues.

A scholarly, hard-working man with a touch of sensitive humor, Werner Schwidder was often saddened by the pettiness of colleagues in his attempts to promote an effective international dialogue. His personality and dedication were recognized by all. He served terms as president of both the orthodox group and the neo-orthodox group in which he was active in Germany.

Schwidder was born in Berlin on November 9, 1917, studied medicine in Berlin and Leipzig, and began psychoanalytic training during World War II, in 1941. Later, he became a training and supervisory analyst and a member of the Institute in Berlin, from which he had been graduated. He worked in various hospitals and eventually became Director of the Institute for Psychological Disorders in Children and Adolescents. From 1951 until his death, he worked in Tiefenbrunnen, from 1965 as Director of the hospital. He was appointed a professor at the University of Goettingen in 1968.