August Aichhorn, July 27, 1878–October 17, 1949

In September 1948 August Aichhorn had the first premonitions of the grave illness which was to lead to his death a year later. He was in Budapest, visiting a Children's Home, discussing methods of upbringing with the officers-in-charge, when he felt overcome by a sudden faintness which interfered with his speech and train of thought. Though the spell passed without leaving after-effects, Aichhorn did not deceive himself about its significance. In a letter dated September 16, 1948, he wrote: 'My doctor calls it an attack of severe migraine but I have a different opinion about it.' Subsequently he was advised to cancel some of his immediate commitments, which included the paper before the Hungarian Psycho-Analytical Society, for which he had travelled to Budapest, as well as a paper to be read in Amsterdam. The latter was to mark Aichhorn's first appearance before the Dutch Psycho-Analytical Society, an occasion which several members from England planned to attend. He had taken immense trouble over this paper for weeks beforehand, as shown by a letter of August 20, 1948: '… enclosed is a copy of my paper on "New Aspects of Delinquency" which is a summary in part of my earlier attempts at "Classifications of Delinquency". … I need to know whether my ideas about the causes of delinquent development are right and, if they are, whether they are formulated well enough to make my meaning clear. It would matter less if this were intended to be a public lecture where not more than half the meaning ever carries over to the audience; but it is the basis of my paper for the Dutch Society. Usually I do not care really whether I fail or succeed in a lecture, but … I do care when it is Amsterdam. …'

From that time until his death, Aichhorn's life was a persistent struggle between the attacks and ravages of a progressive disease and his attempts to carry on work and fulfil his obligations. Besides being a lay-analyst with a large practice, Aichhorn at that time was chair