Hilde Lewinsky

Hilde Lewinsky died in January 1956 after a sudden and short ilness. She was only 48 years old. With her there has gone yet another of the small number of analytical colleagues connected with the Manchester Group, which dissolved after a short-lived attempt to establish a stable and fully fledged psycho-analytical branch society.

Hilde Lewinsky's interest in psychology induced her to obtain a degree in this subject at Manchester University as well as to undergo her training analysis at the same time. She read papers at the meetings of the British Psychological Society and, after finishing her analytical training in Manchester, read her membership paper at the British Psycho-Analytical Society. Subsequently she contributed to the meetings of the London Society and achieved the status of a training analyst. She read her last paper at the congress in Geneva, in 1955. In addition to her academic interests she maintained a busy analytical practice and worked in child guidance clinics. Her colleagues valued her capacity for a logical and, if need be, practical approach, and her independence of attitude and opinion based on a seasoned conviction of the truth of Freud's teachings.

Coupled with these qualities were her many social gifts and her generous hospitality which ensured her reputation as a successful hostess. The loss engendered by her emigrating to the United States in 1952 was felt keenly in Manchester by personal friends and professional colleagues alike. We followed her new venture with some anxiety and watched her progress in the New World with relief and admiration.

Hilde Lewinsky's achievements were the more remarkable in that she had suffered from an early age from a chronic post-scarlatinal arthritis of both hip joints. As the years went by this condition became ever more crippling and painful, yet it never daunted her courageous spirit. Her untimely death has cut short her life at a moment when she had reason to look forward to a future of success