Oskar Pfister—1873–1956

Psycho-analysts who attended the International Congress at Zurich in 1949 will remember the tall, broad-shouldered Reverend Oskar Pfister, the 'Analysenpfarrer' as he came to be called throughout Central Europe. His Edwardian garb, his manly moustache, his kind and searching eyes—all these made Pfarrer Pfister conspicuous among us, who for him were comrades-in-arms in the struggle for the recognition of Freud and of psycho-analysis. To those who had met him in the years between the wars, in Vienna, Zurich, or at the International Congresses, he looked in 1949 almost unchanged in spite of his age; agile, full of kindness, enduring his deafness with charm and humour. With his death at the age of 83 another chapter of the pioneering stage of psycho-analysis has come to a close.

When, at the age of 35, Pfarrer Pfister heard of Freud for the first time, he had already decided to devote himself to parish work, declining a University chair, and refusing to turn to 'paper theology'. For psycho-analysis this decision resulted in a singular liaison with liberal-minded clergy. As a psychotherapist Pfister had learned much from the Bernese neurologist Paul Dubois, but—as he wrote in his autobiography (1)—'when I read Freud I felt as if old dreams and premonitions had suddenly become reality. I cannot say whether it was the theoretical interest or the practical outlook which attracted me to such a degree that I got more and more involved with Freud and his work.'

Pfarrer Pfister joined the Freud Society in Zurich, and on 25 April 1909 his first meeting with Freud took place. Soon the two men were exchanging letters, at times very frequently, and developed a personal relationship which remained unclouded to the end of their lives. 'Freud was very fond of him', wrote Ernest Jones. 'He admired Pfister's ethical standards, his unfailing altruism and his optimism concerning human nature. It also amused him that he could be on unrestrainedly friendly terms with a Protestant cl