Ferenc Erős (1946-2020)

Ferenc Erős, an influential figure in Hungarian psychological research, education and public life, a unique creator of a contemporary Hungarian school of psychoanalytic studies, unexpectedly passed away on 9 February. Ferenc was Professor Emeritus of the Institute of Psychology at the University of Pécs, co-founder of the PhD programme in theoretical psychoanalysis, and an Emeritus Researcher at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, Budapest. His diverse research interests included the history of Hungarian psychoanalysis (primarily the work of Sándor Ferenczi), social traumas, the social psychology of identity and the study of prejudice. Following the interdisciplinary nature of psychoanalysis, he applied it to the interpretation of cultural and social phenomena. He published numerous books, countless papers and edited important volumes and documents - among others, the Hungarian edition of the Freud-Ferenczi correspondence. In 2019, he published an article on Ferenczi and Róheim in the special ‘Hungarian’ issue of Psychoanalysis and History.

He was the founder and editor in chief of the Hungarian psychoanalytic journal Thalassa and, until 2012, the editor in chief of its continuation, Imágó Budapest - periodicals open to experts of various disciplines and covering the theoretical, social, historical and cultural aspects of psychoanalysis.

His work as a researcher, lecturer and editor focused on presenting and exploring topics that were less well known in the Hungarian professional world but were at the forefront of international research and scientific discourse. Due to his interest and work, significant topics such as the transgenerational effects of the Holocaust, the analysis of authoritarian behaviour, as well as the psychoanalytic and social contexts of gender and the body emerged in Hungary. His openness, wide horizons and outstanding literacy helped his disciples to connect to mainstream international research and also to create interdiscipli