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25 March 1919
Hotel St. Gotthard, Zürich
Dear Professor,
In these days so crowded with incidents after a long isolation you will not wonder that until now I have only written to you once, a letter from Bern which I hope reached you safely. It has been wonderfully good to be again with such sympathetic and lively spirits as Rank and Sachs, and I am full of admiration for their qualities. It is a treat to watch how they turn these stupid and confused Swiss round their little finger. And you can imagine what jokes we all have together.
Last night the Swiss society decided to join the International, unanimously. The best members are Binswanger, a psychiatrist Rhorschach, and Frau Dr. Oberholzer.1 Pfister you know; he gives trouble in wanting to make the whole world immediately members, being convinced that every one is on the point of becoming a complete ψα. Oberholzer I am sorry to say I don't like, but perhaps more on subjective grounds; this dictatorial, hard, schoolmaster type, with no trace of humour or Gemütlichkeit [sociability], is to me very unsympathetic. At the meeting Sachs gave a magnificent address, one of the best I have ever heard in my life, and which could not have been bettered. Rank, who was tired, and I also spoke shortly. I was glad you were not there to hear my German, but perhaps what I had to say about England was of interest.
We intend to see if it is possible to make the English publications independently of any publisher, just as the Verlag does in Wien, and I think it will be possible. I am full of enthusiasm for our future plans. The French plans are not yet settled, though Bircher offers us all we want, but I am rather more in favour of a publisher at Genf or Lausanne—perhaps even independent publishing—and we shall see what the conditions are there. At present nothing can be done with the two comical ψα societies at Genf (I visited Claparéde last week), but there may be some younger members. Sachs has the situation well in hand here, and wi