Letter from Sigmund Freud to Ernst Freud, February 20, 1934

Vienna IX, Berggasse 19
February 20, 1934

Dear Ernst

Thanks to the guiding principle of all journalistic reportage-of making as much noise as possible-it is probably not easy to learn from the papers what is really happening in a city where shooting is going on. What affected us most was that for almost twenty-four hours we were without electric light. (It was some comfort that at least matches still worked.) But on the whole it was civil war and unpleasant. The details of it all are not clear; rumor has it that a certain powerful man insisted on putting an end at last to the conflict which has been smoldering for so long. At some time this was probably bound to happen. Now of course the victors are the heroes and the saviors of sacred order, the others the impudent rebels. Had the latter won, however, it wouldn't have been much better, for it would have meant a military invasion of the country. The government shouldn't be judged too harshly; after all, life under the dictatorship of the proletariat, which was the aim of the so-called leaders, would not have been possible either. Needless to say, the victors will not fail to commit every error that can be committed in such a situation. It will not be Dollfuss's1 fault; he probably won't be able to curb the dangerous fools in the Heimwehr.2