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429F
INTERNATIONAL PSYCHO-ANALYTICAL ASSOCIATION1 CENTRAL EXECUTIVE
Vienna
15 February 1924
Dear Friends,
It is not without astonishment that I have heard from various sides that the recent publications of our Ferenczi and Rank, I mean their joint work2 and that on birth trauma,3 have evoked unpleasant agitation in Berlin. Apart from that, I was directly asked, by someone in our midst,4 to express among you my opinion of the undecided matter in which he sees the germination of a split. Thus I am complying with his wish, do not interpret it as obtrusiveness; my purpose being rather to exercise as much restraint as possible and to let each of you to follow his way freely.
When Sachs was last here, we exchanged a few comments on the birth trauma and perhaps the impression that I discern in the publication of this work an oppositional movement or do not at all agree with its content stems from that. I think, however, that the fact that I have accepted its dedication should make this interpretation impossible.
The fact of the matter is this: The harmony among us, the respect you have so often shown me, should not disturb any of you in the free exercise of his productivity. I do not ask that in your writings you orientate yourself more towards whether I will like them rather than whether they have turned out in accordance with observation and your views. Complete agreement on all questions of detail of the science and on all newly broached themes among half a dozen people of different natures is not at all possible nor even desirable. The sole condition for our working together fruitfully is that no one leaves the common ground of psychoanalytic prerequisites, and of this we may be certain in the case of every individual member of the Committee. On top of this there is another circumstance that is not unknown to you and that makes me particularly unsuited for the role of a despotic and ever-vigilant censor. It is not easy for me to feel my way into unfamiliar trains of thought,