Creator Bio
Bruno Bettelheim
1903–1990
Bruno Bettelheim was born in Vienna to a secular Jewish family and received his doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1938. He was interned in Dachau and Buchenwald and arrived as a refugee in New York in 1939. Bettelheim was a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago from 1944 until 1973. He was widely known for his work on child psychology, especially his theories about emotionally disturbed children.
Content by Bruno Bettelheim
Primary Source
Individual and Mass Behavior in Extreme Situations
This article is one of the first academic attempts to understand the psychological mechanisms of the concentration camp system.
Related Guide
Destruction, Rebirth, and Cultural Thought
1939–1973
The years between 1939 and 1973 witnessed unprecedented tragedy and transformation for the Jewish people.