Saving psychoanalysts: Ernest Jones and the Isakowers

This article examines the role played by Ernest Jones in saving psychoanalysts from Germany and Austria during the 1930s, and, in particular, in the case of Drs Otto and Salomea Isakower from Vienna. Archives from the Library of Congress and the British Psychoanalytical Society are used to document how Jones navigated the considerable difficulties presented in both Europe and London as well as by colleagues and was able to help the Isakowers emigrate to Liverpool where they worked and began the ‘North of England’ training group with others and emigrated to the USA in 1940. As President of the International Psychoanalytical Association and of the British Psychoanalytical Society, Jones had responsibilities with psychoanalyst refugees, which he performed with care, commitment and political competence. Although Jones did not succeed in saving psychoanalysis in Europe, he played a crucial role in saving psychoanalysts. He helped to spread the world-wide standing and influence of psychoanalysis.