Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Viktor Frankl – giants of Viennese intellectual life – revolutionised the science of psychological research within a strikingly short span of time. They became the founding fathers of theories and methods of treatment that are still highly influential even today: psychoanalysis, individual psychology and logotherapy. What were their social environments, how were they shaped by their family backgrounds, and what did their professional networks look like? The authors offer a gripping account of a hundred and fifty years of cultural and scientific history, shedding light on the complex relationships between these three figures.

Erstmals wird die einzigartige Kunstsammlung des DÖW umfassend präsentiert: Sie enthält Werke von Adolf Frohner, Anselm Grand, Carry Hauser, Trude Waehner, Alfons Walde u.a. Es sind Bilder vom Leben in Lagern und von Gewalt gegen Regimegegner, aber auch vom Kampf gegen Faschismus und Nationalsozialismus. Einige Arbeiten machen sichtbar, wie Verfolgte und Menschen im Widerstand nach 1945 ihre traumatischen Erfahrungen zu verarbeiten versuchten – manche in drastischen Darstellungen, manche in abstrakten Formen. Oft wollten Künstler*innen künftige Generationen warnen, damit sich die Geschichte nicht wiederhole. Der Band enthält Beiträge zur Geschichte des österreichischen Widerstands und beleuchtet die Werke aus biographischer, kunsthistorischer und zeitgeschichtlicher Sicht.

Going beyond psychological speculation, the authors close a gap in historical research by portraying Hitler's family, childhood and youth in its social and cultural context. Focusing on Hitler's time in Braunau through to his experiences in Vienna, they offer an insight into his character traits and ideological imprints. The book closely examines Hitler's personal background as well as his social environment. National fanaticism, race hatred and anti-Semitism had become firmly established in society long before Hitler and the National Socialists started their ascent. Hitler's radicalised rhetoric could only gain potency when his audience already knew what he was speaking of. Taking a fresh look, Leidinger and Rapp detail Hitler's childhood and youth from a new angle.