Being in Berlin: A large group experience in the Berlin Congress

Abstract

In July 2007, the International Psychoanalytic Congress convened for the first time since the war in the former Nazi capital, Berlin. An open large group forum was held at this meeting, where attendees (Jewish, German and others) had the opportunity to explore the emotional aspects stirred up by being in Berlin. Hundreds of people participated in the event and described it as the ‘heart of the Congress’. We examine several aspects of the event, including the passions stirred, the containment of the setting, and the voices present and absent.

Key words:

• anti‐Semitism
• experiential large group
• Holocaust
• reparation
• trauma

Notes

1. These conferences and the work done in them were the subject of a panel presentation in the Congress (Erlich et al., 2007).

2. See also: http://www.p‐cca.org and http://www.internationalpsychoanalysis.net/