Canadian Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 24
Ottawa, Canada, August 1979
No.5
FESTSCHRIFT FOR ERIC WITTKOWER, M.D. Introduction I personally owe to Eric Wittkower, among many other things, my introduction twenty-five years ago to psychosomatic research. In the old days, he and his research assistants had their offices in the "stables" of the Allan Memorial Institute. Everyone worked hard - but no one worked as hard as the boss. Today, as a most active member of our teaching and research staff, he is still pushing me to work. After Hitler's accession to power led Dr. Wittkower to leave Germany for England, he began work at the Maudsley Hospital where his enthusiasm for intellectual endeavour was recognized and appreciated. In 1935 Professor F. Golla, Director of the Central Pathological Laboratory, wrote, "I have been very much impressed by his indefatigable industry. He has a very wide knowledge of the application of physiological methods of neuropsychiatry." At the Maudsley Dr. Wittkower worked mainly on respiratory functions in schizophrenics. He decided it was time to leave when asked by Golla to explore the validity of Sir Frederick Mott's theory that schizophrenia was related to the shrinking of the testicles. Dr. Wittkower was asked to make casts of the testicles of schizophrenics, fill up the casts with water, and use this as a measure of the atrophy of testicles. He was not very interested in this scientific task and accepted the invitation of Dr. l.R. Rees, Director of the Tavistock Clinic, to work on a research fellowship in psychosomatic medicine. In 1940 he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps, to which Dr. Rees was chief consultant. "Some of the first careful studies," writes Dr. Rees:j:, tl am indebted to R.A. Cleghorn for communication of his personal files regarding Eric Wittkower's correspondence with him prior to his joining McGill's Department of Psychiatry. Can. J. Psychiatry Vol. 24 (1979)
"that were put out in this country were carried out by Dr. Wittkower or inspired by him. These were in the field of cardiac pain, hay fever, dysmenorrhea, colitis, and skin disorders. Early in the war Dr. Wittkower was responsible for devising the original technical details of the interviewing methods which were incorporated into the War Office's selection boards for the army. In addition to his work on selection, he carried out many extremely useful investigations on psychosomatic problems and allied questions, sexual promiscuity, and the reactions of the maimed and the blind which were of the greatest value. He is, without any question, the most outstanding worker in the field of psychosomatic medicine in this country and perhaps in Europe. He is, as one might imagine, an extremely careful man with a very rigid scientific conscience." In 1950, with r». Ewen Cameron's approval, Dr. Cleghorn, who had recently been appointed head of a research department at the Allan Memorial Institute, began negotiations with Dr. Wittkower to bring him to McGill as an Assistant Professor. Here are some interesting abstracts from a letter Dr. Wittkower wrote to R.A. Cleghorn: "The reasons why I intend to leave St. Bartholomew's Hospital are firstly, that I would like to enlarge the scope of my research which is at present confined to dermatology, and secondly, that I would like to pass on, on a bigger scale than I can do now, the experience which I have gained in twenty-two years of research in the field of psychosomatic medicine. Somehow I believe - perhaps unjustifiably - that opposition to psychosomatic medicine is less severe in your country than it is over here." Even before crossing the Atlantic, he was preparing to attract other outstanding new members to the department: one of 381
382
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY
them was "MacLeod, a Canadian from Vancouver and a brilliant young man, keenly interested in psychosomatic medicine. He is very eager to carry out psychosomatic research together with me and under my supervision. He would be an asset to any psychiatric department." Leaving historical anecdotes aside, we must list among Eric Wittkower's major achievements: (a) His pioneering research in psychosomatic medicine in Germany (his first psychosomatic paperdates back to 1928), the United Kingdom, and Canada. (b) His founding of the section for Transcultural Psychiatric Studies at McGill and his direction of this section from 1956 through 1969. This led to his giving numerous lectures all over the world, establishing friendships with psychiatrists and anthropologists throughout the world and, last but not least, to numerous working and friendly relationships with French-speaking psychiatrists in Canada. I would like to quote from a recent letter by Jean-Noel Fortin, Professeur au Departement de Psychiatrie de l'Universite de Montreal. "A mon avis, c'est Ie psychiatre anglophone qui a Ieplus aide lesfrancophones de Montreal, et je lui dois une dette de reconnaissance toute particuliere." (c) His participation in the development of psychoanalysis in Canada as one of the founders of the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society.
Vol. 24, No.5
Now, fifteen years after his official retirement, he continues to be extremely active in these three fields. He still comes to the Allan weekly for his televised psychoanalytic interviews. His last book" on psychosomatic medicine, edited with Hector Warnes, was published in 1977. We are presently working together to prepare a book on controversial issues in psychiatry. All together Dr. Wittkower has published forty-three book contributions, seven books, and one hundred and seventy-nine scientific articles. We decided to make this Festschrift in honour of his eightieth birthday an international endeavour by inviting contributions from a selection of Dr. Wittkower's friends throughout the world. (Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, India, Japan, the United States and Papua are represented.) The result is a remarkable array of papers which will be, I am sure, of great interest to any psychiatric reader as well as to the man we honour. However, we are lacking what might have been the most appropriate paper, that is, a psychosomatic study of the factors which allow some privileged human beings - of whom our mentor and friend is an outstanding example - to maintain at an advanced age, their productive zeal and zest.
M. Dongier, M.D. Professor and Chairman Department of Psychiatry McGill University
The Journal and the Canadian Psychiatric Association join with Dr. Dongier on behalf of Psychiatrists in Canada particularly, as well as Psychiatrists everywhere. in saluting the achievements ofDr. Eric Wittkower which are so evocatively andgracefully delineated throughout this Festschrift issue ofthe Journal. We also take this opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Maurice Dongier for his motivating force and energy in inspiring this issue as well as his considerable and helpful editorial efforts. E.K.
Ottawa, Canada, August 1979
No.5
FESTSCHRIFT FOR ERIC WITTKOWER, M.D. Introduction I personally owe to Eric Wittkower, among many other things, my introduction twenty-five years ago to psychosomatic research. In the old days, he and his research assistants had their offices in the "stables" of the Allan Memorial Institute. Everyone worked hard - but no one worked as hard as the boss. Today, as a most active member of our teaching and research staff, he is still pushing me to work. After Hitler's accession to power led Dr. Wittkower to leave Germany for England, he began work at the Maudsley Hospital where his enthusiasm for intellectual endeavour was recognized and appreciated. In 1935 Professor F. Golla, Director of the Central Pathological Laboratory, wrote, "I have been very much impressed by his indefatigable industry. He has a very wide knowledge of the application of physiological methods of neuropsychiatry." At the Maudsley Dr. Wittkower worked mainly on respiratory functions in schizophrenics. He decided it was time to leave when asked by Golla to explore the validity of Sir Frederick Mott's theory that schizophrenia was related to the shrinking of the testicles. Dr. Wittkower was asked to make casts of the testicles of schizophrenics, fill up the casts with water, and use this as a measure of the atrophy of testicles. He was not very interested in this scientific task and accepted the invitation of Dr. l.R. Rees, Director of the Tavistock Clinic, to work on a research fellowship in psychosomatic medicine. In 1940 he joined the Royal Army Medical Corps, to which Dr. Rees was chief consultant. "Some of the first careful studies," writes Dr. Rees:j:, tl am indebted to R.A. Cleghorn for communication of his personal files regarding Eric Wittkower's correspondence with him prior to his joining McGill's Department of Psychiatry. Can. J. Psychiatry Vol. 24 (1979)
"that were put out in this country were carried out by Dr. Wittkower or inspired by him. These were in the field of cardiac pain, hay fever, dysmenorrhea, colitis, and skin disorders. Early in the war Dr. Wittkower was responsible for devising the original technical details of the interviewing methods which were incorporated into the War Office's selection boards for the army. In addition to his work on selection, he carried out many extremely useful investigations on psychosomatic problems and allied questions, sexual promiscuity, and the reactions of the maimed and the blind which were of the greatest value. He is, without any question, the most outstanding worker in the field of psychosomatic medicine in this country and perhaps in Europe. He is, as one might imagine, an extremely careful man with a very rigid scientific conscience." In 1950, with r». Ewen Cameron's approval, Dr. Cleghorn, who had recently been appointed head of a research department at the Allan Memorial Institute, began negotiations with Dr. Wittkower to bring him to McGill as an Assistant Professor. Here are some interesting abstracts from a letter Dr. Wittkower wrote to R.A. Cleghorn: "The reasons why I intend to leave St. Bartholomew's Hospital are firstly, that I would like to enlarge the scope of my research which is at present confined to dermatology, and secondly, that I would like to pass on, on a bigger scale than I can do now, the experience which I have gained in twenty-two years of research in the field of psychosomatic medicine. Somehow I believe - perhaps unjustifiably - that opposition to psychosomatic medicine is less severe in your country than it is over here." Even before crossing the Atlantic, he was preparing to attract other outstanding new members to the department: one of 381
382
CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY
them was "MacLeod, a Canadian from Vancouver and a brilliant young man, keenly interested in psychosomatic medicine. He is very eager to carry out psychosomatic research together with me and under my supervision. He would be an asset to any psychiatric department." Leaving historical anecdotes aside, we must list among Eric Wittkower's major achievements: (a) His pioneering research in psychosomatic medicine in Germany (his first psychosomatic paperdates back to 1928), the United Kingdom, and Canada. (b) His founding of the section for Transcultural Psychiatric Studies at McGill and his direction of this section from 1956 through 1969. This led to his giving numerous lectures all over the world, establishing friendships with psychiatrists and anthropologists throughout the world and, last but not least, to numerous working and friendly relationships with French-speaking psychiatrists in Canada. I would like to quote from a recent letter by Jean-Noel Fortin, Professeur au Departement de Psychiatrie de l'Universite de Montreal. "A mon avis, c'est Ie psychiatre anglophone qui a Ieplus aide lesfrancophones de Montreal, et je lui dois une dette de reconnaissance toute particuliere." (c) His participation in the development of psychoanalysis in Canada as one of the founders of the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society.
Vol. 24, No.5
Now, fifteen years after his official retirement, he continues to be extremely active in these three fields. He still comes to the Allan weekly for his televised psychoanalytic interviews. His last book" on psychosomatic medicine, edited with Hector Warnes, was published in 1977. We are presently working together to prepare a book on controversial issues in psychiatry. All together Dr. Wittkower has published forty-three book contributions, seven books, and one hundred and seventy-nine scientific articles. We decided to make this Festschrift in honour of his eightieth birthday an international endeavour by inviting contributions from a selection of Dr. Wittkower's friends throughout the world. (Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, India, Japan, the United States and Papua are represented.) The result is a remarkable array of papers which will be, I am sure, of great interest to any psychiatric reader as well as to the man we honour. However, we are lacking what might have been the most appropriate paper, that is, a psychosomatic study of the factors which allow some privileged human beings - of whom our mentor and friend is an outstanding example - to maintain at an advanced age, their productive zeal and zest.
M. Dongier, M.D. Professor and Chairman Department of Psychiatry McGill University
The Journal and the Canadian Psychiatric Association join with Dr. Dongier on behalf of Psychiatrists in Canada particularly, as well as Psychiatrists everywhere. in saluting the achievements ofDr. Eric Wittkower which are so evocatively andgracefully delineated throughout this Festschrift issue ofthe Journal. We also take this opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of Dr. Maurice Dongier for his motivating force and energy in inspiring this issue as well as his considerable and helpful editorial efforts. E.K.
