Page 39 - Studio International - January 1972

So I went back to Berlin and finished my Dadaists as I said—they all died—then a strange write letters to America to people (letters from
studies in medicine (I was not a psychiatrist yet), thing happened, then I went to Danzig in Germany were under control of the police) as we
and then I brought Dada to Berlin. In Berlin I Germany and continued my study as a needed two people who would guarantee for
founded Dada again—we were very radical psychiatrist then came back to Berlin, and then our existence in America. As soon as I had that I
politicians at that time—I founded it again with there is not very much to say, from there to left; that very night the secret police came to
George Grosz, with Hausmann, with a man called 1933; when Hitler came I was a journalist. arrest me. So I left about 12 hours before the
Bader and another man called Franz Jung who Now, Hitler mentions Dadaism in his book police came to arrest me and then they asked
died—they are all dead, I am the only one who is My Struggle as the most perverted concept of art her for her passport and she was intelligent
still alive. When we founded Dada in Berlin at ever conceived—and they certainly would have enough to say it was at the American Consulate.
that time it made a tremendous upheaval, killed me in a concentration camp, so as soon as She was told to come to the Torture Chamber in
because you still had the war going on in 1916 Hitler came I went to the American Consulate Berlin out of which no one came alive, the next
and there was always the danger of being and asked for a visa. There was a man by the day. So she called our lawyer who told her to
arrested at any time, but we went on with Dada— name of Geist, I hope he turns around in his get out of Germany that day and this she did.
we gave about twenty evenings not only in grave talking about him, he didn't give me a And by a miracle we met soon afterwards in
Berlin, in Dresden, in Leipzig, anywhere, and visa—he didn't want to because I had a wife and New York. Then I went to a clinic to polish up
we went on with our protest openly. This was family and all we could take out with us from my psychiatric work and got acquainted with
not the time yet of the secret police—if you do Germany was 10 marks. So we came to doctors and made the acquaintance of a very
that today in any state you will be arrested America as paupers. It took a year and a half to wonderful woman who helped me, Dr Karen
immediately but at this time the police were get the visa—I had several visits from the secret Homey, and I founded with her the Association
still dumb and uneducated, they didn't know police, people were calling to know if my name for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis, which

anything about nothing, and they just let these was still Huelsenbeck (I later changed it in is a form of psychiatry which takes in the social
crazy guys go. That helped us a great deal. The America to Huelbeck), and they asked me is environment as one of the main problems —I
same thing happened in Berlin—the artists this Huelsenbeck the same man who founded was always against this intellectual elevation of
tried to express themselves in a revolutionary Dada, which would have been enough to arrest sexual problems that Freud initiated, so we were
way in art and Hausmann especially organized me, but my wife was intelligent enough to say the first ones to introduce into the States a kind
some art exhibition and I didn't want to have she knew nothing about that, my husband is a of socialised/social psychiatry. She had already
anything to do with that and I, then having been doctor. been at work for quite some time and was very
through my medical studies, selected to circle I went again to this man Geist and took all well known. As soon as I could really establish
the world as a journalist and a ship's doctor. my books that I had written and threw them myself as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst I had
So I went to India and China and Japan and 35 on the table and said 'I am not only a doctor I as many patients as I wanted and all of a sudden
years ago this was still the real China and the am a writer also—I will find a way in America to I became a rich man—well I have never been rich
real India, and you saw the old sights and so it live even with a wife and two children—I will in my life, but I had a nice place to live, I could
was very interesting. And as a journalist I was not go on welfare, I will find friends to support send my children to a good school, and we had
in Russia and China at this time too and I had a me' and so I finally got the visa. I left my wife enough to eat, and could buy clothes, and could
great time. I married then, I had two children, and family and went first to America, George even travel to Europe at times and then slowly
and I was a doctor—Dada was actually forgotten. Grosz was already there. I took a job as a ship's but surely I got acquainted again with literary
There is not very much left of the Berlin doctor which took me to Haiti so that I could and artistic circles in New York. q

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