Description
Book SynopsisThis memoir recounts the life of Gertrude Pollitt, a social worker, psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, and educator. Born in Vienna to a loving and cultured Jewish family, Pollitt narrowly escaped the clutches of the Nazi Regime and fled to London. After the war, she relocated to Germany to help children whose lives had been shattered. Pollitt recalls her journey from displaced immigrant to successful therapist in her own words, describing her personal challenges, her patients, and her professional development. Children of Separation and Loss is a stirring testament to the power of perseverance and the determination to survive crippling emotional losses.
Trade ReviewDr. Pollitt is an extraordinary woman. She started out helping people in dire need and has continued to do so all her life. She continues her private practice, which has always included patients suffering from severe psychopathology. -- Bertram P. Karon, PhD., ABPP, professor of psychology emeritus, Michigan State University
Dr. Gertrude Pollitt has written a fascinating description of her life. Although she has endured many hardships, the overall effect of her story is positive and uplifting. No challenge seems to have been too great for her to tackle and succeed in solving. -- Richard D. Chessick, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University
Dr. Pollitt’s experience is unique among all the stories of survival that I have heard while working closely with dozens of survivors. A must-read for historians, students, and scholars of World War II. -- Matthew Sackel, formerly the librarian at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in Skokie, Illinois
A rare memoir by a courageous woman with a gift for healing children traumatized by war as well as those emotionally hurt in America. -- Fraidie Martz, clinical social worker and author of Open Your Hearts: The Story of the Jewish War Orphans in Canada
Table of ContentsAcknowledgements Prologue 1. Childhood in Vienna 2. Vienna Before the Nazis 3. Anschluss 4. On My Own in London 5. Back to School 6. Germany 7. Camp Aschau 8. Back in London 9. Chicago 10. Glencoe 11. The Center for Psychoanalytic Study 12. Highland Park Epilogue Appendix Selected Bibliography
