Alice Ricciardi-von Platen
Encyclopedia
Alice Ricciardi von Platen, born Alice von Platen-Hallermund (April 28, 1910 – 23 February 2008), was an Italian physician
and psychoanalyst of German
descent. She is best known as the author of Nazism and euthanasia of the mentally ill in Germany (Die Tötung Geisteskranker in German), the world's first documentary about the mass killings of disabled and mentally ill persons by the Nazi regime
. For a few years before World War II
, and permanently beginning in 1967, she lived in Italy, where in the 1970s she was one of the first group analysts
.
. Her father died early. She attended the boarding school Schule Schloss Salem
, which was then under the leadership of Kurt Hahn
. After completing her medical studies in Munich
in 1934 and a subsequent clinical internship in a Berlin children's hospital, she spent the years 1936-39 in Florence and 1940 in Rome. She then returned to Germany where her son George was born in 1941 and practised until early 1944 as a supply doctor in Bavaria
, and until 1945 as a country doctor in Austria
. In that role, she was confronted with the Nazi euthanasia
program via accounts from her patients' relations, but she could save only a few patients. After the war, she worked as a volunteer at the psychosomatic clinic of the Heidelberg University, with Viktor von Weizsäcker
, where she continued her training in psychotherapy. From December 1946 she was an official observer of the Nuremberg doctors' trial
, and in 1947 she also attended the Hadamar trial (Hadamar Clinic
) in Frankfurt am Main in an unofficial capacity. Later in that year she joined professor Zillich at the mental hospital St. Getreu in Bamberg
.
In 1949 Ricciardi von-Platen moved to London, where she worked – under the supervision of Michael Balint
– in a psychotherapy
and marriage counselling centre, and also in a psychiatric hospital
. She completed her psychoanalytic and group analytic training and became a member of the Group Analytic Society
. Subsequently, she worked at the Tavistock Clinic
and the Bexley
Hospital, eventually setting up her own psychiatry practice in England. She met the organizational consultant Augusto Baron Ricciardi (1915–1982), whom she married in 1956 and whom she accompanied to Belgium
and Libya
. From 1967 until her death in 2008 she lived and worked as a psychoanalyst in Rome
and in Cortona
(Tuscany).
Ricciardi von-Platen gained international attention as observer at the Nuremberg Doctors' Trial
. When the American military government in 1946 announced that they would prosecute the perpetrators of the inhumane human experiments and the deaths of about a hundred thousand mentally ill, to hold the doctors responsible to account, the German Medical Association sent a committee of observers, headed by Alexander Mitscherlich, to Nuremberg. While Mitscherlich was focused primarily on the human experiments and on legal and political questions of the process, the focus of Alice von Platen-Hallermund was primarily the euthanasia of psychiatric patients. She felt that the killing of mentally ill people was a systematic crime, in which the entire German medical establishment was deeply involved and had known about.
Reflecting in 1993, Ricciardi von-Platen said, regarding the mood of the population of Nuremberg (as cited by Helmut Sörgel in the Nürnberger Zeitung of April 29, 2000):
In March 1947, the observers Alexander Mitscherlich and Fred Mielcke wrote a document entitled The Dictatorship of Human Contempt (Das Diktat der Menschenverachtung) which was published as a newly edited and extended book in April 1960 under the title Medicine without humanity ("Medizin ohne Menschlichkeit“). Of the three thousand copies printed of Alice's book, only about 20 still exist in libraries.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and psychoanalyst of German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
descent. She is best known as the author of Nazism and euthanasia of the mentally ill in Germany (Die Tötung Geisteskranker in German), the world's first documentary about the mass killings of disabled and mentally ill persons by the Nazi regime
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
. For a few years before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and permanently beginning in 1967, she lived in Italy, where in the 1970s she was one of the first group analysts
Group Analysis
Group analysis is a method of group psychotherapy originated by S. H. Foulkes in the 1940s. Group work was perhaps born of the need to deal economically and efficiently with a large body of returning soldiers with shared problems, but it soon developed into a much broader form in which individuals...
.
Life and work
Alice Ricciardi von-Platen was the youngest of the four daughters of Count Carl von Platen-Hallermund (1870–1919) and Elizabeth Alten (1875–1970); she grew up on the Weissenhaus estate in Schleswig-HolsteinSchleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
. Her father died early. She attended the boarding school Schule Schloss Salem
Schule Schloss Salem
Schule Schloss Salem is a boarding school with campuses in Hohenfels, Salem and Überlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Southern Germany. It is considered one of the most elite schools in Europe.It offers the German Abitur, as well as the International Baccalaureate...
, which was then under the leadership of Kurt Hahn
Kurt Hahn
Kurt Martin Hahn was a German educator whose philosophies are considered internationally influential.-Biography:...
. After completing her medical studies in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
in 1934 and a subsequent clinical internship in a Berlin children's hospital, she spent the years 1936-39 in Florence and 1940 in Rome. She then returned to Germany where her son George was born in 1941 and practised until early 1944 as a supply doctor in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, and until 1945 as a country doctor in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. In that role, she was confronted with the Nazi euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
program via accounts from her patients' relations, but she could save only a few patients. After the war, she worked as a volunteer at the psychosomatic clinic of the Heidelberg University, with Viktor von Weizsäcker
Viktor von Weizsäcker
Viktor Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German physician and physiologist. He was the brother of Ernst von Weizsäcker, and uncle to Richard von Weizsäcker and Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker. .He studied at Tübingen, Freiburg, Berlin, and Heidelberg, where he earned his medical degree in 1910...
, where she continued her training in psychotherapy. From December 1946 she was an official observer of the Nuremberg doctors' trial
Doctors' Trial
The Doctors' Trial was the first of 12 trials for war crimes that the United States authorities held in their occupation zone in Nuremberg, Germany after the end of World War II. These trials were held before U.S...
, and in 1947 she also attended the Hadamar trial (Hadamar Clinic
Hadamar Clinic
The Hadamar Euthanasia Centre was a psychiatric hospital in the German town of Hadamar, used by the Nazis as the site of their T-4 Euthanasia Programme, which performed mass sterilizations and mass murder of "undesirable" members of Nazi society, specifically those with physical and mental...
) in Frankfurt am Main in an unofficial capacity. Later in that year she joined professor Zillich at the mental hospital St. Getreu in Bamberg
Bamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
.
In 1949 Ricciardi von-Platen moved to London, where she worked – under the supervision of Michael Balint
Michael Balint
Michael Balint or Bálint Mihály was a Hungarian psychoanalyst and proponent of the Object Relations school.-Life:...
– in a psychotherapy
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...
and marriage counselling centre, and also in a psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospital
Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental hospitals, are hospitals specializing in the treatment of serious mental disorders. Psychiatric hospitals vary widely in their size and grading. Some hospitals may specialise only in short-term or outpatient therapy for low-risk patients...
. She completed her psychoanalytic and group analytic training and became a member of the Group Analytic Society
Group Analytic Society
The Group-Analytic Society was founded in 1952 by S. H. Foulkes, Jane Abercrombie and Norbert Elias as a learned society to study and promote the development of Group Analysis in both its clinical and applied aspects. The first regular weekly seminars were given by Foulkes in 1952...
. Subsequently, she worked at the Tavistock Clinic
Tavistock Clinic
The in London was founded in 1920 by Dr. Hugh Crichton-Miller, a psychiatrist who developed psychological treatments for shell-shocked soldiers during and after the First World War. The clinic's first patient was, however, a child. Its clinical services were always, therefore, for both children...
and the Bexley
Bexley
Bexley is an South East London]] in the London Borough of Bexley, London, England. It is located on the banks of the River Cray south of the Roman Road, Watling Street...
Hospital, eventually setting up her own psychiatry practice in England. She met the organizational consultant Augusto Baron Ricciardi (1915–1982), whom she married in 1956 and whom she accompanied to Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. From 1967 until her death in 2008 she lived and worked as a psychoanalyst in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
and in Cortona
Cortona
Cortona is a town and comune in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic center of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo.-History:...
(Tuscany).
Observer at the Nuremberg Doctors' Trial
thumbRicciardi von-Platen gained international attention as observer at the Nuremberg Doctors' Trial
Doctors' Trial
The Doctors' Trial was the first of 12 trials for war crimes that the United States authorities held in their occupation zone in Nuremberg, Germany after the end of World War II. These trials were held before U.S...
. When the American military government in 1946 announced that they would prosecute the perpetrators of the inhumane human experiments and the deaths of about a hundred thousand mentally ill, to hold the doctors responsible to account, the German Medical Association sent a committee of observers, headed by Alexander Mitscherlich, to Nuremberg. While Mitscherlich was focused primarily on the human experiments and on legal and political questions of the process, the focus of Alice von Platen-Hallermund was primarily the euthanasia of psychiatric patients. She felt that the killing of mentally ill people was a systematic crime, in which the entire German medical establishment was deeply involved and had known about.
Nazism and euthanasia of the mentally ill in Germany
Ricciardi von-Platen's book Nazism and euthanasia of the mentally ill in Germany (Die Tötung Geisteskranker in German), published in 1948, addressed the complicity of German physicians in the Nazi euthanasia crimes. It was generally ignored at the time.Reflecting in 1993, Ricciardi von-Platen said, regarding the mood of the population of Nuremberg (as cited by Helmut Sörgel in the Nürnberger Zeitung of April 29, 2000):
In March 1947, the observers Alexander Mitscherlich and Fred Mielcke wrote a document entitled The Dictatorship of Human Contempt (Das Diktat der Menschenverachtung) which was published as a newly edited and extended book in April 1960 under the title Medicine without humanity ("Medizin ohne Menschlichkeit“). Of the three thousand copies printed of Alice's book, only about 20 still exist in libraries.
Publications
Alice von Platen-Hallermund: Die Tötung Geisteskranker in Deutschland. Aus der Deutschen Ärztekommission beim Amerikanischen Militärgericht. (Trans: The killing of the mentally ill in Germany. From the German Medical Commission at the American military court.") Frankfurter Hefte, Frankfurt/Main 1948.- New edition 1993: Psychiatrie-Verlag, ISBN 3-88414-149-X.
- New edition 2005: Mabuse Verlag, ISBN 3-935964-86-2.