Introduction

Abstract

Reflecting on the contemporary growth of antisemitism and racial hatred, the author introduces the twentieth century public intellectual and psychoanalyst, Erich Fromm, who wrote extensively about the dangers of human destructiveness, racial narcissism and fascism. Yet until now, Fromm’s own family history of the Holocaust and the impact it had on him and his work has remained unexplored. The Holocaust correspondence in Fromm’s family is introduced and Fromm’s life as a German Jewish refugee who escaped Germany in 1934 is examined. The author brings his own German family history to bear and explains that the Nazi past obligates us to educate about the Holocaust and take a stand against right wing extremism. The author suggests that Fromm’s life and writings have much to teach us for the present moment.