All systems go:: The 7th International Psychoanalytic Congress in Berlin (25-27 September 1922).

All systems go: The 7,h International Psychoanalytic Congress in Berlin (25-27 September 1922). - The Berlin Congress of 1922 was the best-attended IPA conference prior to the Second World War. The main reason for this was the large number of guests from Berlin, but the favorable exchange rate at the time also facilitated attendance for scientists from other countries. The program was unusually extensive, including a significant number of papers that, with hindsight, stand out as pioneering or unusually original. These included Freud's announcement of his structural theory, Ferenczi on his genital theory, Abraham on the evolution of the libido, Horney on the female castration complex, Klein on early analysis, and Eitingon on the Psychoanalytic Polyclinic. The external impact of the Congress was impaired by the restriction of attendance to IPA members and accredited guests. Journalists were excluded from the proceedings. All in all, the Congress gives the impression of a new lease of life after years of stasis. It was an impressive review of what the Berlin Association was capable of achieving and is highlighted in retrospect by the fact that it was the last Congress that Freud took part in.