Arno Gruen

Arno Gruen (1923–2015) was born in Berlin and emigrated to the United States in 1936. After studying psychology, he headed the psychology department of a therapeutic children’s clinic in Harlem from 1954. He received his doctorate under Theodor Reik in 1961 and later worked as a psychoanalyst, therapist, and professor of neurology and psychology. From 1958, he also maintained a private psychoanalytic practice. In his books, Gruen examined the psychological causes of violence, xenophobia, authoritarianism, and dictatorship, as well as the conditions necessary for democracy. He received the Geschwister Scholl Prize in 2001 for The Stranger Within Us.