נולד בהילבורן, גרמניה ב 1908
נפטר בירושלים ב 1998
1934 עלה לפלסתינה ב
היה אחד המתמחים הראשונים במכון אייטינגון
היה יו״ר החברה ב 1952 ברוטציה עם וויניק במשך 20 שנה
היה מנהל המכון מ 1962
היה משנה למזכיר החברה הבינלאומית1975-1977
דברים לזכרו כתבו: תרצה זנדבנק ואורי לובנטל
קישור לספרו של ד”ר אריך גומבל
ניתן לראות את צילומי המכתבים המאוזכרים בטקסט (לחץ כאן)
Sandbank, T. (1997). Obituary: ERICH GUMBEL (1908-1994). Int. J. psycho-Anal., 78:585-586
ERICH GUMBEL (1908-1994)
Dr Erich Gumbel was an innovator, a pioneer. After Max Previous HitEitingon, he was the central figure responsible for establishing psychoanalysis in Palestine. Palestine, with its pioneer spirit, might have seemed an unlikely terrain for this highly sophisticated and inner-directed discipline to take root, blossom and give fruit. But it did, and in no small part, thanks to him.
Born and educated in Germany, but being a Jew, it was impossible for him to pursue his psychoanalytic training in Europe. He came to Palestine in 1934 in the wake of Max Eitingon, who received him warmly and accepted him immediately as a candidate. Gumbel was in both analysis and supervision with Eitingon.
psychoanalytic work was done in a spirit of enthusiasm and devotion. Money was no issue. No one was rejected for treatment because of lack of means. In fact, a small fund was raised in order to provide needy patients with a daily lunch, as an empty stomach was not considered conducive to psychoanalysis (Gumbel, 1978). There were many language difficulties. Both analysts and patients were immigrants and often there was no common language except that of the unconscious. Gumbel wrote of this period:
There were many difficult hours—too many— when I felt that the task which I had set myself was too formidable. But in spite of this, the old question, why Palestine of all places, had become irrelevant. I now saw myself as a pioneer of a new science in a new land. psychoanalysis was my vocation. I was young and I had found my true calling in life (Gumbel, 1995).
Gumbel quickly became the central figure in the Society, working with a heavy caseload of patients, in addition to teaching. In 1953 he became President of the Society, and he stayed in this office, in rotation with H. Z. Winnik, for almost twenty years. From 1962 he was also Director of the Institute. He had a profound interest in psychoanalytic training and supervision and took part in several international panels on this subject. In 1963 he was appointed by Dr van der Leeuw to be a member of the Standing Committee on Training for the European Association. He was also a corresponding member of the programme committee of the 23rd International Conference. From 1975 to 1977 he was the associate secretary of the International psychoanalytical Association. He was also very central in Israel’s becoming host to the International Congress in 1977.
At the age of 70 he decided to give up his offices as President and Director in order to make way for younger people. He hoped to devote the latter part of his life to reading and writing, but a degenerative eye disease made this very difficult. He died in November 1994 at the age of 86.
He had a unique combination of professional stringency and personal warmth, caring and modesty. His own psychoanalytic technique was traditional, but he would say to his students that it is possible to do many different things in analysis. The important
thing is to understand why you are doing them. He stood behind this statement as a teacher and a supervisor, always listening carefully with a mind that was both open and questioning. This openness was connected both to his modesty and to a deep belief that one of the most important aims of analysis is to help one to grow towards greater inner freedom, hence an emphasis on the analytic dialogue.
Acknowledgements: The author thanks Mrs Bath Sheva Adler, Dr Yecheskiel Cohen, Professor Eliezer Edelstein, Dr Uri Lowental, Dr Rena Moses-Hrushovski, Professor
Pinchas Noy, Mrs Yael Ofarim and Dr Martin Wangh for material provided for the writing of this obituary.
References
Gumbel, E. (1966). psychoanalysis in Israel. Israel Annals Psychiat., 3: 90-98
Gumbel, E. (1995). ber mein Leben mit der psychoanalyse. Jahrbuch der psychoanalyse, ed. R. K. Eickhoff. Stuttgart Bad Canstatt: Fromann-Holzboog, 34:pp. 7-63. [→]
Lowental, U. & Cohen, Y. (1992). Israel. In psychoanalysis in Different Countries, ed. P. Kutter. Stuttgart Bad Canstatt: Fromann-Holzboog, pp. 188-194.
Moses, R. (1992). A short history of psychoanalysis in Palestine and Israel. Israel J. Psychiat., 29: 229-238. [→]
Gumbel, E. (1949). Dr. Daniel Dreyfuss. Int. J. psycho-Anal., 30:274-274. […]
Gumbel, E. (1958). Dr. Gershon Barag. Int. J. psycho-Anal., 39:617-619. […]
Gumbel, E. (1962). Anna Smeliansky—1879–1961. Int. J. psycho-Anal., 43:360-360. […]
Gumbel, E. (1966). Die psychoanalyse in Israel. Psyche – Z psychoanal., 20:67-73. […]
Gumbel, E. (1966). psychoanalysis in Israel. Isr. Ann. Psychiatry & Rel. Disc., 3:90-98.
Gumbel, E. (1978). Address of Welcome, Jerusalem Congress. Int. J. psycho-Anal., 59:5-6. […]
Gumbel, E. (1986). Eindrücke vom Internationalen psychoanalytischen Kongreß in Hamburg. Psyche – Z psychoanal., 40:873-874. […]
Gumbel, E. (1994). Sigmund Freud: Versuch einer Würdigung zur 100. Wiederkehr seines Geburtstages am 6.5.1956. Jahrb. psychoanal., 32:137-154. […]
Gumbel, E. (1995). Über mein Leben mit der psychoanalyse. Jahrb. psychoanal., 34:7-63. […]
Gumbel, E., Heimann, P. (1970). Discussion of ‘The Non-Transference Relationship in the psychoanalytic Situation’. Int. J. psycho-Anal., 51:143-150. […]