Friedrich Hacker papers, circa 1940s-1980s

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Summary

Creators:
Hacker, Friedrich, 1914-1989 and Hacker Psychiatric Clinic
Abstract:
Friedrich (Frederick) Hacker was a distinguished psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and cultural figure. Born in Vienna in 1914, Hacker left Austria soon after the Anschluss and made his way to Los Angeles via New York and Topeka, Kansas. In Los Angeles, Hacker founded the Hacker Clinic in Beverly Hills (1945) where he treated numerous Hollywood filmmakers and actors and where he socialized with other well-known members of the German-speaking émigré community. Hacker went on to become a specialist in juvenile delinquency and testified before the Senate in 1955 about the influence of television and film on youth. He later studied the psychology of terror and terrorism, appeared as an expert witness in the Sharon Tate murder trial, consulted with Patty Hearst's family after her kidnapping, and worked with West German officials after the Munich attacks in 1972. Hacker's papers include material relating to his diagnosis of Klaus Mann, the son of Thomas Mann, and his fulsome correspondence with Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer, with whom he worked on understanding the psychology of the fascist subject in the 1940s. The collection also contains letters with Anna Freud, Arthur Koestler, George McGovern, and other important political and cultural figures. Hacker taught psychology classes at the University of Southern California (USC) and lectured to the USC community through the Max Kade Institute in the 1980s. In addition to correspondence, the collection contains many subject files and research documents relating to Hacker's professional and scholarly work.
Extent:
12.6 Linear Feet 11 boxes and 1 oversize object
Language:
English , German .
Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Friedrich Hacker papers, Collection no. 6208, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Background

Scope and content:

Friedrich (Frederick) Hacker was a distinguished psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and cultural figure. Born in Vienna in 1914, Hacker left Austria soon after the Anschluss and made his way to Los Angeles via New York and Topeka, Kansas. In Los Angeles, Hacker founded the Hacker Clinic in Beverly Hills (1945) where he treated numerous Hollywood filmmakers and actors and where he socialized with other well-known members of the German-speaking émigré community. Hacker went on to become a specialist in juvenile delinquency and testified before the Senate in 1955 about the influence of television and film on youth. He later studied the psychology of terror and terrorism, appeared as an expert witness in the Sharon Tate murder trial, consulted with Patty Hearst's family after her kidnapping, and worked with West German officials after the Munich attacks in 1972. Hacker's papers include material relating to his diagnosis of Klaus Mann, the son of Thomas Mann, and his fulsome correspondence with Theodor W. Adorno and Max Horkheimer, with whom he worked on understanding the psychology of the fascist subject in the 1940s. The collection also contains letters with Anna Freud, Arthur Koestler, George McGovern, and other important political and cultural figures. Hacker taught psychology classes at the University of Southern California (USC) and lectured to the USC community through the Max Kade Institute in the 1980s. In addition to correspondence, the collection contains many subject files and research documents relating to Hacker's professional and scholarly work.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Michael Hacker, November 22, 2019.
Processing information:

The USC Libraries preserved the existing physical arrangement of the files at acquisition. Folder titles without brackets were transcribed from previous folder labels during rehousing of the material. USC staff supplied folder summaries in brackets for material that was not previously housed in labeled folders. The order of the folder-level records listed in this finding aid reflects the physical arrangement of the folders in each box.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Advance notice required for access.

The Friedrich Hacker papers contain sensitive materials documenting former patients of the Hacker Clinic, including records relating to mental health concerns, sexual activity, sexual identity, and drug use. During processing of the collection, the USC Libraries used a document titled Sensitive Materials Processing Guidelines Overview produced by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for guidance on potentially restricting access to certain folders in the collection. For files with sensitive information relating to sexual activity, sexual identity, drug use, and mental health concerns, the restrictions recommended by the Sensitive Materials Processing Guidelines Overview are: "restrict until death of person(s) represented." For files classified as patient files, the guidelines recommend restricting access to each patient file for 70 years following the end date of the file. During processing of the Hacker papers, the USC Libraries found a few files in the collection for which the above categories and guidelines may be relevant. However, due to the dates represented in the files (or lack of dates) and the likelihood that the individuals named in these files are now deceased, the USC Libraries decided not to restrict access to any parts of the collection.

Terms of access:

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Collections at specol@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Preferred citation:

[Box/folder no. or item name], Friedrich Hacker papers, Collection no. 6208, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Location of this collection:
Special Collections
Doheny Memorial Library, Room 209
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189, US
Contact:
(213) 740-5900
specol@usc.edu
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