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Hacker (Friedrich) papers
6208
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: Friedrich Hacker papers
Creator:
Hacker, Friedrich, 1914-1989
Creator:
Hacker Psychiatric Clinic
Identifier/Call Number: 6208
Physical Description:
12.6 Linear Feet
11 boxes and 1 oversize object
Date (inclusive): circa 1940s-1980s
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.
Language of Material:
English
, German
.
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.
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.
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.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
[Box/folder no. or item name], Friedrich Hacker papers, Collection no. 6208, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University
of Southern California
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Michael Hacker, November 22, 2019.
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Confidential communications -- Psychiatrists -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century
Exiles -- Austria -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Exiles -- United States -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Los Angeles (Calif.) -- Emigration and immigration -- Archival resources
Psychiatrists -- California -- Los Angeles -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Psychiatric clinics -- California -- Beverly Hills -- 20th century -- Archival resources
Psychiatry -- United States -- Archival resources
Psychotherapy -- United States -- Archival resources
Administrative records
Audiotapes
Audio recording wire
Correspondence
Research (documents)
Signs (declatory or advertising artifacts)
Hacker, Friedrich, 1914-1989 -- Archives
Hacker Psychiatric Clinic -- Archives
Adorno, Theodor W., 1903-1969 -- Correspondence
Freud, Anna, 1895-1982 -- Correspondence
Horkheimer, Max, 1895-1973 -- Correspondence
Koestler, Arthur, 1905-1983 -- Correspondence
McGovern, George S. (George Stanley), 1922-2012 -- Correspondence
Mann, Klaus, 1906-1949 -- Correspondence