Catalogue description Martin Freud Papers

Freud, Martin

Jean-Martin Freud was born in Vienna on 6 December 1889 as the eldest son of Sigmund Freud and Martha Bernays. He was named after the French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot but eventually he was just known as Martin.

He studied law at university and went on to sign up for the artillery service during the First World War. In 1915 he was called up to serve in Galicia, Italy and was eventually promoted to lieutenant. Whilst serving, he was captured and spent time in an Italian prisoner of war camp. In 1919 he had been released and was engaged to Ernestine Drucker, the daughter of a Viennese lawyer. On 7 December 1919 they married and went on to have two children, Anton Walter Freud (born 3 April 1921) and Myriam Sophie Loewenstein-Freud (born 6 August 1924).

As well as working in a bank, Martin helped manage his father's books. Martin and his family left Austria on 14 May 1938. Ernestine stayed in France but Martin went to London. He became estranged from his wife although they never divorced. In July 1940, he was detained as a "foreign enemy" at Huyton Camp, Liverpool where he stayed until November of that year. Martin had a number of jobs but ended up running a tobacconist in Bloomsbury. In 1958 he published a book of memoirs 'Sigmund Freud: Man and Father'. Martin died in London on 25 April 1967.