Psychiatry in Communist Europe

“Challenging standard interpretations of psychiatry in communist-era Europe, this collection offers important contributions to the social history of medicine. The ten chapters illustrate a rich variety of topics, particularly around treatment options, national-cultural differences, and contest within the Soviet psychiatric profession. … the extensive array of primary sources cited, and the variety of topics and settings offered, demonstrates the scope for continuing study in this sphere.” (Susan Burch, H-Net Disability, netoworks.h-net.org, January, 2016)

“Psychiatry in Communist Europe is important reading for anybody interested in the relationship between science and ideology. Not only does it offer thick descriptions of how politics impacted psychiatric knowledge in various national contexts in eastern Europe, it also importantly moves the study of psychiatry in this region beyond the well-known theme of politically motivated psychiatric abuse. … this collection could be a very effective learning tool in undergraduate courses on the global history of medicine.” (Maria Cristina Galmarini-Kabala, Slavic Review, 2016)

“This is the first book to address the history of psychiatry under Communism in Central and Eastern Europe, from the Soviet Union to East Germany. It brings together new research addressing understandings of mental health and disorder, treatments and therapies, and the interplay between politics, ideology and psychiatry. … The study deconstructs a predominant totalitarian interpretation frame and embeds the history of psychiatry in Communism in a broader context.” (Felicitas Söhner, pol-int.org, July, 2015)