The Phantasmatic Core of Fascism: Psychoanalytic Theories of Antisemitism and Group Aggression Amongst the ‘Political Freudians’

The period predating and overlapping with World War II saw psychoanalytic authors respond to the authoritarian fascist developments in Europe through scholarly analytical writings. These authors, sometimes referenced as ‘political Freudians’, were interested bringing psychoanalysis a dialogue progressive social pedagogical movements of their times, focusing critique on persecutory, eliminatory purificatory fantasies, which they animating fascistic Europe. This article analyses selected texts by Otto Fenichel, Ernst Simmel Rudolf Loewenstein argues that these asked about political ethical stakes constructions its ideal subject; one was armoured against threats dispossession perpetuated racialized minorities. In different ways, thinkers showed projection, paranoia, scapegoating ego-regression became operative group phenomena at historical moment. By engaging texts, it becomes possible not only understand better history how critical theorising developed backdrop war-time European history, but also consider contribution concepts desire, irrationality, fantasy affect make studies fascism, historically, perhaps today.