Evening star., 1940-12-01

looked OUT OItO CIldl iIiiIib SdluCli
at the rear of the house. I told her
why I wanted to talk to her. She
said she had not gotten her clinic
started yet but that everything was
arranged. The city of Westminster
was giving her a building. Her as
sistants were to be men and women
she had worked with in Austria and
they were going to give her only
women and children who had al
ready shown some signs of fear and
strain. She hoped the center would
be helpful to them.
People Are Calm.
She said, You have never seen
anything like these people. You
wouldn't believe it unless you lived
here. They are so calm, and they
take it so well"
She said the psychiatrists Of Lon
don had met the week before to talk
about the very subject was asking
her about. She said the retreat
from Dunkerque had produced many
cases of shell shock among the SOL
diers and sailors who took part in 1t,
but that none of the psychiatrists
who discussed it together had sim
gle true case of shell shock to report
among the civilians of London.
There were no nervous breakdowns
that could be directly attributed to
the bombing. I'm a great CITY," she
said, there are always people whose
lives become too difficult for them to
handle, but we cannot see that they
have been aggravated by the bomb
ing"
I asked her about her own work.
She said her day was full with pri-
vate patients. The private patients
of an analyst are not usually people
without emotional difficulties. I
asked her about her own patients.
She said there was one girl whom
she was treating whose life was in a
very bad mess. She said the girl
now worked driving an ambulance.
Shed had a very bad bombing re-
Gently. The day after it she was in
a very agitated mental state. excited
and overtalkative. And the day
after that, too-only not so sharply.
But the third day she was quite
normal again. The experience of
the bombing had left no mark. Anna
Freud said she thought it was a
good case by which to judge the
effect of bombing on some one al
ready neurotiC.
Suitcases Kept Handy.
said this was the first suburban
house I had been in in London and
would she show me what she did
about air raids. She said. "Oh, I
would like to show you. You must
see the way the people here live in
it. First, outside the door you must
have noticed the pail of sand and
the little galvanized iron scoop at
the end of the wooden handle. The
sand Is to put out incendiary bombs.
The scoop to put on the sand ,or
pick up the bomb before it gets
really hot. You buy them at the
store. There are many different
kinds. Every one has them. Then
down by the door you will notice
four suitcases standing in the hall.
You can tell how many people nVe
In each house when you come in by
the suitcases standing in the hall.
You pack them with some clothes
and anything you want really to
take with you in case the house is
blown down or a time bomb falls
In it. Then on each stair landing
you will find another pail of sand
and perhaps a pail of water with a
bicycle pump beside ito pump the
water on the fire, you know" And
here we stepped out into the hall.
"You see the ladder-always left up
to reach the roof SO that when you
hear incendiary bombs fall you can
60 up and put them out"
1t was all exactly as simple and
as matter of fact as that. And in
every house into which I subse-