Three men—Stjepan Betlheim, Hugo Klajn, and Nichola Sugar—born at the end of the nineteenth century are at the root of psychoanalysis in Yugoslavia. Having completed their medical studies and specialized in neuropsychiatry in Germany and Austria, their return to what was then the kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes marked the beginning of the spread of psychoanalytic ideas in this region. They had to contend with the resistance of the psychiatric milieu and the polite interest of the intellectuals, except in Belgrade where they met with great success in artistic circles.

Because they were Jews, these pioneers naturally found themselves in the Resistance during World War II. The victory over fascism and Nazism conferred an authority on them that translated into the creation of psychoanalytically informed treatment centers.

Psychoanalytic thinking spread very rapidly in Sarajevo under the impetus of Dr. Aleksandar...