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That Difficult Peace
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This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
198 pages, Hardcover
First published August 13, 2015
About the author
Joost A.M. Meerloo
18 books68 followersJoost Abraham Maurits Meerloo (March 14, 1903 – November 17, 1976) was a Dutch Doctor of Medicine and psychoanalyst.
Born as Abraham Maurits 'Bram' Meerloo in The Hague, Netherlands, he came to United States in 1946, was naturalized in 1950, and resumed Dutch citizenship in 1972. Dr. Meerloo was a practicing psychiatrist for over forty years. He did staff psychiatric work in Holland and worked as a general practitioner until 1942 under Nazi occupation, when he assumed the name Joost to fool the occupying forces and in 1942 fled to England (after barely eluding death at the hands of the Germans). He was chief of the Psychological Department of the Dutch Army-in-Exile in England.
After the war he served as High Commissioner for Welfare in Holland, and was an advisor to UNRRA and SHAEF. An American citizen since 1950, Dr. Meerloo was a member of the faculty at Columbia University and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the New York School of Psychiatry. He was the author of many books, including Rape of the Mind, the classic work on brainwashing, Conversation and Communication, and Hidden Communion.
He was the son of Bernard and Anna Frederika (Benjamins) Meerloo. He married Elisabeth Johanna Kalf(f), Den Haag, May 16, 1928, divorce Februari 19, 1946. He married Louisa Betty 'Loekie' Duits (a physical therapist), New York, May 7, 1948.
Education: University of Leiden, M.D., 1927; University of Utrecht, Ph.D., 1932.
Meerloo specialized in the area of thought control techniques used by totalitarian regimes.
Born as Abraham Maurits 'Bram' Meerloo in The Hague, Netherlands, he came to United States in 1946, was naturalized in 1950, and resumed Dutch citizenship in 1972. Dr. Meerloo was a practicing psychiatrist for over forty years. He did staff psychiatric work in Holland and worked as a general practitioner until 1942 under Nazi occupation, when he assumed the name Joost to fool the occupying forces and in 1942 fled to England (after barely eluding death at the hands of the Germans). He was chief of the Psychological Department of the Dutch Army-in-Exile in England.
After the war he served as High Commissioner for Welfare in Holland, and was an advisor to UNRRA and SHAEF. An American citizen since 1950, Dr. Meerloo was a member of the faculty at Columbia University and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the New York School of Psychiatry. He was the author of many books, including Rape of the Mind, the classic work on brainwashing, Conversation and Communication, and Hidden Communion.
He was the son of Bernard and Anna Frederika (Benjamins) Meerloo. He married Elisabeth Johanna Kalf(f), Den Haag, May 16, 1928, divorce Februari 19, 1946. He married Louisa Betty 'Loekie' Duits (a physical therapist), New York, May 7, 1948.
Education: University of Leiden, M.D., 1927; University of Utrecht, Ph.D., 1932.
Meerloo specialized in the area of thought control techniques used by totalitarian regimes.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 5, 2024
Interesting ideas that continue to be important even today.
I just don't agree with his exarcebated idea of pacifism, or just understood it wrongly.
In the face of real danger, even more on a world of psychological intrusion and mass manipulation, I feel you do need to stand strong in your beliefs, even if it means being aggressive.
Also, there's danger in a central organization that oversees peace, as suggested by Meerloo and his ideas about UNESCO. Any organization can be easily corrupted or taken in wrong directions, and too much international power can easily turn into a fascist totalitarian force instead of a peacekeeping one. We have quite a few examples nowadays.
Still, I agree modern man is too eager for war and we know all too well how lucrative wars can be for some people... It is in the interest of some great powers to keep people in an aggressive mindset. Sadly, things have gotten worse in this front since Meerloo's time.
He wrote about the automatization of man even before personal computers were this common and well, before smartphones. The level of mind-numbness today is scary and worrying and Meerloo would probably be desperate to see what our civilization has turned into.
I just don't agree with his exarcebated idea of pacifism, or just understood it wrongly.
In the face of real danger, even more on a world of psychological intrusion and mass manipulation, I feel you do need to stand strong in your beliefs, even if it means being aggressive.
Also, there's danger in a central organization that oversees peace, as suggested by Meerloo and his ideas about UNESCO. Any organization can be easily corrupted or taken in wrong directions, and too much international power can easily turn into a fascist totalitarian force instead of a peacekeeping one. We have quite a few examples nowadays.
Still, I agree modern man is too eager for war and we know all too well how lucrative wars can be for some people... It is in the interest of some great powers to keep people in an aggressive mindset. Sadly, things have gotten worse in this front since Meerloo's time.
He wrote about the automatization of man even before personal computers were this common and well, before smartphones. The level of mind-numbness today is scary and worrying and Meerloo would probably be desperate to see what our civilization has turned into.
Displaying 1 of 1 review