Fredric Wertham

Dr. Fredric Wertham (March 20, 1895–November 29, 1981) was a German-American psychiatrist and crusading author who protested the purportedly harmful effects of mass media—comic books in particular—on the development of children. His best-known book was Seduction of the Innocent (1954), which led to a U.S. Congressional inquiry into the comic book industry and the creation of the Comics Code.

Early career

Wertham was born in Munich, Germany, studied in Munich, Erlangen, and London, and graduated from the University of Würzburg in 1921. Major influences on his psychiatric career included Sigmund Freud, with whom he corresponded, and Emil Kraepelin; in his work at the Kraepelin Clinic, Wertham absorbed the then-novel idea that environment and social background had major effects on psychological development. In 1922 he moved to the United States, working originally at Johns Hopkins University. In 1932 he moved to New York City, where he became the senior psychiatrist for the city's Department of Hospitals.

Related Topics:
Munich - Germany - Erlangen - London - University of Würzburg - 1921 - Sigmund Freud - Emil Kraepelin - 1922 - United States - Johns Hopkins University - 1932 - New York City

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Shortly after beginning his work in New York, Wertham entered the public eye as an expert witness in the trial of notorious serial killer Albert Fish. Fish was a psychopath, masochist, child molester, and cannibal, who had murdered at least fifteen children, and whose own childhood was marked by abuse and mental illness. Wertham said that there were no comparable cases in his extensive experience, and that Fish was the most deranged human being he had ever seen. Despite Wertham's testimony, Fish was judged sane and executed. Wertham later described the Fish case, and his involvement in other murder trials, in his 1949 book The Show of Violence.

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Wertham's first book, The Brain as an Organ (1934), was a general study of mental illness based on the theories of Kraepalin. But Wertham's work with troubled youth, and a clinical interest in popular culture, soon turned his focus to the negative influences of mass media. His 1941 book Dark Legend, later adapted into a play, was based on the true story of a 17-year-old murderer who, according to Wertham, had a dark fantasy life based on movies, radio plays and comic books. Comics were extremely popular among all youth at the time, so it was not surprising that young criminals also consumed them in large quantities, but Wertham increasingly saw a sinister connection.

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1934 - 1941

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Wertham's writing, in books and magazine articles, turned exclusively to the unwholesome effects of the media, and comic books in particular. He was not alone in these criticisms, but as a respected clinician who had been called to testify in trials and government hearings, he was particularly influential. Seduction of the Innocent (1954), and Wertham's subsequent public testimony about comic books, represented the peak of this influence.

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