Impressions of Peter Petschauer

In the age of specialization and compartmentalization, it is a wonder that there are still people who combine scholarship and the arts. It is rare for writers to be both astutely argumentative and sensitively capable of touching the phenomena without explaining them away, instead giving them personal characterization while simultaneously offering well-researched insights to others. Peter Petschauer, as a historian, psychohistorian, educator, poet, writer, and patron of the arts, is one of such rare scholarly and poetic writers.

Of his large and engaging literary production, I can only give short impressions here. Whenever I read Peter’s texts, they often surprise me by being without technical jargon but still hitting the mark. Practically and experientially oriented, Peter does not concentrate on the intricacies of abstract theories. However, he can have sharp criticism concerning the cherished theoretical viewpoints when they bypass the variations in historical contexts and cultural practices. For example, Peter’s revisiting Lloyd deMause’s psychogenic theory of childhood and the childrearing modes stirred psychohistorians and showed that no psychohistorical theory can escape being “in flux” through—in Peter’s case—benevolent revision.

Even when Peter sharply exposes the effects of the lingering shadows of the past, he also explores the current issues, be they the situations of children, women, and families; the personal and collective traumatic re-enactments of wars and atrocities; or American hubris and anxieties. The large spectrum of topics in Peter’s writings can include seemingly incompatible phenomena, motives, emotions, and relations as well as reveal previously unnoticed unconscious undercurrents and connections of historical events, human actions, and socio-cultural webs.

One of Peter’s main means of literary expression is to write

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from the margins, from the periphery, which allows the exploration of and reflection on the emotions, conflicts, and coping mechanisms involved in various life passages and transitions by approaching them from several alternative points of view. Peter’s perspective creates a human, meaningful, and—despite all tragedies—hopeful space for which I, as a reader, am thankful. When meeting Peter in person, there is a welcoming smile that makes it easier to move forward toward the open-minded sharing of different conclusions.

On the reception of children, Peter has presented a clear outline by stating that “from the moment we are conceived, we are in the space of someone else. We are either embraced joyfully and lovingly or disliked as well as possibly poisoned with alcohol and drugs,” and goes on to say “This reception may be an indicator of how we will most likely be received after we are born. Even the smallest household/home can embrace us; the most miserable hut or the most sumptuous palace can abuse us” (Petschauer, 2022, p. 136). Such first receptions are formative, but they can be modified and developed through later receptions, as Peter’s own life history has convincingly testified.

Peter is keen on traveling and reporting. He can be found in German psychohistorical conferences speaking fluently in German and commenting on Russian issues, or visiting villages in northern Italy where he understands the local ways of speaking and joking. Once he asked me to help interpret a short recorded message of a Lithuanian old woman, which we managed to do with my Lithuanian friend. I have felt Peter’s European presence both astonishing and reassuring, as a kind of model of the versatile cooperation between American and European scholars.

Of course, Peter is also a great lover of art and poetry. The realms of creative processes are not restricted to “neutrally” stating the “facts” inside closed thought systems; they appeal to opening our minds to the colors, flavors, and fragrances, to sensing and feeling how our experiences and memories can be evoked to become more alive. To get to know Peter’s contributions is to have a learned and empathetic guide not only for studying the motives of human history but for attaining an enjoyable share of personal insight and transformation.

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