Arnold Hutschnecker

Arnold Aaron Hutschnecker (13 May 1898 – 28 December 2000) was an Austrian-American medical doctor with a specialisation in psychiatry.

Early life and education

Hutschnecker was born and grew up in Austria. He served in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I. He then studied medicine at Humboldt University, Berlin, specialized in psychiatry.

Career Hutschnecker opened a medical practice in Berlin. He became a vocal critic of Adolf Hitler's National Socialist government. He emigrated to the United States in 1938 and settled in New York City, where he obtained a licence to practice internal medicine and psychiatry.

Among his patients was Richard Nixon. He also advised Nixon on child care policy, presenting a plan promoting daycare for preschool children in lower economic neighborhoods.

He also developed a reputation and wrote articles on the psychology of leadership, and advised Gerald Ford. He published a number of books, of which The Will to Live became a bestseller.

Hutschnecker was in the news when he wrote that politicians should be required to take a psychiatric examination before running for office. He also suggested that all children be given a test to determine the likelihood of criminal behavior.

Hutschnecker died 28 December 2000, in Sherman, Connecticut.

Publications

The Will to Live, Prentice-Hall 1951. Love and Hate in Human Nature, Crowell, 1955. The Drive for Power, M.Evans and Comp. 1974