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Erik Erikson

Erik Erikson was born in Frankfurt, Germany on June 15th, 1902. His biological father was an unnamed Danish man who abandoned Erik’s mother before he was born. His mother, Karla Abrahamsen, was a young Jewish woman who raised him alone for the first three years of his life. Erik’s mother married Dr. Theodor Homberger, Erik’s pediatrician and moved to Karlsrune in southern Germany. The development of identity seems to have been one of his greatest concerns in Erikson’s own life as well as in his history. During his childhood and early adulthood he was known as Erik Homberger, his parents kept the details of his birth a secret. Erik was a tall, blonde, blue-eyed boy who was Jewish. At school, Erik was teased for being Nordic, but at grammar school kids teased him for being Jewish.
After graduating high school, Erik was really concentrating on becoming an artist. When Erik wasn’t in art classes, he would be wandering Europe while visiting museums and sleeping under bridge...

Posted by: Tricia F. Doyle

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