Dreams Under Dictatorship: Charlotte Beradt, Social Dreaming, and the Echoes of Collective Psyche

Author: Ben Grosser

Within the shadowed corridors of totalitarian regimes, characterised by pervasive surveillance and the suppression of dissent, the realm of dreams surfaces as a refuge—a final bastion of unarticulated truths and suppressed fears. Charlotte Beradt’s Das Dritte Reich des Traums (The Third Reich of Dreams) presents a haunting examination of this refuge, chronicling how the Nazi regime penetrated not only public life but also the intimate domains of the subconscious.

Charlotte Beradt: Chronicler of the Unconscious
In 1933, Charlotte Beradt, a Jewish journalist in Berlin, faced suppression from the Nazi regime. Yet, she began a secretive endeavour: gathering and recording the dreams of everyday Germans from 1933 to 1939. These dreams, collected from people of all backgrounds—such as tailors, neighbors, milkmen, and friends—were carefully documented, exposing the pervasive influence of authoritarianism on the human psyche.

Beradt’s mission was fraught with danger; she concealed her notes within book covers and smuggled them overseas, always wary of being caught by the Gestapo. Her compilation, published in 1966, consists of fifty “dreams dictated by dictatorship,” providing a distinctive psychological insight into the time. These dreams transcend mere nighttime visions; they vividly illustrate a society struggling with fear, guilt, and the gradual loss of personal liberties.

Dreams as Mirrors of a Fractured Society
The dreams collected by Beradt are replete with symbols of oppression and internal conflict. One dreamer envisions a mind-reading machine capable of detecting subversive thoughts, reflecting the pervasive fear of surveillance. Another individual dreams of being unable to perform the Nazi salute, resulting in a broken backbone—a potent metaphor for the physical and moral contortions demanded by the regime. These narratives underscore a critical insight: even as the regime sought to obliterate individuality and moral judgment, the unconscious resisted. Dreamers still discerned right from wrong, their inner compasses intact despite external coercion. However, the dreams also reveal a populace increasingly paralysed by fear, with their actions dictated not by conviction but by survival.

A chilling affirmation of this intrusion into private life comes from Robert Ley, the Nazi Reich Organisation Leader, who proclaimed:
“Der einzige Mensch, der in Deutschland noch ein Privatleben führt, ist jemand, der schläft.”
“The only person in Germany who still leads a private life is someone who is asleep.”

Beradt’s work poignantly refutes this claim, illustrating that even sleep offered no refuge from the regime’s reach. Dreams became arenas where individuals confronted their deepest anxieties, a testament to the totalitarian state’s pervasive influence.

The Genesis of Social Dreaming: Gordon Lawrence’s Vision
Years later, Gordon Lawrence, a psychoanalyst at the Tavistock Institute in London, recognised the importance of Beradt's work. In 1982, he introduced the idea of “social dreaming,” a practice wherein groups share and analyse their dreams to gain joint insights. Unlike conventional psychoanalysis, which centres on personal interpretation, social dreaming investigates the collective unconscious, aiming to comprehend societal undercurrents and shared experiences.

​Lawrence’s approach transcended traditional therapy; it served as a means of social analysis. By exploring individuals' dreams within a group framework, social dreaming seeks to uncover the underlying thoughts and feelings that influence a community. This method has been applied in diverse contexts globally, ranging from organisational growth to examining cultural and political shifts. Beradt’s recordings of dreams during a totalitarian regime illustrate how collective dreams mirror societal realities. Her research indicated that dreams are not standalone events but are profoundly connected to the socio-political landscape, a concept that is central to social dreaming's methodology.

Tapping into the Collective Unconscious
Social dreaming suggests that dreams serve as a portal to the collective unconscious, which is a common store of experiences, fears, and hopes. By participating in this practice, groups can tap into a shared narrative, gaining valuable insights into humanity's psychological development. It contests the belief that dreams are merely personal experiences, proposing instead that they are interconnected elements within a grander human consciousness. 
This viewpoint encourages us to contemplate the idea that every individual has access to a communal repository of knowledge—collective memory shaping our actions and convictions. Through social dreaming, we can delve into this collective pool, revealing patterns and themes that extend beyond personal experiences. It offers a way to understand ourselves not just as solitary individuals but as active contributors to a larger human narrative.

Reflections in Contemporary Society
Beradt’s and Lawrence’s work remains highly relevant today, offering a framework for exploring contemporary societal dynamics. Recent social dreaming matrices indicate that participants frequently dream of loss, despair, and a pervasive sense of decline. These shared dreams reflect our current anxieties, including the rise of authoritarianism, global conflicts, and the diminishing of democratic principles. 

The revival of right-wing ideologies, persistent warfare, and disrupted diplomatic relations generates a collective unease similar to what Beradt observed. As in earlier times, dreams serve as a means for societies to process trauma and address the unconscious effects of external chaos.
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By collectively engaging with these dreams, we can cultivate a better understanding of the psychological forces influencing our world. Social dreaming thus becomes a vehicle for self-reflection as well as a means of promoting communal healing and resilience.

Conclusion: The Enduring Power of Dreams
The works of Charlotte Beradt, specifically Das Dritte Reich des Traums, alongside Gordon Lawrence’s concept of social dreaming, illuminate the profound connection between our inner worlds and the societies in which we reside. These contributions reveal that dreams are not merely figments of imagination; they reflect our deepest fears, values, and aspirations.
During periods of crisis, when external expression is suppressed, dreams persist as vessels of truth and forms of resistance. By engaging in the collective sharing and analysis of these dreams, we access a reservoir of collective wisdom, gaining insights that can lead us toward a more conscious and compassionate society.
 
As we traverse the complexities of the contemporary world, we should not underestimate the significance of our dreams. Rather, we ought to embrace them as reflections of our collective psyche, instruments for understanding, and beacons that guide us through the darkness toward a more enlightened future.

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References:

• Beradt, Charlotte. Das Dritte Reich des Traums. Suhrkamp Verlag, 1966.
• Lawrence, Gordon. Social Dreaming @ Work. Karnac Books, 1998.
• “How Dreams Change Under Authoritarianism.” The New Yorker, 2019.
• “Socio-analysis.” Wikipedia, 2025.
• “Träume vom Terror.” Der Spiegel, 2025.