Explaining an Historical Puzzle: Freudian Errors and the Origin of the Declaration on the Policy of "Unconditional Surrender" in the Second World War

Abstract

Historians have long been perplexed over the strange and incompatible versions of Churchill and Roosevelt concerning the declaration on the policy Unconditional Surrender at the 1943 Casablanca conference. This controversial policy had been of high importance in shaping the Western Allies' strategy in the Second World War. In light of the available documents and the attitudes of the two men before and after the declaration, most researchers believe that their versions were not correct. This article rearranges the known facts, interpreting them through the Freudian explanation of common human errors such as a slip of the tongue and a mislaying (parapraxes).