I'm An American -- Gregory Zilboorg

On March 2, 1941 Gregory Zilboorg shared his thoughts about the rise in European immigrants to America with William H. Marshall, Assistant District Director of Immigration at Ellis Island. Dr. Zilboorg states that foreign and naturalized citizens make up more than a quarter of the American population. He explains how the the Nazi regime is exiling intellectuals, doctors, teachers, scientists, scholars, artists, etc. who oppose them. The psychiatrist states the “Old World is casting out those it cannot feed spirituall.” Dr. Zilboorg believes the needs of refugees can be met because there is no caste system in America. He references America’s ability to be “conservative radicals.”Zilboorg closes the program stating that if democratic conditions continue, America will have made a cultural achievement. Dr. Gregory Zilboorg was born on December 25, 1890 in Kiev, Ukraine. He obtained his medical degree in St. Petersburg. In 1919, he emigrated to the United States. Zilboorg earned a living as a translator while studying medicine at Columbia University. After graduating in 1926, he began working at Bloomingdale Hospital in New York City. Zilboorg went on to establish a psychoanalytic practice and produced several volumes on the history of psychiatry. He also wrote a series of clinical articles on personality disorders and various forms of depression. His writings often explored the effects of unresolved conflicts and countertransference.