8. Freud had a large family in Vienna before the end of the 19th century
Freud and his wife Martha had six children during their marriage, born between 1887 and 1895. In 1891 the family, then consisting of three children, moved to an apartment in a historical neighborhood of Vienna, which would remain Freud’s home until 1938. In 1896, as Freud’s published papers began to generate extensive controversy within the medical community, Martha’s sister, Minna Bernays moved into the apartment as well, becoming a permanent member of the household after her fiancé died. Freud and Minna became close, leading to rumors of an affair between the two.
The rumor of an affair between Freud and his wife’s sister began with one-time Freud protégé Carl Jung, long after Jung had broken up with his mentor. Jung mentioned the affair as a matter of historical fact during an interview in 1957, claiming that Minna had confessed it to him when he visited the Freud home in 1907. He met Minna just a few days earlier, or so Jung claimed. In 2006 a hotel log in Switzerland was found which confirmed Freud and Minna had stayed there in 1898, registering as Freud and his wife. While the discovery confirmed the affair for many, others continue to doubt that Freud and his sister-in-law had an illicit affair.