Wikipedia (German): https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franziska_Baumgarten-Tramer
Wikipedia (Polish): https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franciszka_Baumgarten
Biographical sketch: https://www.psychoanalytikerinnen.de/osteuropa_biografien.html#Baumgarten (Google translate)
The psychologist Franziska (Franciszka) Baumgarten, born in the Russian-Polish city of Lodz, probably had no psychoanalytic training, but was one of the first to introduce Freud's teachings to Poland. She became known above all as a pioneer of psychotechnology. The daughter of a Jewish textile manufacturer, who was enthusiastic about socialist ideas at an early age, began studying literature, philosophy and psychology in Krakow in 1905. In 1906/1907 she studied philosophy, physics and chemistry in Paris (including under Marie Curie), then went to Zurich to do her doctorate there in 1910/1911 on The Epistemology of Maine de Biran. In the same year she took an introduction to experimental psychology with Oswald Külpe in Bonn, moved to Berlin in 1911 and became a student of Hugo Münsterberg, the founder of psychotechnology. From 1911 to 1914 Franziska Baumgarten lived in Lodz again and gave lectures there on psychotechnology, but also on psychoanalysis. In 1912, an extensive essay by her on Sigmund Freud's interpretation of dreams appeared in the journal Neurologia Polska. At the beginning of the First World War she moved to Berlin and spent her most scientifically productive period there from 1914 to 1924. Among other things, she took part in professional aptitude tests and was a member of the commission for examining particularly gifted Berlin community school students until 1924. Her research in the field of applied psychology was particularly influenced by Édouard Claparède, initiator of the Cercle psychanalytique Genevois and the International Psychotechnical Association, of which Franziska Baumgarten was a member of the board from 1922. In 1924 she moved to Switzerland and married the child psychiatrist Moritz Tramer (1882-1963), director of the Rosegg Cantonal Hospital and Nursing Home in Solothurn. She continued her scientific research in Switzerland, was qualified as a professor in 1929 by the Faculty of Philosophy and History in Bern, and gave lectures there on psychotechnology and work psychology topics from 1930 until her retirement in 1954. Her most important publications include the standard work Die Berufsaptitudeprüfungen (1928), which has been translated into several languages, and Die Psychologie der Menschenbehandlung im Betrieb (1930). For example, she developed a saying test to determine work ethic and was particularly interested in the personality trait of sociability, i.e. the ability to learn socially.
Franziska Baumgarten-Tramer suffered from progressive hearing loss and an eye disease since the 1930s. She died impoverished in a hospital in Bern.
Another biographical sketch is included in Andrew J. Vinchur's The Early Years of Industrial and Organizational Psychology:
Franziska Baumgarten-Tramer (1886–1970) was an important figure in the development of industrial psychology in Switzerland. Born in Lodz, Poland, Baumgarten-Tramer abandoned her goal to be a writer after hearing her first university psychology lecture (Baumgarten, 1975). Educated at the Universities of Cracow, Paris, Zürich, Bonn, and Berlin, she received her Ph.D. from the latter in 1917 (Murchison, 1929; Stevens & Gardner, 1982). Baumgarten-Tramer’s interest in industrial psychology was the result of a lecture on that subject by Hugo Münsterberg at the University of Berlin. “After this hour I know immediately, ‘I shall become an industrial psychologist’” (Baumgarten, 1975, p. 489). She further noted that she had had an affinity for factories since childhood and that she had a great deal of respect for factory workers. Deeply concerned about issues such as inadequate pay and overwork, Baumgarten-Tramer said that Münsterberg showed her an avenue to deal with these worker concerns as a psychologist rather than a political activist (Baumgarten, 1975). Baumgarten-Tramer’s initial publication in industrial psychology was a 1919 paper titled Einige Bermerkungen zur Frage der Berufseignungsprüfung (Comments on the Questions of a Job Suitability Test) (cited in Canziani, 1975). She came to believe that in addition to ability and interest, it is important to assess qualities of character in determining an individual’s chances for job success. She investigated traits such as dishonesty, gratitude, and “empathetic intuition” and also evaluated the whole character. Baumgarten-Tramer developed a typology of workers, published a standard text in 1930 – Die Psychologie der Menschenbehandlung (The Psychology of Human Treatment in Industry) (cited in Stevens & Gardner, 1982) – and also published historical accounts of industrial psychology. Similar to many psychologists of her generation who had an interest in industrial psychology, Baumgarten-Tramer was an applied psychologist in the broad sense. In addition to her industrial work, she published work in developmental psychology, psychic distress, educational psychology, and other areas. Baumgarten-Tramer had a strong interest in morality and justice. The German industrial psychologist Curt Piorkowski described her as the “Conscience of Psychology” (Canziani, 1975). The section on Germany in this chapter illustrates this with her blistering critique of the actions of some German psychologists during the period of National Socialism.
Bloch, Alexander: Baumgarten (-Tramèr), Franziska. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland.
Daub, Edlegard, Franziska Baumgarten: Eine Frau zwischen akademischer und praktischer Psychologie (1996).
Goldstein, Mira (2018). Profile of Franziska Baumgarten In A. Rutherford (Ed.), Psychology's Feminist Voices Multimedia Internet Archive. Retrieved from http://www.feministvoices.com/franziska-baumgarten/
Rudmin, Floyd, "Franziska Baumgarten (1883 - 1970): Early Female, Jewish, Peace Psychologist," Prepared Nov. 2006 for submission to Peace Psychology
Schlicht, Laurens (October 17, 2023). Fortschritt reparieren. Die Psychologin Franziska Baumgarten kommentiert die deutsche Psychologie im Nationalsozialismus. ["Repairing progress. Psychologist Franziska Baumgarten comments on German psychology during the National Socialist era.] Geschichtstheorie am Werk. Retrieved November 2, 2024 from https://doi.org/10.58079/pczl.
Walter-Busch, Emil, "Streitbare Pionierin der angewandten Psychologie in der Schweiz: Franziska Baumgarten" ["Controversial pioneer of applied psychology in Switzerland: Franziska Baumgarten"], chapter in Formen angewandter Sozialforschung der Wirtschaft in Europa und den USA, 1890 - 1950 (2006).