We Celebrate the Life of Dr. Saul Niedorf

By Dr. Curren Warf, President, PSR-LA Board of Directors

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of our great friend and comrade Dr. Saul Niedorf, a beloved child and adolescent psychiatrist and long time member and supporter of Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles. Saul died suddenly in the morning of March 17 in his fiftieth year of practicing medicine.

Renowned for his care and advocacy provided to vulnerable populations, in particular children, immigrants, refugees and incarcerated youth, Saul was on the clinical faculty at UCLA, an emeritus physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and was a consultant for the Department of Mental Health and the California Youth Authority. His colleagues still say that whenever they encountered a particularly difficult adolescent, Dr. Saul Niedorf that was the one to call. Patients always commented on his personal dedication to them and his dignity and kindness.

Saul went to Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights and, graduated from the UCLA  School of Social Work 1952. Blacklisted during the McCarthy era, he moved to Switzerland to complete his medical education where he studied under Jean Piaget. The State Department suspended his passport for five years, raising a serious concern that he may never be able to travel or return to the United States. Upon his return to the US, he became involved in the emerging civil rights movement, marching with Martin Luther King from Selma to Montgomery.  

In 1973 Saul and Ann Marie returned to Los Angeles where their home became a meeting place for many progressive organizers including the Caesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta of the United Farmworkers.

Saul understood the relationship between political conditions and the human psyche. During the 1980’s, the civil war in El Salvador drove thousands of political refugees north to the United States. The refugees presented compelling testimony in court documenting the use of bombing, torture, death and disappearances against the civilian population. After interviewing more than thirty refugees and reading countless depositions of others, Saul provided pivotal testimony to the court concluding that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was prevalent among those he had evaluated. In 1988, in a major victory for the human rights of immigrants and refugees, the court issued an injunction against the forcible return of Salvadorian refugees.

Saul had been a lifelong advocate for peace, nuclear disarmament and social justice. Despite having suffered severe personal consequences during the McCarthy era, Saul was fearless in raising his voice regarding controversial issues even during the most difficult times. Saul was known as an extraordinarily kind man, but beneath the kindness was profound courage. To be kind is to be open to others; he had the courage to be open. He was a man that cared deeply for others and refused to descend into cynicism. He was a powerful and effective advocate for civil rights, for the rights of refugees, for workers, for children and youth, for women, against the war in Vietnam and more recently in Iraq, and for nuclear disarmament. Saul was irrepressible and an inspiration to others and will always be a model of an American that lived his life with integrity and courage.

Saul and his wife Anne-Marie have made innumerable contributions to the struggle for peace, with their personal energy and time, opening their home as a refuge for organizers and for events, and encouraging their friends and associates to make financial contributions. His family asks that donations in commemoration of Saul be made to PSR-LA. Please click here to do so, and make sure to write in the notes that your gift is in memory of Dr. Saul Niedorf. You may also call the office at 213-689-9170 and ask to speak with Denise Duffield, or send your contribution in to PSR-LA, 617 S. Olive Street, Suite 810, Los Angeles, CA 90014.