Biography
Conrad (Koert) W. Baars was born in Rotterdam, Netherlands on January 2, 1919. He was the second of six children.
He began his studies in Chemical Engineering at the University of Amsterdam. Later, he decided to study medicine. During World War II, the Nazis bombed Rotterdam. The Dutch could no longer be neutral in the war; Baars was forced to flee the country. He joined the French underground resistance. During an organized escape to Spain over the Pyrenees mountains, his group got lost in a sudden snowstorm. Later, they were captured by the Nazis.
After being questioned by the Gestapo, Baars was sent to a concentration camp north of Paris. In the winter of 1943, he was transferred to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. Because he was a medical student, he was put in charge of nursing the sick. Despite having better living conditions because of his position, he lost several teeth and suffered from a weakened heart due to malnutrition. He was freed on April 11, 1945; the day the American army arrived.
In 1946, Baars came to the United States on a student visa. He was an intern at a hospital in Mount Vernon, New York. Later, he moved to Chicago, Illinois to complete a residency program. There, he met his wife, Mary Jean Kennedy. Because of their marriage, Conrad Baars was able to apply for citizenship. His citizenship was granted on January 15, 1951.
After his marriage, Baars went into a residency program for psychiatry at the Minneapolis General Hospital in Minnesota. He grew disillusioned with the current practice of psychotherapy (psychoanalysis) and considered leaving the profession. But, he encountered the works of Anna Terruwe. He was impressed by her practice of integrating psychology with spirituality. Eventually, he and Terruwe collaborated. They developed a model of practicing psychiatry based on the mediæval theologian Thomas Aquinas.
Conrad Baars held a private practice in San Antonio, Texas. He also wrote books on his ideas and lectured around the country in hopes of reforming the practice of psychiatry. He died on October 18, 1981. His daughter Suzanne Baars carries on his work.
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