Was Ernest Dichter A Materialist?

Ernest Dichter (b. 14 August 1907 in Vienna; d. 21 November 1991 in Peekskill, New York) was a psychologist and marketing expert who is widely considered to be the "father of motivational research." He received his doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1934 and emigrated with his wife Hedy (née Langfelder) to the United States in 1937. http://www.wikipedia.com/

Born an Austrian Jew, he was one of few with the foresight and wherewithal to emigrate in the late 30s, first to Paris and then to the U.S. Nearly all his family was killed during WWII, many in concentration camps.

From The Handbook of Consumer Motivations, “The Soul of Things” 1964 By Ernest Dichter

The bedraggled column of refugees struggle down a muddy road, their backs bent under their few possessions. A few pieces of clothing, sometimes a mattress, or even a sewing machine stick out weirdly. They mean life to people. Some of the things are important for survival; most of them, however, such as the child’s doll or the long since faded and useless wedding dress of the woman, are a tangible anchorage, as accent on life’s continuity. They are needed for the glow they give, however weak, in the bottomless darkness of human despair. Hollow hands clasp ludicrous possessions because they are truly lost.

During World War II literally tens of thousands of people refused to leave their homeland because they felt they could not leave their possessions behind. They were eventually caught and immediately killed or dragged off into concentration camps and punished because of their infantile attachment to tangible, hard, security-giving but deadly things and objects.