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The Psychopathic God
"A triumph--a wonderful mixture of psychological perception and good sense. . . . Even though a thousand books are written on Hitler, this will long remain the best."--H. Stuart Hughes
The Psychopathic God is the definitive psychological portrait of Adolph Hitler. By documenting accounts of his behavior, beliefs, tastes, fears, and compulsions, Robert Waite sheds new light on this complex figure. But Waite's ultimate aim is to explain how Hitler's psychopathology changed German--and world--history. With The Psychopathic God we can begin to understand Hitler as never before.
The Psychopathic God is the definitive psychological portrait of Adolph Hitler. By documenting accounts of his behavior, beliefs, tastes, fears, and compulsions, Robert Waite sheds new light on this complex figure. But Waite's ultimate aim is to explain how Hitler's psychopathology changed German--and world--history. With The Psychopathic God we can begin to understand Hitler as never before.
512 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 28, 2015
A very flawed, but interesting book - and worth spending a day or so on.
The first chapter ("The Image and the Man"), a *description* of Hitler's extensive neuroses and pathologies and contradictions is fascinating, and the best part of the book. The second chapter, on his Intellectual World, is fairly well done, but is material that is familiar from other, and more well-developed sources. Chapter three, which attempts *explain* Hitler's neuroses and pathologies, by giving a Freudian aetiology, is not persuasive. (I say that as someone who is a great admirer of Freud, but not of Freudians -- essentially, Freudian analysis is like a piece of charcoal; in the hands of a genius, it brings out a truth about the world; but in the hands of the epigoni, it always looks contrived.). Though the stuff about Hitler's sex life (219-243) is pretty cool. According to Waite, six of the seven women who can be intimitately linked to Hitler, either committed suicide or seriously attempted it (Mimi Reiter, attempted to hang herself in 1928; Geli Raubal shot herself in 1931; Eva Braun twice attempt to kill herself - in 1932 and 1935 --, though she wanted to get closer to Hitler, whereas all the others were trying to get away from him; and Inge Ley, the actress Renaté Mueller, and Suzi Liptauer -- all succeeded. Unity Mitford's attempted suicide was politically motivated, according to Waite).
Waite accepts Walter Langer's claim that Hitler, ever the sado-masochist, was into coprophilia -- that he liked women to squat over him and then, when he got excited, to 'let it flow'. Most of these women, including those mentioned above, were disgusted by him. Waite also thinks that Hitler was a latent homosexual, who tried to cover it up with a numbingly neurotic brutality.
Chapter four is a history of Germany, and adds little and chapter five, from Private Neuroses to Public Policy, suffers from the same flaws as does chapter three.
Waite, in sum, thus focuses on the neurotic element in Hitler. But this can't be quite right.
Whereas Stalin (and many of his henchmen) was an extreme, but otherwise fairly ordinary sociopath/psychopath -- no affect or empathy; Hitler was that, but was also much else besides. He was probably bipolar, psychotic (i.e., schizophrenic -- "neurotics build castles in the air, but psychotics live in them"..., as the old saw goes), and possibly bordering on multiple personality disorder. In other words, he was insane -- along with having all these infantilizing neuroses, including sado-masochism (which Waite connects with Hitler's monorchism), sexual impotence, finger chewing, etc. etc..
Thus, he was a far more complicated case than Stalin.
And on top of that, he was a genius -- almost total recall, a capacity for the rhetorical control of the masses that history may never (hopefully) see again..., those astounding eyes that captivated everyone who ever met him... In other words, he had extraordinary intellectual capacities, that was linked with an intellectual arrested development that was itself extreme (he was extremely lazy, and seems never to have grown out of the ideés fixes he had developed by 1910; indeed, Stalin was a prodigeous reader, but Hitler read very few books -- mostly pamphlets).
In sum, he was not only a lunatic *and* a genius (bad enough), but he was also a lunatic OF genius -- taking his grandiose self-delusions *almost* to the point of reality...
At the cost, to be sure, of millions and millions of lives...
What a character...!
The first chapter ("The Image and the Man"), a *description* of Hitler's extensive neuroses and pathologies and contradictions is fascinating, and the best part of the book. The second chapter, on his Intellectual World, is fairly well done, but is material that is familiar from other, and more well-developed sources. Chapter three, which attempts *explain* Hitler's neuroses and pathologies, by giving a Freudian aetiology, is not persuasive. (I say that as someone who is a great admirer of Freud, but not of Freudians -- essentially, Freudian analysis is like a piece of charcoal; in the hands of a genius, it brings out a truth about the world; but in the hands of the epigoni, it always looks contrived.). Though the stuff about Hitler's sex life (219-243) is pretty cool. According to Waite, six of the seven women who can be intimitately linked to Hitler, either committed suicide or seriously attempted it (Mimi Reiter, attempted to hang herself in 1928; Geli Raubal shot herself in 1931; Eva Braun twice attempt to kill herself - in 1932 and 1935 --, though she wanted to get closer to Hitler, whereas all the others were trying to get away from him; and Inge Ley, the actress Renaté Mueller, and Suzi Liptauer -- all succeeded. Unity Mitford's attempted suicide was politically motivated, according to Waite).
Waite accepts Walter Langer's claim that Hitler, ever the sado-masochist, was into coprophilia -- that he liked women to squat over him and then, when he got excited, to 'let it flow'. Most of these women, including those mentioned above, were disgusted by him. Waite also thinks that Hitler was a latent homosexual, who tried to cover it up with a numbingly neurotic brutality.
Chapter four is a history of Germany, and adds little and chapter five, from Private Neuroses to Public Policy, suffers from the same flaws as does chapter three.
Waite, in sum, thus focuses on the neurotic element in Hitler. But this can't be quite right.
Whereas Stalin (and many of his henchmen) was an extreme, but otherwise fairly ordinary sociopath/psychopath -- no affect or empathy; Hitler was that, but was also much else besides. He was probably bipolar, psychotic (i.e., schizophrenic -- "neurotics build castles in the air, but psychotics live in them"..., as the old saw goes), and possibly bordering on multiple personality disorder. In other words, he was insane -- along with having all these infantilizing neuroses, including sado-masochism (which Waite connects with Hitler's monorchism), sexual impotence, finger chewing, etc. etc..
Thus, he was a far more complicated case than Stalin.
And on top of that, he was a genius -- almost total recall, a capacity for the rhetorical control of the masses that history may never (hopefully) see again..., those astounding eyes that captivated everyone who ever met him... In other words, he had extraordinary intellectual capacities, that was linked with an intellectual arrested development that was itself extreme (he was extremely lazy, and seems never to have grown out of the ideés fixes he had developed by 1910; indeed, Stalin was a prodigeous reader, but Hitler read very few books -- mostly pamphlets).
In sum, he was not only a lunatic *and* a genius (bad enough), but he was also a lunatic OF genius -- taking his grandiose self-delusions *almost* to the point of reality...
At the cost, to be sure, of millions and millions of lives...
What a character...!
December 25, 2012
Honest, warm and nostalgic.
April 18, 2017
This is a rough one to get through, but you definitely realize that to call the man 'crazy' is to discount a lot of what it takes to create such a person. Very informative, almost to the point of being too informative to a psychology amateur such as myself. Still...I liked it. I know the man/monster much better now that I know the 'how' and 'why.'
January 14, 2018
Fascinating look into the possible development of a dictator. The look into Hitler’s pre WWI years as a coffee house dandy is very interesting. In this Book he is described as a romantic early on. He was apparently quite idealistic from the start.
February 11, 2021
Recensie volgt op mn website
December 27, 2015
This book has the defects of its virtues and vice versa. It is also very definitely a product of its times, as Waite's careful, literal, by-the-book Freudian psychoanalysis shows. I don't think anything he says about Hitler's childhood can be trusted (except that, yeah, the household of Alois Hitler was seriously weird), whether it's his speculations about the "primal scene" he thinks Hitler witnessed or his speculations about Hitler's monorchism or his putatively Jewish grandfather or any of the rest of it (including the coprophilia). Freud is least useful when you take him literally. But Waite's analysis of the adult Hitler I found very enlightening, in particular his [Waite's] patient refutation of Hitler's lies about his years in Vienna and the connections he makes between Hitler's private neuroses and his public performances.
August 25, 2023
Very good book on Hitler's personality. The anecdotes and quotes from Hitler's contemporaries are probably the best aspect. The author makes the sensible judgement to discuss Hitler objectively; that is, to refrain from dismissing him as simply 'crazy.'
The Freudian analysis is a bit thick at times, leading to some sweeping conclusions. I doubt, for example, that witnessing his parents having sex had as traumatic an effect as stated. Not to mention that there's obviously no way to prove that the event actually occurred.
It's interesting to note how Hitler and Stalin admired each other; the author's correct that, while Stalin was as evil as Hitler, he probably wasn't as complicated psychologically. Stalin was strictly an opportunist who would've supported any path to power, whereas Hitler could only have risen to power through the movement and ideology that he created.
The book is overly-ambitious as it has a whole chapter devoted to German history; that hardly seems necessary, as this isn't a book that the casual reader would pick up.
Nonetheless, this book's insightful and very well-written. It doesn't seem to lose anything by its age. Definitely recommend to those interested in the topic.
The Freudian analysis is a bit thick at times, leading to some sweeping conclusions. I doubt, for example, that witnessing his parents having sex had as traumatic an effect as stated. Not to mention that there's obviously no way to prove that the event actually occurred.
It's interesting to note how Hitler and Stalin admired each other; the author's correct that, while Stalin was as evil as Hitler, he probably wasn't as complicated psychologically. Stalin was strictly an opportunist who would've supported any path to power, whereas Hitler could only have risen to power through the movement and ideology that he created.
The book is overly-ambitious as it has a whole chapter devoted to German history; that hardly seems necessary, as this isn't a book that the casual reader would pick up.
Nonetheless, this book's insightful and very well-written. It doesn't seem to lose anything by its age. Definitely recommend to those interested in the topic.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 17, 2020
Did not finish. Some fascinating insights about Hitler's childhood and early adulthood but, as might be expected from a psychohistory from the 1970's, it relies a little too heavily on Freudian tropes that would not be as broadly accepted today.
December 13, 2008
If you are into psycho-analysis of any sort and like madness and chaos; read this; it'll put a dry spell on your attitudes about men of power in politics. I find it heart breaking yet alone a sad tale about the history of paranoia and annoyance of political power in the hands of self-righteous egoism. But enough with my two cents; Abraham Lincoln wasn't a saint himself; so if you are interested in psychology, history, and spell bound on the nature of logical symbolism. Take a read, highly recommended!
December 9, 2013
Very interesting book and unlike many of the biographies of Hitler as it tackles the subject from a psychoanalytic point of view. Author is aware of the difficulties in this approach and where he differs in how he analyzes Hitler's psychopathology. It is a dense read but very worthwhile.
Want to read
November 15, 2007getting there...
September 10, 2018
An excellent history of how Hitler came to and held onto power
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews