Hitler among the Germans

by Rudolph Binion

Combines individual and mass psychohistory in an exploration of the personal and national psychological determinants of Hitler's rise and fall and of Hitler's success in identifying German national trauma with his own

Genres: History

226 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Paul Cornelius · Rating 2 out of 5]

Binion's book has been out for some time, now. I'm not sure that anybody even bothers with it anymore. The field of study, psychohistory, was supposedly a coming trend back in the 1970s. And the Hitler book business was among the first to cash in, with Binion's study and with Helm Stierlin's Adolf Hitler: a Family Perspective. Neither was very convincing. Not as history. Not as psychology. Not as biography. I also seem to remember that Robert G. L. Waite has a study attempting a similar sort of analysis. This really is an area of historical biography that belongs in the dustbin of history.

[Veronica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this book for class. It was the same class in which I also read Sigmund Freud's book. Binion in a round-a-bout way attempted to explain Hitler's psychology in part was due to his mother's death from cancer when he was a little boy, among other things. It was essentially, in my opinion, a drastic oversimplification of a monster.

[Van Jones]

Interesting concepts. I believe that he might be true in some of the thoughts about Hitler.

[Gerwin Wallace · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hard to follow. DNF. The entire book seemed made up of endless footnotes. Nary a narrative to be found.

[Clayton · Rating 3 out of 5]

A perfect example of how not to do something. I give this book three stars because it is a great cautionary tale for the budding political psychologist.